PREMIER’S CATALYST AWARDS GUIDELINES 

Recognizing excellence and leadership in innovation

The Premier's Catalyst Awards help build a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Ontario by recognizing excellence and leadership in innovation.

The Premier’s Catalyst Awards provide five awards of $200,000 for developing an innovation that is a commercially successful new, or significantly improved, product or service based on a breakthrough technology. Innovations must have the potential to impact Ontario's economy, society and/or sustainable development.

• The Best Young Innovator Award celebrates early stage innovators who have played a significant role in developing a commercially successful product or service based on a breakthrough technology and who demonstrate future potential.
• The Innovator of the Year Award celebrates innovators who have played a significant role in developing a commercially successful product or service based on a breakthrough technology.
• The Lifetime Achievement in Innovation Award celebrates individuals who have played a significant role in establishing a strong track record of bringing new and successful innovations to market.
• The Start-up Company with the Best Innovation Award celebrates emerging companies that have outstanding performance, growing revenues and the potential to become a market leader as a result of developing a commercially successful product or service based on a breakthrough technology.
• The Company with the Best Innovation Award celebrates established companies who have outstanding performance, growing revenues and the potential to grow market share as a result of developing a commercially successful product or service based on a breakthrough technology.

Eligible nominees
Eligible expenditures
Ineligible expenditures
Nomination procedure
Submission instructions
Where to send completed nominations
Review process
Evaluation criteria
Successful nominations
Nomination Deadline
Contact us
Additional information

Eligible nominees

The Catalyst Awards program considers both product and service innovations and is open on a competitive basis to:

• Employees or directors of for-profit corporations incorporated under the Ontario Business Corporations Act or the Canada Business Corporations Act and whose corporate headquarters are located in Ontario and who are carrying on business in Ontario at the nomination deadline, and
• For-profit corporations incorporated under the Ontario Business Corporations Act or the Canada Business Corporations Act and whose corporate headquarters are located in Ontario and who are carrying on business in Ontario at the nomination deadline.

Please note:

• Nominees for the Best Young Innovator, Innovator of the Year and Lifetime Achievement in Innovation categories must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada at the nomination deadline.
• Nominees for the Best Young Innovator category must be under the age of 35 at the nomination deadline.
• Individuals or individuals in teams based in companies can be nominated for the Best Young Innovator, Innovator of the Year and Lifetime Achievement in Innovation categories.
• Companies nominated for the Start-up Company with the Best Innovation Award must have incorporated under the Ontario Business Corporations Act or the Canada Business Corporations Act less than five years prior to the nomination deadline.
• Companies nominated for the Company with the Best Innovation Award must have incorporated under the Ontario Business Corporations Act or the Canada Business Corporations Act longer than five years prior to the nomination deadline. 
• Individuals and companies can be nominated in only one category and receive only one award in a competition.
• Only one award is given for a particular innovation.
• A company and an individual at the company cannot both be nominated for an award for the same innovation.
• Individuals or corporations that have received a Premier’s Catalyst Award are not eligible to be nominated for or receive a Premier’s Catalyst Award.

Eligible expenditures

Funds received through this grant can be spent on:

• Research expenses such as salaries for research staff, travel to conferences, publication, database development and library acquisitions, the purchase or rental of research equipment or supplies, and operation and maintenance of research equipment or facilities.
• Innovation expenses such as salaries for knowledge/technology transfer staff, entrepreneurial training, marketing of an innovation, prototype development and intellectual property protection (including any activity related to the development of a patent, trademark or copyright, but excluding all dispute/litigation and legal costs associated with intellectual property).
• Donations to an Ontario university for graduate or undergraduate scholarships or research chairs.
• Support for research and innovation awareness initiatives or youth outreach programs.

Ineligible expenditures

Funds received through this grant cannot be spent on:

• Salary, benefits or expenses of any person nominated for the award.

Nomination procedure

A nominator is responsible for preparing a complete nomination package and submitting it to the Ministry by the deadline. Include a cover letter not exceeding one page signed by the nominator.  The nomination form requests information about the innovation, the innovation’s impact, the intellectual property, the individual (if applicable) and the company, along with its corporate and financial history.

Submission instructions

Completing the Form

• Download the Premier’s Catalyst Awards Company Nomination Form or the Premier’s Catalyst Awards Individual Nomination Form.
• Download and complete the PCA Nomination Form Checklist
• Complete all sections of the Nomination Form being sure to comply with the word limits indicated in the form.
• Ensure that the President/CEO or Vice-President of the company that is being nominated, or whose employees or directors are being nominated, sign the Nomination Form. Nominees for the Best Young Innovator, Innovator of the Year and Lifetime Achievement in Innovation categories must sign the nomination form.
• Include a cover letter not exceeding one page signed by the nominator.
• Include three (3) original signed letters of reference from recognized business and innovation leaders who are able to provide an objective assessment of the innovation and its impact.
• Copies of company financial statements for the three most recent fiscal periods. Audited financial statements are preferred.
• A copy of the certificate of incorporation of the company.
• A chart depicting the organizational structure of the company.
• Include confirmation of Canadian citizenship or permanent residency and confirmation of age, where applicable (e.g. copy of Canadian birth certificate or Canadian passport).
• Please do not include any additional materials with the nomination package such as technical drawings and documents, product samples, video/audio tapes, pictures, patent applications, curriculum vitae, certificates, prototypes or more than three (3) reference letters.

