B.C. organizations win new federal funding
A recent influx of funds and tenants bodes well for the rapidly filling New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC) in Vancouver BC. Late last month, the new media incubator and research facility announced hundreds of thousands of dollars in new funds from the federal government – partly to open even more research facilities – as well as a new co-location agreement with the prominent trade association New Media BC.
On August 8, NewMIC announced that New Media BC would take possession of two offices in its facilities at the Harbour Centre in downtown Vancouver. The announcement marks the culmination of a long discussion process. Then-president/CEO Alan Winter told Canadian NEW MEDIA late last November that the move was in the works. The co-location is likely good news for B.C.’s new media industry, since the two organizations are complementary.
"(NewMIC) can be perceived as a company’s virtual chief research officer for a small company that wants to know where technology’s going," says Erica Branda, NewMIC’s business development and communications officer. "New Media BC fills the role of a virtual chief marketing officer for a company…We’ve always worked together, looked for ways to help the industry. This just brings us a little bit closer."
More materially, it was announced this month that NewMIC would receive $828,000 in further funding for its immersive media laboratory (CNM, Nov. 29/01), and $750,000 in new funding for a human computer interaction lab, now up-and-running, from Western Economic Diversification Canada. In the same August 9 announcement, New Media BC was also the recipient of $81,500 in funding.
The human computer interaction lab provides facilities for monitoring how people use new technology using a myriad of sophisticated cameras and analytical equipment. NewMIC is in the process of hiring a new full-time staffer to help companies use the facility, of which the closest counterpart is in Seattle, Branda says.

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