SRC, DBJ Partner With OPM to Advance Scientific and Technological Innovation – Jamaica Information Service

The Scientific Research Council (SRC) and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) are partnering with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to provide practical support to winners and nominees of the 2026 National Innovation Awards.

This is geared towards moving Jamaican innovations beyond recognition and towards commercialization by connecting awardees and applicants with technical assistance, development support, financing, market testing and other necessary ecosystem support.

Executive Director of the SRC, Dr. Chandra Watson informed a recent JIS Think Tank that the Council’s role is to help Jamaica turn knowledge into solutions through applied research, technology development and innovation support.

“The SRC is Jamaica’s principal public agency responsible for…practical applications [of] science and technology to help support national development. We work with researchers, businesses, entrepreneurs, communities, government agencies and other partners to develop and apply science, and innovation in ways that can help improve productivity, create new sectors, as well as support industries and creation of new products,” she said.

Dr. Watson noted that the SRC’s participation in the awards is focused on ensuring that recognition leads to measurable impact.

“We’re very good at identifying what we’re doing, but we recognize that support systems are essential. The SRC will not just be helping to coordinate the event but also looking at the respective winners and applicants. We’ll be focusing on gaps [that] exist and how we can help to strengthen ideas to move it from a particular stage to impact and into market,” Dr. Watson said.

She further pointed to the need for innovators to have an ecosystem that adequately supports the full pipeline from ideation to commercialisation.

“An innovator needs technical assistance. They need research and development support, [and] we offer this through our services and our laboratory facilities at the SRC. They need assistance in developing or improving or refining their prototypes. They need help in identifying intellectual property rights and avenues through which they can protect same,” she said

“They definitely need help with financing, which is why we’re very happy that DBJ is a part of the team and working to support the National Innovation Awards,” Dr. Watson added.

The SRC will also support applicants who are not selected as award winners by building a database of their innovations and identifying the level of support needed based on where each applicant is in the development of their idea or product.

For his part, Manager of the Boosting Innovation Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE) Programme at the DBJ, Christopher Brown reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting the national innovation drive through capital, capacity development and resources to help innovative ideas become commercially viable.

“The DBJ is an institution that believes strongly in innovation [and] the simple truth is that innovation is the heartbeat of progress. It forces new thinking, new possibilities and transforms the way we live, work and think about operating,” Mr. Brown said.

He said the DBJ focuses on providing capital to businesses to help them grow through different stages, capacity development support, and connections between businesses and opportunities through different forms of capital.

For the National Innovation Awards, the DBJ is introducing financing packages for winners in each category to support movement of their innovative concepts towards commercial opportunities.

“We have identified a key gap… there are many competitions that focus on innovation, but I think what needs to be put forward to encourage our scientists to come out is some funding behind it that can help them to test the inventions that they have, whether that’s building prototypes or it’s doing market testing with validation in the market,” Mr. Brown said.

The categories for the National Innovation Awards include Food Systems, Agriculture and Bioproduction; Energy, Climate Resilience and Environmental Solutions; Manufacturing, Engineering and Industrial Solutions; Digital Transformation and Information and Communications Technology; Health, Wellness and Social Innovation; Creative Industries, Tourism and Cultural Innovation; and Education, Skills and Human Capital Development.

“We’ve decided to introduce what we call research and development vouchers or resources financing packages that our winners of each of the categories can get access to,” Mr. Brown said.

He further noted that the resources will help refine products, test market interest and support innovations moving from concept to real-life demonstration.

For more information and to apply for the 2026 National Innovation Awards, visit opm.gov.jm.

Only online applications will be accepted. The application deadline is September 14 at 11:59 p.m.