Office of the Premier
Five projects were posted to BC Bid today, as the Province launches the second year of the B.C. Startup in Residence (STIR) pilot program.
The program brings the ideas and expertise of technology companies, together with the B.C. government, to help solve digital challenges in government and improve service delivery to people in B.C.
The STIR program gives tech companies inside and outside of B.C. an opportunity to submit their proposal to do business with government. Successful applicants will participate in a 16-week residency, where they will gain valuable insight into working with government. They will have the opportunity to develop their own intellectual property, with the ability to sign multi-year contracts for further development, future licence fees or maintenance work.
Calls for proposals will close on July 25, 2018, with contracts signed in September.
Quick Facts:
- The STIR pilot program was launched in 2017, and is the first program of its kind in Canada. It is modelled after a successful program in San Francisco.
- The technology sector directly employs over 106,000 people, and wages for those jobs are around 85% higher than B.C.'s average.
- B.C. has seen a 3.3% rise in the number of new technology companies in 2016, growing to over 10,200 businesses.
- Employment in the tech sector rose 4.1%, surpassing B.C.'s overall employment growth of 3%, and national tech sector employment growth of 0.3%.
- B.C. tech wages and salaries hit a new all-time high for the sixth consecutive year, climbing 7.4% to just under $9.4 billion.
- The tech sector produced approximately $28.9 billion in revenue in 2016, a rise of 9.2% from 2015.
Learn More:
B.C. Startup in Residence program: http://gov.bc.ca/startupinresidence
A backgrounder follows.
