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Does
AERI provide grants or loans? What are the provisions for
repayment?
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The
Alberta government is investing
in research through grants and not providing loans for businesses.
Repayment is normally not required.
However,
by investing taxpayer dollars, there is an expectation that grants
will ultimately benefit the taxpayer, whether it be cleaner air,
lower energy costs, or the development of new companies and hiring
of Alberta graduates.
If
our investment is a large portion of the total project, we may require
some interest in royalties from license sales or require the intellectual
property to be broadly shared. This is determined on a case-by-case
basis and is best discussed with an AERI Research Manager.
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How
much funding is available?
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The
Alberta Science and Research Authority sets our research budget each
year. Applicants can request any amount of funding.
The
majority of grants are in the range of $100,000 to $200,000 per
year. For large, expensive pilot plant operations, we tend to fund
less than 25 per cent of the total cost. For smaller projects and
more fundamental research, we may fund up to 100 per cent of the
total cost.
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What
types of research will be funded?
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Research is funded based on priorities established by the AERI
Board and published in the Alberta
Energy Research Strategy.
Working
with industry partners and research organizations helps us to keep
our goals aligned with industry changes and the latest research
and technology developments. If you consider your research to be
of importance to the province of Alberta, a Research Manager would
be happy to discuss this with you.
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Does
AERI fund business development?
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No,
we fund research only. Business development and research are closely
linked, so it is important that applications clearly identify the
research goals of the project. A successful research project may
lead to the establishment of a business, but the research investments
are not to be used for business development or promotion.
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Do
I have to partner with a company to do research?
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We
are investing in research that will benefit the province. Companies
are encouraged to find strategic partners that will participate in
the research or use the final product. We try to avoid investing in
a single company, as this tends to benefit just one party and not
the entire industry.
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How
long will it take for me to receive an answer on my application?
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After
we receive your application, a Research Manager will review it to
ensure that it is complete. You may be asked to provide additional
information.
Once
all information is received, members of our scientific staff will
review the application. We try to have all evaluations and responses
back to applicants within 60 days of receiving the complete information
package.
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