In an increasingly globalized environment for business R&D and innovation, the silence surrounding Canada’s main program for bilateral industrial R&D is perplexing.
ISTPCanada is a small yet strategic mechanism for collaborative R&D between innovative Canadian firms with companies in China, India and Brazil. Financial support from the granting councils has expanded its influence into the academic realm — a winning combination that complements the government’s current emphasis on industry-academic collaboration.
Yet ISTPCanada appears to be on the verge of closing. Its funding department — the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development — won’t shed any light on the issue as its ISTP Program is undergoing a five-year review.
So where does that leave Canada’s international efforts to support business R&D? Was ISTPCanada under performing? Does the government have new plans to strengthen Canada’s international collaborative activities? This is a program that received the support of high level elected officials so, what’s changed to justify the quiet reversal?
For a government struggling to balance the books in an election year, one could be forgiven for suspecting that the program’s future is being decided by politics rather than a lack of impact.
For small innovative firms seeking a mechanism to collaborate internationally and open up new markets, ISTPCanada seems like an ideal vehicle. If it’s not, the reasons for its probable demise need to be explained.
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