Eligible Project Selection Committee(s) Recruitment

As Protein Industries Canada embarks on our next chapter, with another five years of funding, plus the launch of a new AI Commercialization stream, we are currently populating three Eligible Project Selection Committees (EPSC).

The EPSCs are responsible for evaluating projects and either approving or not approving a project to receive co-investment from Protein Industries Canada. The EPSCs are independent committees and have sole authority for making decisions related to project funding. Members of the EPSCs are independent from Protein Industries Canada and bring deep expertise in select areas.

Protein Industries Canada is recruiting to populate three EPSCs for each of our program investment streams:

1. Technology Leadership
2. Capacity Building
3. AI Commercialization

Each EPSC is made up of three independent experts and one Protein Industries Canada’s senior staff person.

Protein Industries Canada is currently recruiting for nine (9) positions across the three committees. An overview of each committee is below. Members will serve either one, two or three year terms, and no member may sit for more than two terms.

ESPC members cannot be part of any project that may receive co-investment from Protein Industries Canada, and all potential conflicts must be declared.

Each committee member is expected to read thoroughly each project application, and be prepared to discuss and make a recommendation during the meeting. As a rule, committees will meet no more than twice a month, with each meeting lasting two hours, though there may be a requirement for additional meetings at certain times. There will be on average two to three applications to review for every meeting, with meeting material being shared one week prior to the meeting.

The AI Commercialization EPSC is expected to start meeting in early 2023, with Technology Leadership and Capacity Building kicking off in the spring-summer of 2023.

Committee Member Compensation

Committee members will receive remuneration of $1000 per project review.

Interested candidates should submit a letter of interest, stating their desired committee along with a current resume no later than October 31, 2022.

Letters and resumes should be sent in confidence to Deidre Plosz Rowley at deidre@proteinsupercluster.ca

Following the close of applications, a short-list of candidates will be created. Short-listed candidates will be asked to complete a self-evaluation matrix and participate in an interview.

Protein Industries Canada is committed to diversity.

This committee is responsible for evaluating R&D focused projects under the technology stream. These projects originate from a consortium of trailblazing companies. Projects will align with the Canadian value chain, spanning from plant breeding, to primary production, ingredient processing and food, feed and bio-industrial manufacturing and retail. Interested applicants should have skills in any element of the value chain, plus: international business, regulatory, capital markets, economic reconciliation, environment sustainability, supply chain, and technology scaling/commercialization.

This committee is responsible for evaluating projects that support the growth of the ecosystem. These projects support the greater good and growth of the sector, and often originate from an academic institution or an NGO. Projects will align with ecosystem priorities of access to capital, skills, labour and talent, R&D infrastructure, global impact, regulatory and economic reconciliation. Interested applicants should have expertise in any of the priority areas plus: food retail, data governance, equity, inclusion and diversity.

This committee is responsible for evaluating projects that support the adoption of new technology, particularly technology that utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning in the areas of plant genetics, sustainability, product formulation, digitization of the supply chain, food safety and quality assurance. Interested applicants should bring expertise in data/intellectual property management, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, plant breeding, genomics, primary agriculture, ingredient and food processing, supply chain management and environmental sustainability / GHG reduction.