To accelerate the growth and development of business-led innovation superclusters in Canada, applicants must set out an approach to building a supercluster advantage for their regional innovation ecosystem that translates into new commercial and global opportunities for growth and competitiveness.

The approach should leverage strengths, address gaps, and incent innovation ecosystem players to work together more strategically around five themes of activity for the collective benefit of the cluster:

• Technology leadership (mandatory)—collaborative projects that directly enhance the productivity, performance and competitiveness of member firms
• Partnerships for scale—activities serving a target group of cluster firms to enable their growth, including by increasing domestic demand for cluster products and services or by facilitating expansion
• Diverse and skilled talent pools—activities enhancing regional labour force skills and capabilities or initiatives addressing industry needs for talent
• Access to innovation—investing in and providing access to assets, services or resources that benefit a range of cluster firms over a period of time
• Global advantage—activities and initiatives that position the cluster and its strengths as world-leading, enable firms to seize market opportunities, and attract international investments and partnerships

Montreal AI: 100M for a new Quebec research cluster in AI

Artificial intelligence is the new electricity. How can we all benefit from it?

Why this Community Letter?

We, the undersigned, want to collectively participate in the building of the Montreal/QC AI cluster. We are the cluster.

Several ideas discussed bellow. Pull-requests welcomed.

It is likely opinions will diverge, please fork and submit

Why co-create the AI cluster?

As electricity has radically changed society, so we belive AI technologies will too. Everyone will be affected.

This letter is an attempt to include all stakeholders affected by AI. You and me, the startups innovating, university researchers, government, not for profits, everyone involved and affected by advances in AI.

Dear Mr. Philippe Couillard

We are the AI community in Montreal, dynamic, innovative, involved - we ask to be actively engaged in the process of diffusing the $100M dedicated to creating the Quebec AI cluster.

Bellow discussion is a synthesis of many ideas sparked at http://www.startupfestival.com/aifest/ - where several community leaders coordinated the embryonic discussion resulting in this letter.

Ideas on what to spend the money on

• AI association
• unconferences
• How to collaborate

Ideas on how to qualify impactful AI projects

• how not to restrict new ideas

Ideas on how to give access to the funds

Ideas on how a Non-profit could work

See GOVERNANCE.md for organizational structures discussion

Add/mod/delete other sections

Community Signed

We are the people involved with AI in Montreal.

• full name and affiliations, send PR
• full name and affiliations, send PR
• full name and affiliations, send PR

List of AI Players

• add your project, send PR

Resources

Links to peer-reviewed articles, unfake news, etc.

• http://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2017/05/15/100m-for-a-new-quebec-research-cluster-in-ai/
• http://www.fil-information.gouv.qc.ca/Pages/Article.aspx?aiguillage=ajd&type=1&lang=en&idArticle=2505152911

Released in the public domain, all copyright protections waived.