The Ontario Centres for Excellence (OCE) and four of its industry partners, have created a collaboration platform aimed to identify technologies, businesses, and experts from across the province that could help fill the current product and service gaps related to COVID-19.
“We endeavour to match solution seekers with solution providers by leveraging Ontario’s innovation ecosystem.
Organizations working to provide an innovative product, service, or expertise to support Ontario’s COVID-19 response are being asked to share their capabilities, barriers, and needs through the collaboration platform. Through its existing network of businesses, experts, and business development managers, OCE aims to help connect businesses and tech developers to accelerate the commercialization of in-demand products.
The platform is being launched along with OCE partners, MaRS Discovery District, Invest Ottawa, Communitech, and the Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association.
The collaboration platform is for individuals or companies whose products are not yet commercialized or procurement-ready. The OCE is directing companies whose product or service is procurement-ready and meets the requirements of Ontario’s call to action, to go directly fill to the government’s Ontario Together submission form.
“With this information, we endeavour to match solution seekers with solution providers by leveraging Ontario’s innovation ecosystem to connect supply with demand through carefully curated personal introductions,” OCE states on the platform’s webpage.
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The provincial government is currently asking for help from businesses and organizations that can supply emergency products like ventilators, swabs and masks, submit innovative solutions for specific scenarios, and propose ideas, other products or services to help Ontarians during the crisis.
The collaboration platform lists some of the products and services that are needed, including:
- Advanced materials
- Production and cleanroom
- AI and data solutions
- Ventilators
- Protective gear
- Vaccine, medicine, virus detection, andsensors
- Sterilization
- Quality control, certification, regulatory, labeling, marking, and packaging
- Logistics, remote healthcare, tools, and services
- 3D printing
- Clean room capability
- Sterilization capability
- Plastic processing
- Metal processing
- Electronic assembly
- General fabrication, assembly, and packaging
Image source Unsplash. Photo by Cytonn Photography.