Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

In support of the innovation needs of SMEs in the agri-food production and processing sector in London, ON and the surrounding region, Fanshawe requests funding to purchase nutritional testing equipment design to extend its services beyond product development into pre-commercialization and quality assurance/control supports. The requested equipment is largely unavailable to local and regional SMEs due to the costs associated with private labs and a gap between support for discovery-based, as opposed to applied, research in the regional ecosystem that Fanshawe already has the infrastructure and expertise to fill through its Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Biotechnology (CARIB) labs and the Centre for Bioeconomy (CBE@FAN) run out of those labs. Ultimately, by providing companies with the ability to test their products to determine nutritional values, concentration of ingredients and composition of products, and stability of formulations, Fanshawe will be able to assist companies in not only de-risking the product development stage through its supports for innovation, but also reducing costs associated with taking products past that early stage of development in order to successfully go to market. On top of these benefits, the training available to Fanshawe students through their work on applied research projects with industry partners and on the requested equipment, combined with the training opportunities available for representatives from industry partners who engage with Fanshawe College personnel on projects, will help to address a growing skills gap in the sector and introduce students with the biotechnology and instrumentation skills to the innovative food and beverage companies that need their talent.