Waterloo, which collaborated with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, to assess the accessibility features of the Canadian Journey banknotes. The results led to the implementation of two improvements to the design — increased durability of the raised dots used for identification and placing identification patterns for electronic banknote scanners at both ends of the banknotes. The Bank of Canada tested the prototype banknotes by exposing them to temperatures in the range . The durability test involved boiling, freezing, and running the banknotes in a washing machine. By the end of the development cycle, nearly 15 million test banknotes of various designs, implementing different security features, and using various substrates and techniques, had been printed. Research and testing for printing currency on the polymer substrate cost about , and overall development of the polymer banknotes cost about $300million. Design In 2008, the Bank of Canada hired the Strategic Counsel, a market research firm, for $476,000 to create an image catalogue from which banknote images would be drawn. The firm polled focus groups in six cities, finding that themes related to diversity and multiculturalism had strong support. This resulted in 41 images reflecting eight themes being presented to the Bank of Canada. The designs for the banknotes were created by the Canadian Bank Note Company. The Bank of Canada consulted various organizations for the design and depiction of elements appearing on the banknotes, including: the Canadian Space Agency for the $5 banknote; Via Rail and the Railway Association of Canada for the $10 banknote; Veterans Affairs Canada and the Vimy Foundation for the $20 banknote; ArcticNet, the Canadian Coast Guard, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for the $50 banknote; and the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Sanofi Pasteur Canada, University of Ottawa, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, University of Toronto, and University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine for the $100 banknote. From late 2009 to early 2012, the prototype designs were shown to 30 focus groups in Calgary, Fredericton, Montreal, and Toronto on a $53,000 contract by the Strategic Counsel to discover "potential controversies". Feedback from the focus groups led to some changes to the design, and results of the study were released to the public in 2012. The report stated that themes of diversity, inclusiveness, acceptance of others, and multiculturalism had strong support in the focus groups. The highest-rated images included two