Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

To enhance its service to the agri-food production sector, a priority area for applied research under its newStrategic Mandate Agreement (SMA) 2017-2020, Fanshawe College proposes to establish the Centre forBioeconomy at Fanshawe College (CBE@Fan), a collaborative, industry-led research hub within our newlyopened Centre for Advanced Research and Innovation in Biotechnology (CARIB). Federal and provincialpolicy looks to grow the agri-food production sector (and agriculture more generally) through increasedinnovation, recognizing its importance to the economy at all levels. However, agri-food producers face sectoralbarriers to innovation that hamper growth, including inefficient knowledge diffusion and delayed technologyadoption, insufficient support for product development and commercialization, and shortages of skilled labour.Currently, Fanshawe engages with about forty companies in this sector a year, but requires CBE@Fan'sincreased capacity to address these larger sectoral issues. Consultation with local and regional stakeholdersidentified bioeconomy projects-including the creation of new bioproducts, the enhancement of existing foodand beverage products, and the valorization of agri-food waste-in three theme areas that could be served byCBE@Fan: 1) plant and soil health; 2) food innovation; and 3) Agri-Food Waste to Bioproducts Value Chains.The facilities, equipment, expertise, and personnel available to partners would make investments in innovationworthwhile, expedite product development and commercialization, and improve knowledge diffusion andtechnology adoption through its emphasis on collaborative and networked approaches to research andinnovation. Further, by involving students in company-led applied research projects, CBE@Fan will develophighly qualified personnel (HQP) for the local workforce able to translate innovation activities from the lab tothe workplace. Ultimately, we anticipate CBE@Fan will have an immediate and significant impact on thecommercialization of new products, the establishment of new revenue streams, and the creation of new jobs.