Fourteen Queen’s researchers have partnered with local businesses in areas such as manufacturing, engineering, and life sciences on projects that will accelerate innovative products to market and increase their competitiveness. The partnerships are funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) under the Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative (ARC).

“Queen's is proud to be a contributor to economic development in both Kingston and surrounding areas,” says Vice-Principal (Research) Steven Liss. “This funding will help us in our endeavors to support small and medium-sized businesses in our region. It is incredibly rewarding to see these partnerships between excellent Queen's researchers and innovative local businesses come to fruition.”

Last year, Queen’s was approved for up to $750,000 in ARC funding from FedDev Ontario to partner with small- and medium-sized enterprises on activities such as applied research, engineering design, technology development, product testing, and certification. The support will create new economic opportunities and help to grow Canada’s businesses into global leaders.

“These agreements allow local businesses to work with research teams at Queen’s University on developing new ideas and bringing those new products to Canadians, which will be good for the economy in Kingston,” says Gord Brown, MP for Leeds-Grenville. “Our government is committed to supporting the people, communities and businesses of southern Ontario.”

FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario. Now in its second year of operation, the Agency has launched a number of initiatives to place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy.

For a list of Queen's researchers and the companies they've partnered with, see the attached backgrounder.