The Interactive Project Lab (IPL) is a rare opportunity for interactive media specialists to bring their prototype to the attention of the marketplace while enjoying the benefits of continual professional mentorship, initial funding, and access to a world of resources. Participants in the 2005 IPL explored:

• How to pitch their vision and business model to their target audience in 10 minutes
• Strategies to expand their business into the United States and beyond
• How affinities, alliances, and networks can work for small companies
• How to protect themselves and their partners through times of development and
  transition
• The pros and cons of developing under the creative commons model
  Background

The IPL was established in 2002. The program accelerates the creative, business and technology skills of Canadian interactive media talent to foster the creation of innovative projects and viable start-up new media companies. The IPL was Canada’s first national interactive project acceleration program, in which successful prototypes selected from a Canadian-wide competition were refined and developed for the domestic and international marketplace. The IPL offers a series of opportunities for interactive media producers and projects including: prototype acceleration programs, intensive development clinics, funding resources and professional international mentorship.

Designed to strengthen Canadian capability in the areas of interactive entertainment and cultural expression, the IPL is a unique partnership collectively designed and delivered by three reputable interactive media institutes: The Banff Centre’s Banff New Media Institute, Habitat New Media Lab at the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto, and L’Institut national de l’image et du son in Montreal. Together they form the Bell Globemedia Content Innovation Network (BGCIN), a national digital education, production, research, and development network linking Canada’s best new media training institutions.