A lot of times the funding that you get from other programs don’t cover the same areas of business as the SR&ED program covers. In the instances where you are getting a grant, loan or reimbursement for something R&D related you need to remember one thing: you cannot double dip for funding. Some examples are as follows:

• If a funding program covers labour of those working on the same work that you would be claiming for the SR&ED program, then you would not be able to claim that labour – but you would still be able to claim the materials used, etc.
• If you’re getting funding from a program that covers equipment used for R&D, then you would still be able to claim labour, overhead, etc.
• And, if you’re getting funding from a program that covers marketing aspects, then that has absolutely no effect on your SR&ED claim, as marketing doesn’t qualify for the SR&ED program.

1. Create clear communication. Communication is one of the key ingredients in a successful team environment – you want the people on your team to feel they can approach you if there is something amiss, allowing it to be worked out, instead of simmering under the surface. Communication should also be used to inform your team of specific goals that need to be met – your team will work harder if they know what they are working towards, and why.
2. Allow team members to feel responsible. If your team has reached a goal, then allow recognize that each member has had an important part to play in reaching that goal. Also, let everyone be involved in decision making processes. If even just one person feels like they aren’t an important part of your team, the whole team could suffer.
3. Encourage collaboration. By allowing and encouraging each team member to collaborate with other team members, each person will feel like they have a sense of ownership over what the team is working on.
4. Give rewards when your team meets a target. Let’s face it – rewards motivate people. Giving rewards for meeting a target will encourage your team to work harder, and to work together, to reach goals.
5. Get team members to do what they are good at. Matching members’ strengths to their responsibilities will allow your team member to work to their fullest potential without having to learn too many new skillsets, or feeling frustrated that they cannot work to their strengths.
6. Be willing to acknowledge help. If someone offers to help you, accept it. If you need help, ask for it. And if someone has helped you, thank them. Lastly, don’t be above giving help if you’ve been asked for it.
7. Get to the bottom of the problem. If there’s a problem with the team, don’t blame someone. Instead, work towards figuring out what went wrong and how it can be fixed.
8. Define responsibilities. Everyone on your team should know what they are responsible for. If you have four members on your team, and they all think they are supposed to be responsible for one thing, that one thing will get duplicated effort spent on it, while other areas may not get any effort spent on them.
9. Meet regularly. Meeting regularly will help all team members know what is going on with projects, and will allow members to voice any concerns they may have with what they are working on, and ask for help if needed.
10. Build trust between team members. Each member of your team should feel they can trust any other team member if they need help with what they are working on.

In an attempt to promote their own manufacturers, the US government has included a “Buy American” provision in their bill that provides grants and funding for water infrastructure and system projects to cover the cost of complying with drinking water regulations.

We will post more information as we get it.

The breakdown per industry in May is as follows:

• Manufacturing incrased by 0.1%
  • Manufacturers of non-durable goods increased by 0.8%
  • Manufacturers of durable goods decreased by 0.4%
• Forestry and logging increased by 7.7%
• Construction: decreased by 1.6%
  • Residential building construction decreased by 3.8%
  • Non-residential building rose 0.8%
  • Sales of existing homes decreased by 11.3%
• Service-producing industries: down by 0.1%
• Finance and Insurance increased by 0.5%
• Retail increased by 0.3%

Source.

And it was crazy, and awesome, and intense, and all kinds of brilliant.

One of the most exciting parts was walking around the exhibition floor, seeing all the different toy and collectible manufacturers with new products that they are bringing out in the near future. Some of these items will be available in the upcoming year, but some of them are just preliminary prototypes that the companies will be modifying and improving on before bringing out the finished products.

The process for manufacturing toys and collectibles, if you look at the basic steps, isn’t too different than manufacturing anything else. And having prototypes can be a great benefit to your Scientific Research and Experimental Development claim.

Developing a prototype is a part of the iterative process that SR&ED projects typically follow – design, prototype, testing, redesign, prototype, testing, and so on, until the final objective is reached. By keeping these prototypes that you have made, you have evidence for the CRA (should a review occur) that there was systematic investigation and experimentation done during your SR&ED project.