Applied research and funding opportunities will be posted here as they become available. Please contact us if you are interested in applying for any of these opportunities or with one you have identified yourself. We will be glad to assist with the preparation of any and all grant or fund applications. 

Commercialization

Commercialization Process

Do you think your research has commercial potential? If so, please read over the Invention Disclosure Form, and make an appointment to see us to discuss your invention. You do not have to fill out the Invention Disclosure Form prior to meeting with AR&C, however, you should be prepared to answer the questions, as they will be asked during your disclosure meeting.

Check out the AR&C flowchart for an explanation of the AR&C commercialization process.

Commercialization Tools

AR&C has a number of tools in its box to help with the commercialization of research.

Flintbox

Flintbox is a tool for marketing and licensing research results. AR&C will use Flintbox to publish, market, and license the research and products developed by staff and faculty. Products available through Flintbox may be downloads or physical products that must be shipped. Flintbox postings may be combined with a Google campaign to enhance marketing. Using Flintbox will help to promote the college, provide industry contacts and potential future partners, and may bring revenue to the college and its staff and faculty.

Nerac

Nerac is an information provider. They have access to the world’s leading resources and patent databases and deliver information on request to clients in the Scientific, Technical and Medical industries. They will provide recent articles on a requested subject matter, conduct patent searches, and the like. In many cases, Nerac has the knowledge and resources necessary to perform searches faster and more effectively, and can provide information that is inaccessible or unavailable to the end user.

Innovation Disclosure Form

Resources

Researcher’s Guide

AR&C has developed a Researcher’s Guide. It can be downloaded as a pdf file, either with the appended policies, or without. 

• ARC Researcher Guide 2006 with policies (pdf format)
• ARC Researcher Guide 2006 without policies (pdf format)
• CIHR Institute of Genetics Guidebook for New Principal Investigators

Policies and Procedures

Red River College has developed a series of policies and procedures that apply to several research areas. Those that are directed at research are (click on the policy name to download that policy as a pdf file): 

• Intellectual Property and Copyright (pdf format)
• Research Involving Human Subjects (pdf format)
• Integrity in Research and Scholarship (pdf format)
• Animal Care and Research (pdf format)
• Conflict of Interest in Research (pdf format)
• Student Rights in the Conduct of Research (pdf format)
• Research in the Yukon, North West Territories, and Nunavut (pdf format) and
• Research Involving Biohazards and Radioactive Materials (pdf format)
• Applied Research Administration (pdf format)
• Approval to Forward an Application for Research Funds to an External Sponsor (pdf format)
• Recovery Costs of Research (pdf format)

Presentations

Defining Applied Research – Our Goals, Objectives and Opportunities, May 9, 2012, Rob Spewak, AR&C Research Manager

AR&C Flowchart

(Click thumbnail to view large image)

When a researcher is interested in having their work commercialized, they should fill out the Innovation Disclosure Form, which can be found on the AR&C website, and have the form signed by their chair, dean, or director before making an appointment to speak with AR&C about their innovation. AR&C will go through the form with the innovator to better understand the innovation and to prepare for the Initial Innovation and Market Assessment. The initial assessment will allow AR&C to determine how best to proceed. 

Does RRC have an interest in the IP? Some innovations may have been developed as part of a contract research agreement, and the intellectual property (IP) may belong to the contractor, as per the contract terms. IP in which the college does not have an interest will be transferred to the proper owner, so that they may do with it as they will. When the college does have an interest in IP, AR&C will continue the Initial Innovation and Market Assessment process to determine if the innovation can be turned into a commercial product, and if it is at the right stage of development to do so. 

Is more research needed? Some innovations will not leave the college until they are nearly at the commercial product stage, while others will be licensed to industry at a much earlier stage of development. The timing depends largely on the industry sector. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals, for instance, tend to be licensed at a much earlier stage than in any other sector due to the long and expensive regulatory process. Other industry sectors might not even consider licensing until the innovation is at the commercial stage. 

Is there commercial potential? Some innovations cannot be transformed into a commercial product. This may be because the innovation does not have freedom to operate, which is to say that in order to transform the innovation into a commercial product, one would have to infringe on the protected IP of another. Other products might not have a large enough market to recoup the patenting costs and/or the product development costs. 

Is there commercial potential? The final stage of the Initial Innovation and Market Assessment is determining if the innovation has been protected and, if not, the most effective way to protect it. Copyrights provide protection for literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical work, including computer programs, and performance, sound recording, and communication signal. Patents are used to protect new inventions, or a new and useful improvement of an existing invention. As patents protect inventions only with the country of issuance, an appropriate global coverage strategy must be determined.

After the initial assessment has been completed, AR&C will begin the commercialization process. At this point, AR&C may choose to conduct a more detailed technology assessment, may have some prototype development done, or may choose to license the IP as-is. Licensing options involve whether the innovation is best served by being licensed to an existing company or to a newly created spin-off.