The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) announced on June 3 that it is now accepting applications for its 2020/21 CONtact Innovator Mentorship program.

Now into its third year, the program matches innovators and entrepreneurs who are creating new solutions for the construction industry with experienced industry leaders to help refine their products and services—from start-up to scale-up for fast-track adoption.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the construction industry has a renewed interest and desire to fast-track innovation,” said CCA president Mary Van Buren. “The CONtact Innovator Mentorship program provides the perfect first step to identifying new innovative solutions.”

Last year, the program received more than 30 applications from innovators and entrepreneurs, and attracted a list of prominent mentor partners that included EllisDon, BIRD, Flynn Group of Companies and Associated Engineering—among others.

Among the 15 innovators and entrepreneurs identified by an independent advisory panel to work with industry mentors were such companies as Pay Prompt, Mechasys, Point3D Commercial Imaging and Kognitiv Spark. Some mentees may have also received pilot orders from their mentor partners, although that information is confidential.

New to the program for 2020 is a Contractors Den-style pitch where three mentees will travel to the CCA’s 2021 annual conference, and be given an opportunity to pitch their solutions to a panel of industry experts.

“One of the biggest challenges for innovators and entrepreneurs developing new solutions is gaining access to executives in the industry to get feedback on their solutions. Equally, it can be difficult for the industry to learn about leading-edge solutions that can dramatically improve their businesses,” says Van Buren. “While CONtact provides the platform to overcome that challenge, we are adding further value to the program by offering the top three mentees the opportunity to attend the 2021 CCA conference, and pitch their solution to industry experts.”

CCA is now inviting applications from innovators and entrepreneurs, as well as construction experts who have five or more years of industry practice, or who have experience bringing innovative solutions to market, to apply for the program. Applications for both are being accepted at cca-acc.com/contact through August 30.

CCA will announce the list of successful applicants in September, with mentor meetings scheduled for October through next March.

The CONtact Innovator Mentorship program is presented with the support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.