Format

Format and print the nomination as follows:

• Ensure text is single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch.
• Use a black Arial 12 point font. Do not use condensed type.
• Submit all documentation on 8 ½ by 11-inch white paper.
• Print the two (2) copies of the nomination double-sided.
• Print the original nomination package single-sided.
• The original and all copies of the nomination should be three-hole punched but not bound or stapled. Please use clips to hold copies together.

Hard copies

Package the nomination as follows:

• Submit the original nomination package single-sided on 8 ½ by 11-inch white paper
• Submit two (2) exact copies of the original nomination package  double-sided on 8 ½ by 11-inch white paper
• Submit one hard copy of the completed checklist.
• All submitted hard copy materials must be packaged in the order presented in the nomination checklist.

Electronic copies on CD

Package the nomination materials on CD as follows:

• Include one copy of the Nomination Form in Microsoft Word format on a CD, and;
• Submit one (1) copy of all the nomination documentation including the nomination form and reference letters, on the same CD in pdf format. The pdf copy should be a single document representing an exact copy of the nomination package.
• All submitted material on the CD must be packaged in the order presented in the nomination checklist.

Where to send completed nominations

The original nomination and supporting documentation, nomination copies and the CD must be sent to:

Premier’s Catalyst Awards
Ministry of Research and Innovation
Research Branch
7th Floor, 56 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 2E7

Nominations must be sent by courier or mail or hand delivered. Fax copies will not be accepted.

Nomination deadline

Nominations, including original letters of reference, must be received by the Ministry by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Review process

The Premier’s Catalyst Awards program is a discretionary non-entitlement program and the Ministry reserves the right to not make an award in any given year. The Catalyst Awards review process includes the following steps:

• Nominations are received by the deadline date.
• The Ministry conducts an administrative review of nominations.
• Nominations are short-listed by a review panel of entrepreneurs and business leaders.
• The review panel develops recommendations, which are forwarded to the Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board and then to the Minister of Research and Innovation.

Regarding short-listed nominations please note:

• Nominees will be asked to provide consent to the Ministry of Research and Innovation and its authorized agent (a due diligence provider) to conduct criminal record checks, credit bureau reviews and other related reviews as required, on the individual nominee and their company. If consent is not provided the nomination may be disqualified.
• Nominees will also be asked to provide intellectual property and Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) documentation for review.

Evaluation criteria

Awards will be made following a competitive process and will be judged on:

Innovation

• To what extent is the innovation commercially successful?
• To what extent is this innovation a new, or significantly improved, innovative product or service?
• To what extent is the innovation based on a breakthrough technology?

Potential to Impact Ontario

• To what extent does the innovation have the potential to impact Ontario’s economy, society, and/or sustainable development?

Innovation Leadership

• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated innovation leadership and integrity both in the company and the larger community? 

Category Specific

Best Young Innovator

• What is your assessment of the role of the nominee in connection with this innovation?
• What is the overall assessment of the nominee’s future potential?

Innovator of the Year

• What is your assessment of the role of the nominee in connection with this innovation?

Lifetime Achievement in Innovation

• What is your assessment of the role of the nominee in establishing a strong track record of bringing new and successful innovations to market?

Start-Up Company with the Best Innovation

• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated outstanding performance as a result of the innovation?
• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated growing revenues as a result of the innovation?
• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated the potential to become a market leader as a result of the innovation?

Company with the Best Innovation

• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated outstanding performance as a result of the innovation?
• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated growing revenues as a result of the innovation?
• To what extent has the nominee demonstrated the potential to grow market share as a result of the innovation?

Successful nominations

Within 30 days of being notified, successful nominees must submit a project plan to the Ministry that outlines the activities for which the funds will be used.

The corporation signing the nomination will be required to enter into a grant agreement with the Ministry to administer and disburse the grant funds on behalf of itself or its employee(s). The terms and conditions of the grant agreement will include, but are not limited to, the project plan, project budget, payments, auditing and project reporting requirements.

The Ministry reserves the right to not present an award in any category in any given year.

Contact us

If you have questions about the Catalyst Awards, please contact:

Lesley Cunningham
Tel: 416-325-9333

Stephanie Holbik
Tel: 416-314-8209

E-mail: Awards@mri.gov.on.ca

Additional information

Please note that the Ministry of Research and Innovation is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information in this form is collected under the authority of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Act. This information may be shared with members of the Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board, the review panel, an independent due diligence provider and others for the purpose of assessing this nomination and administering the Premier’s Catalyst Awards program.