A group of local agencies is seeking funding to fill the gap left by the closure of the Innovation Resource Centre in June.
Initiatives Prince George vice president Kathie Scouten said the partnership is seeking $350,000 in federal and provincial grants to create the Northern Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative.
"The purpose of the partnership will be to enhance new firm creation from innovation," Scouten said. "Prince George and the region does not have as high a rate of new business creation as other small centres."
Between 2001 and 2010 an average of 319.5 businesses were incorporated per year in Prince George. Kamloops averaged 454.6 new businesses per year and Naniamo averaged 438.9 per year over the same period.
Scouten said the partnership --including Initiatives Prince George, UNBC, College of New Caledonia, Prince George Chamber of Commerce, Aboriginal Business Development Centre, Province of B.C., Fraser-Fort George Community Futures and Development Corporation and NRC-IRAP -- is still in the early stages of developing the service model for the organization.
Scouten, speaking on behalf of Initiatives Prince George as the administrative partner in the initiative, said part of the driving forces behind the partnership was the closure of the Innovation Resource Centre on June 30.
The Innovation Resource Centre operated for 15 years in Prince George providing education and support for technology innovators looking to turn their ideas into a business.
"There are regional science and technology organizations around the province, but Prince George doesn't have one now," she said. "We've come together as a community and recognized the value of that. We have a lot of creativity here, but we're not matching that with entrepreneurship."
