Innovative Solutions Canada Program – Testing Stream

Aims

• The Testing Stream aims to procure, test and evaluate innovative late stage pre-commercial prototypes.

Purpose

• The purpose of these calls for prototypes (CFPs) is to create pools of conditionally qualified innovations that Canada may select from to address a broad range of the Government of Canada organizations’ requirements.

Funding Information

• Each call includes a Standard Component and Military Component:
  • Standard component: $1,100,000 CAD
  • Military component: $2,300,000 CAD

Problem Statements

• Robotic process automation and automated decision making
  • The rapid adoption and development of artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technologies present significant opportunities to transform how the Government of Canada (GC) delivers services. The integration of AI and RPA solutions offers the potential to automate routine tasks, enhance decision-making, and improve the efficiency of back-office operations.
  • The AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service outlines a vision for responsible GC adoption of AI for four objectives: deliver world-class services to its clients, protect their people and interests, achieve a more innovative and efficient workplace, and accelerate scientific discovery for the benefit of all..
  • The GoC is interested in testing AI and RPA technologies that can be adapted to provide solutions for government, capable of automating administrative workflows, performing data capture, improving data processing, and generating recommendations for decision-making purposes.
• C4ISR – command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance
  • The Government of Canada (GC) is interested in testing enterprise-level information technology system solutions to advance Allied communication capabilities, support the integration of Joint Targeting systems, improve the resilience of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Command and Control infrastructure, and support CAF through the adoption of modern technologies.
  • Advancements in the next generation of sensing and communication technologies underscore a need to deploy technologies that can support an array of functions to augment intelligence, improve surveillance, and perform reconnaissance.
  • The GC is interested in testing innovative technologies within four (4) areas of the C4ISR suite of technologies:
    • Sensor and surveillance technologies;
    • Multi-sensor data fusion technologies;
    • Data patterning and exploitation technologies, and;
    • Communications technologies.

Eligibility Criteria

• MC1: Canadian Offeror
  • The Offeror must be a Canadian Offeror. A Canadian Offeror is defined as a Canadian person or entity submitting an Offer on its own behalf and having a place of business in Canada where the person or entity conducts activities on a permanent basis that is clearly identified by name and accessible during normal working hours.
• MC2: Canadian content
  • At least 80% of the financial proposal costs, the total proposal price to Canada stated in “Section–G Financial proposal”, must be Canadian goods or Canadian services.
• MC3: Ownership
  • The Offeror must be the owner of the Intellectual Property (IP) for the proposed innovation or hold a valid exclusive licence for the IP rights from a Canadian licensor for the proposed innovation. The Offeror must also ensure that the proposed innovation does not infringe on any existing IP rights.
• MC4: Pre-commercial status
  • The proposed innovation must not be openly available in the marketplace, and must not have been previously sold on a commercial basis as of the date of the submission of the offer.
• MC5: Previously conditionally-qualified innovation
  • The proposed innovation or any other versions of the proposed innovation must not have been previously awarded a contract in the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) or its predecessor, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP), nor under the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Testing Stream.
  • The proposed innovation or any other versions of the proposed innovation must not currently be active in a pool of conditionally-qualified innovations. A proposed innovation that is currently active in a pool will be considered only if the offer validity period for that Offer has expired or the Offeror has withdrawn their innovation from the relevant pool, prior to the solicitation closing date and time.
• Program Eligibility
  • The Offeror’s submission must align with the mandate of the ISC Testing Stream, under which Canada procures the Offeror’s Innovation through a Contract for testing it in an operational environment. This takes into account assurance that the innovation is ready to test in an operational environment, at the time of the submission of the offer.
• MC7: Offeror Presence in Canada
  • The Offeror must meet the following minimum requirements:
    • 50% or more of the Offeror’s full time equivalent (FTE) employees must have Canada as their ordinary place of work;
    • 50% or more of the Offeror’s annual wages, salaries and fees must be paid to employees and contractors who spend the majority of their time working in Canada;
    • and 50% or more of the Offeror’s senior executives (Vice President and above) must have their principal residence in Canada.

For more information, visit Government of Canada.