Meet the ORION Affiliates...

The Accelerator Centre (AC) is a world-renowned, award-winning centre for the cultivation of technology entrepreneurship located in Waterloo, Ontario. Made possible through funding from Federal and Provincial Governments, Ontario Centres of Excellence, the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, the City of Waterloo and the University of Waterloo, along with industry and academic partners, the AC was established to accelerate the creation, growth, and maturation of sustainable new technology companies; to promote commercialization of research and technology rising out of academic institutions such as University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Guelph, and Conestoga College; and to generate economic benefit and enhance the strategic importance of Waterloo Region within Ontario and Canada's broader economy.

Aptly named, the Accelerator Centre is firmly focused on accelerating the growth and success of its client companies - fledgling start-ups from a variety of technology sectors. As home to 25+ technology start-up companies, with resident program staff of Ontario Centres of Excellence, National Research Council IRAP and Communitech - the Accelerator Centre has become the nexus for Waterloo's innovation community.

Leading the way for Ottawa, OCRI is the city's economic development agency. OCRI guides Ottawa in sustained economic development to build wealth and enhance our quality of life by nurturing innovation and accelerating entrepreneurial organizations; connecting business, research, education, government and the community; developing and attracting world-class talent and skills; and marketing the region's capabilities globally. With over 720 members including start-ups, SME's, multinationals, research laboratories, academic institutions and government, OCRI promotes sustainable economic development to maintain our high quality of life. For more information about OCRI, visit our website at www.ocri.ca and for more information on the Ottawa Region please visit www.ottawaregion.com.

The Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA) is public private partnership focused on attracting research-intensive investment to the region and maximizing the economic advantages of the region's extraordinary research strengths. The organization concentrates on four research-intensive sectors: Advanced Manufacturing and Materials, Bio Life Sciences, Energy and Environment, and IT/Communications.

TRRA provides a range of products and services to help international companies making critical business decisions about research-related investment, including:

• Value propositions about the region's key sectors
• Broad range of population and business data
• Directories of companies, academic programs, and research experts in key research-intensive sub-sectors
• Intelligence about critical location factors
• Connections and customized support to open doors
• Quick access to regional leadership (governments, business and institutions)
  

WEDnet™ was created to research, develop, promote and recognize the benefits of high-speed telecommunications in Southwestern Ontario for the education, health, municipal and industrial sectors.

The Windsor-Essex Development Network (WEDnet™) has a mandate to utilize the power of high-speed telecommunications in Canada's southernmost region, and to work towards sharing the development and use of computer-based applications both nationally and internationally. The intent is to research and apply new educational, health care and smart community resources by extending, implementing, evaluating and maintaining an advanced operational high performance fiber-based network in a public and private multi-sector joint venture approach.

WEDnet™ supports applications needing access to "real" time, fiber-optic telecommunications environments, resulting in quicker response times for those with such demands.

WEDnet™ was formed in November 1994 by the University of Windsor, in partnership with St. Clair College, local hospitals and the Windsor and Essex County School Boards. This has expanded to include the local municipalities, libraries and strategic private sector organizations.