PwC Canada's 2019 Vision to Reality Awards are now open to applicants
The Vision to Reality Awards (V2R), which are run by accounting and consulting firm PwC Canada, recognize innovative and creative Canadian organizations that are successful in converting their vision to reality. The application period runs until December 21, 2018.
PwC Canada’s awards program is open to organizations of all sizes – from game-changing startups to established companies that are shaking up the way things are done. Likewise, the awards are open to organizations from all industries and sectors. Champions will have demonstrated innovative thinking and problem solving, while creating solutions that have ‘challenged convention,’ according to PwC. Furthermore, their innovative ideas will have added value to people, businesses, or society at large.
V2R awards are distributed across four categories, with three bounded according to revenue size, and with one category reserved for public sector organizations. ‘The visionary’ award is given to a small organization, with $0-50 million in revenue (including pre-revenue), that has a new idea that is adding value to people, businesses, or society. ‘The builder’ award is given for the same sort of innovation, but eligibility is bounded to organizations with between $51 million - $1 billion in revenues.Meanwhile, ‘The reinventor’ award is presented to a company with over $1 billion in annual revenues that has transformed how it operates or interacts with customers in a way that supports overall strategy and gears the company towards future success. Finally, ‘The accelerator’ award is conferred on a public sector organization of any size that has launched a progressive initiative which positively impacts Canadians.
"Innovation is happening all across the country. V2R continues to capture and showcase organizations large and small that embrace change and strive to be at the forefront of transformation," commented Chris Dulny, Chief Innovation Officer at PwC Canada. "We look forward to highlighting and celebrating forward-thinking Canadian organizations that are driving the Canadian economy and making a difference both in Canada and around the world."
Applications will be accepted until December 21, 2018, with finalists announced in early spring of 2019, and winners honoured at an event in Toronto in May.
The V2R winners in 2018 included FREDsense Technologies of Alberta, which won the ‘visionary’ award for its portable and easy-to-use water chemistry analysis kit. BC’s Ballard Power Systems won the ‘builder’ award for an innovative electrode design and fuel cell stack that will help accelerate zero-emission fuel cell technology.
Alberta’s PLC Construction was given the ‘reinventor’ award for eliminating its data centre and moving its IT systems to a model based on cloud, field mobility, company-wide integration, and data analytics. The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal won the ‘accelerator’ award for its online platform for small claims dispute resolution services – offering self-help tools, triage services, and legal guidance.