The UC MakerSpace is one of many Canberra facilities to which Prototype Voucher Pilot awardees will gain access. Photo: CBRIN.
Sixteen Canberra inventors will soon have the means to bring their visions to life, thanks to a new grants program by the capital’s leading innovation institutions.
Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN), ANU, UC, UNSW Canberra and CIT have launched the Prototyping Voucher Pilot, which will award $10,000 vouchers for entrepreneurs and innovators to use at major Canberra institutions to manufacture a physical prototype.
CBRIN’s Jack Cassidy said the pilot, financed by an ACT Government Priority Investment Fund grant, will address a gap in Canberra’s innovation workflow, empowering innovators to turn great ideas into tangible products.
“There are lots of incredible innovators in Canberra with brilliant ideas, but no capacity to fabricate them by themselves,” he says.
The pilot is open to entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives in the ACT and surrounding regions.
“Fabrication” is the keyword, as the vouchers are not for end-to-end development. Applicants must already have designs or clear design ideas (not just a general concept), but not the means to fund the material composition.
They must also have their sights set on commercialisation.
“The voucher is not for manufacturing at scale, but for iterating on and improving your product so you can take the next steps,” Jack says. “The pilot is industry agnostic, but we are looking for people with ideas that have the potential to change the world for the better.”
Prospective applicants can book a project coordinator meeting via the CBRIN website to discuss their eligibility before submitting their application.
“The idea is to be at the point where it’s clear what you’re trying to make,” Jack says. “Whether the design is perfect is neither here nor there, so long as we can assess if we can help or not.”
From metal and wood working to 3D printing, composite labs to CNC milling machines and stress testing equipment, Canberra’s institutes have some pretty advanced manufacturing capabilities. Photo: CBRIN.
Successful applicants will then pitch and participate in a Q&A with representatives from the prototyping facilities before they vote and award the vouchers.
The vouchers work a little like a running tab towards fabrication. Awardees generally have about six months to use the $10,000, which is calculated in a variety of ways, from time with experts such as engineers, to the use of specialty materials and machinery.
“The institutions have some pretty advanced manufacturing capabilities, brilliant experts who can offer guidance and some truly world-class facilities,” Jack says.
“We have the capacity to work with textiles, CNC milling machines, metal working, wood working, a composites lab at UC, a massive testing facility at UNSW Canberra that can stress test things — the list goes on.
“The idea is that at the end, they’ll have something in their hands that they can show to investors, take to a factory for production or something to iterate on.”
ANU Associate Professor & Director MakerSpace Dr John Debs said the vouchers were a way to open these resources up to the broader community.
“Universities are melting pots of capability and ideas – especially our fabrication spaces, where often the design process and how to best solve a problem is the first step in the process,” he said.
“Being able to share this with the ACT community, while also connecting these ways of doing across our institutions, is the real advantage here. It has already led to exciting outcomes and a better understanding of the innovation ecosystem.”
Use of these resources is tracked until that person has exhausted their allocated funds.
But while manufacturing funding is capped at $10,000, Jack says the value of the pilot extends far beyond that.
“Participants can continue to work with these institutions, develop those relationships and continue to grow their product and networks, long after the voucher is spent,” Jack says.
The pilot will run until mid-2026, or until the vouchers are awarded. So far, five vouchers have been awarded.
Potential applicants who are uncertain about their readiness are encouraged to enquire with CBRIN about pathways to develop their designs before they apply.
“We’d rather they speak to us before self-selecting out,” Jack says. “Who knows what new brilliant idea might be out there?”
For more information, visit CBRIN.
