Grant: Technology Access Centre

The Green Building Technologies Access Centre (GBTAC) at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary will provideapplied research and technical services to private sector partners and others in the building products andservices industry in southern Alberta and western Canada. This Centre will build on SAITs establishedcapacity in green building technologies (GBT) including expertise, facilities, industry engagement, andresearch competence amassed since the GBT initiative was launched in 2008 at SAIT.SAIT is the ideal location for the GBT Access Centre. The construction sector accounts for nearly 12 per centof Alberta's $306.7 billion gross domestic product, with the building product and services industrycontributing $9 billion of this prosperity. The vast majority of companies in this industry are small tomedium sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees. The GBTAC will strengthen the capacity ofthe regional innovation system by facilitating SME access to leveraged funding, and provide partner SMEs,industry associations, governments and non-governmental organizations with a local, accessible solution toinnovation needs tied to the growing green building market. Partners will benefit from significant newinfrastructure at the GBT Lab and Demonstration Centre and state-of-the-art Applied Research andInnovation Services labs in the new 740,000 sqft Trades and Technology Centre.