Key Dates - Round 2
Call for proposals opens:
January 20, 2025
Final date to submit a proposal:
March 31, 2025
Proponents notified following evaluation:
April 2025
Completion of contract discussions and start of projects:
May 2025
Note: A webinar will be held at 10:00 am MST on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 to respond to questions from applicants. If you are eligible and have created an account you will receive an invitation to the webinar from the program managers. Otherwise, please email the program managers to receive the invitation.
Round 2 deadline for proponents to complete project activities: March 31, 2026
Program Objectives
The Alberta Value Added Wood Products Business Development Program has been designed following stakeholder interviews and sector research to meet the identified business growth needs of Alberta’s value added wood product manufacturers.
The objective of the program is to support eligible proponents to attract investment, improve competitiveness, diversify markets, train employees, and improve or innovate on products, processes, and supply chains, thereby helping to maintain or create employment and generate economic growth in Alberta.
Is your project expected to:
- Result in or support the development of innovative or improved wood products, systems, or manufacturing / business processes?
- Support efficiency optimization (in manufacturing or workflow)?
- Support new or improved functionality / appearance of the manufactured product or system?
- Improve business management, data integration, management or use.
- Help create a new service?
Examples:
- Product or process engineering design or optimization services.
- Domestic or international market development.
- Manufacturing plan for spruce-pine-fir nail-laminated floor system for domestic or export markets.
“Value Added Wood Product” Defined
Amount of Funding
Maximum: $75,000
Cost Sharing Requirement
Please note that the program does not fund capital investments such as land, buildings and equipment.
The program requests that the recipient of the funds contribute a portion of the total project cost. The purpose of cost sharing is to ensure recipients have a stake in the project’s success and to ensure program funds are used efficiently.
There are 2 forms of cost sharing for this program: cash and third-party contributors.
- A matching cash contribution from the proponent will be required. Proposals with higher cash contributions as a percentage of the total project cost will be ranked higher. The program can provide up to 50% of the total project cost depending on the number and quality of proposals received.
- Third-party contributions up to 50% may come from other organizations that provide support for the project.
Applicant Eligibility
To qualify for support under this program, your company must be legally registered as a for-profit organization in Alberta.
In addition, your company must be considered a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise or employer with fewer than 250 employees globally for this program.
Your company must conduct business as a value added wood product or system manufacturer in Alberta.
Examples of eligible value added wood products and systems
- Roof trusses, laminated beams and panels (e.g., LVL, glulam, CLT, DLT, NLT)
- Off-site, factory-built, prefabricated or modular wood frame or mass timber components and buildings
- Wood walls / wall systems, and flooring / floor systems
- Wood doors and windows
- Millwork, cabinets, furniture, paneling
- Fencing, partitions, plywood
One Project per Proposal
A proposal can encompass multiple related activities; for example, a market development project could include participation in a trade show as well as development of promotional materials. Additionally, if the total project cost remains below the maximum funding amount, a project may also include activities that are not necessarily similar but contribute to broader business objectives aligned to the BDP objectives. If you have projects with distinct objectives or deliverables, we suggest separate applications for clarity and focus (to ensure each project can be clearly understood and assessed by reviewers). PLEASE NOTE: you can access the application form under the Forms page using your registration username and password.
Eligible Activities
Business Development
Is the project expected to result in market diversification? Will it result in new funding leveraged or borrowed to expand your business?
Examples:
- Market research to support a business expansion plan or financing request or analysis to help evaluate financing options for specific expansion plans (term loan with collateral, asset-based loan, line of credit / revolving credit, equipment loan, non-residential mortgage)
- Market development activities such as trade shows, promotional materials / campaigns, websites
- Supply chain improvement
- Information technology (IT) or data management / use improvement
Employee Training
Employee development and training activities are eligible, delivered through in-house training, online training, skilled trades training, management and leadership training, or mentoring. Please note that employee wages while in training are not an eligible expense.
Questions for proponents to consider include:
- Will the project help to maintain or create jobs?
- Will the training or education help improve business operations or management?
- Is the training related to machine centre, quality control, factory assembly or prefabrication improvements?
- Will the training help diversify your workforce or improve its strategic or organizational planning in areas that could include finance, human resources, marketing, operations / production, or supply chain management?
Information Technology (IT) and Related Services
- Data processing, storage, and management infrastructure
- Systems and data conversion and migration
- Network and computer systems management
- Business process management services
- Video and audio streaming infrastructure
- Testing lab services
- Project management
Architectural, Engineering and Related Services
- As required for existing office or industrial building renovation or new building construction
- Transportation and distribution facility design
- Machinery and manufacturing engineering design
- Engineering design services for renovation, retrofitting
- Project management services
Industrial Design Services
- Manufacturing efficiency optimization
- Technology assessment to streamline processes or improve product quality
- Integration of computer-aided design (CAD), Building Information Modeling (BIM), and other digital tools to create plans / simulate construction processes before production begins
- Functionality and appearance of manufactured goods
- Design and fabrication of models of new product concepts
- Design specifications for materials, shape and appearance presented in the form of designs, plans, or models
Management, Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Support to develop or update your business plan
- Advice and guidance on management issues, strategic and organizational planning, finance, human resources, compensation and benefits, marketing, operations, supply chain management or production
Feedback on the Status of Your Proposal
Once you submit your proposal, you will receive several emails from the program.
Email 1: Once your proposal is submitted, an email will be sent to you to confirm receipt
Email 2: Once evaluated, an email will be sent to you to provide notice of whether your proposal has been approved or rejected
Email 3: If your proposal has been approved for funding, a contract will be prepared and emailed to you for signature in late April 2025
Transparency & Fairness
A proposal Evaluation Committee made up of impartial experts will review and rank all completed submissions based on best practices.
Eligible Expenses
Costs may include:
- Consultant(s) to plan for and/or design expanded or new construction of a manufacturing facility
- Consultant time required to conduct research, and make recommendations or decisions related to innovation, business / market development, employee training and other business growth opportunities
- Software that is a direct part of the manufacturing process
- Training on the use of new software and machinery
- Operational assessment or other company evaluation intended to identify areas for improvement, such as employee training, machinery layout or material handling optimization, ISO certification, quality control, or information and communications technology.
Ineligible Expenses
Capital investment projects are ineligible.
Other activities and costs will not be considered eligible, including:
- Land, building, vehicles, overhead, depreciation and salaries
- Plant equipment, and installation and commissioning of new equipment
- Modernizing the production facility through upgrades to existing production equipment (e.g., automation, robotics, ancillary systems)
- Establishing or contributing to a reserve/contingency account
- Donations to other organizations
- Monitoring, modelling, or capital infrastructure projects
- Academic, basic or pure research
Recipient Reporting
A project report template will be provided to funding recipients (progress compared to proposal, challenges, next steps, expense report).
An interim report is not required; however, informal progress reports will be required following the signing of the contribution agreement.
A final project report is required by April 30, 2026.
Deliverables
Support & Guidance
One webinar will be held on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 to respond to questions from applicants. If you are eligible and have created an account you will receive an invitation to the webinar from the program managers.
Otherwise, please email the program managers to receive an invitation to the webinar.
Please Contact Us by email if you have questions.
