Boosting BC aerospace R&D capabilities and capturing a greater share of federal research dollars are specific goals of the AIAC-BC provincial partnership.
In the summer of 2014, the federal government announced a $30 million contribution to the Consortium for Aerospace Research and Innovation in Canada (CARIC) to fund a five-year collaborative program of aerospace research and development linking industry, academia and research institutions across the country. To help stimulate aerospace R&D activity and deliver federal funding support to BC, AIAC Pacific signed on in March 2015 as CARIC’s regional office for BC and Alberta – one of five offices across the country that form CARIC’s national network.
To raise awareness of opportunities for R&D funding and collaboration, AIAC Pacific has hosted a number of workshops around the province, including sessions in Richmond, Kelowna and Victoria, as well as at ADSE in Abbotsford. The BC industry responded and a BC-led proposal became the first CARIC-funded project in Canada. For more information on CARIC and opportunities for collaborative research, click here.