About Us

The Canadian Innovation Centre has a process for guiding innovators and their innovations to the market. We've perfected it over the past 30 years. Our process is based on sound market research and original market insight.

We help organizations turn their innovations into market-ready products and services.

We have done 40,000 business case studies and recommendations, which have helped countless products and services become market-ready.

Our process has been validated by external researchers, and by the most important group of all  -  businesses whose rapid growth has been achieved by CIC recommendations.

We have 30 years’ of experience to bring to the table to help our clients.

And as a not-for-profit organization, we are especially attuned to the needs of the SME community.

Beginning with the establishment of the University of Waterloo's Inventor's Assistance Program in 1976, and in conjunction with increasing recognition of the value of supporting Canadian innovation and entrepreneurship, the Canadian Innovation Centre was founded in 1981 as an independent, not-for-profit corporation.

Since then over 20,000 Canadian inventors and innovating companies have worked with the Centre; over 13,000 new product ideas have been assessed ; and thousands of products have been successfully guided to the market.

The Centre helps individual inventors and entrepreneurs crystallize their ideas and commercialize the resulting products. It also works with innovations coming out of existing enterprises.

The Canadian Innovation Centre has an important role in deploying Canada's innovation strategy. The Centre plans to help Canadian companies exploit new technologies to generate wealth and sustain Canada's competitiveness.