Thanks to the assistance of the Government of Canada, Brock University was able to expand its support of local businesses in Niagara.

On November 12, 2010, St. Catharines M.P. Rick Dykstra announced that Brock would receive $750,000 from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario’s (FedDev Ontario) Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative (ARC).

On April 17, 2012, St. Catharines M.P. Rick Dykstra announced that Brock would recieve an additional $750,000 from FedDev Ontario’s ARC extension.

Many small companies do not have the research and development resources to meet their pre-commercialization needs. Through ARC, Brock worked with local businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees in areas such as product and process applied research, engineering design, technology development, product testing, proof of concept, piloting and problem solving to help them and accelerate getting their innovations to market.

This represented a tremendous opportunity for Brock and its surrounding communities. It provided Niagara’s small and medium sized enterprises with the facilities and tools to develop their ground-breaking ideas and improve their economic competitiveness.  It allowed Brock researchers to build partnerships with the community, helped our students gain first-hand experience and, with the success of local companies, is leading to better career opportunities for young Canadians.

Brock would like to thank the Government of Canada for their partnership and support. This rewarding collaboration with local businesses brought exciting developments and growth to Niagara.