The Future of Industrial Research in Canada

November 8 2005

Ottawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Canada’s ability to compete as a nation in the global knowledge economy depends to a large extent on the vitality of its private sector. There is evidence that during the economic boom in the latter half of the 1990s, Canada experienced a drop in the number of firms conducting R&D here.
Is this a trend? Does it matter? How do government policies and programs affect the behaviour of R&D-intensive firms, and are they effective in improving Canada’s economic performance?

As companies become global players they are moving their key operations around the world. Canada has been an attractive place for foreign multinationals to locate R&D centres. Will this situation persist? Or will firms, Canadian firms included, increasingly move to emerging centres like India and China?

Business leaders from the major high tech sectors will describe their global business strategies and how R&D fits into the overall picture. We will hear from multinational corporations active in Canada, entrepreneurs running Canadian firms large and small, investors and other experts. They will assess the overall environment for knowledge-based business in Canada and recommend approaches for successful commerce in a global context.

Speakers, Panelists, and Moderators include

Jeffrey Crelinsten is CEO of Research Money Inc. and publisher of RE$EARCH MONEY. He is also President and CEO of The Impact Group, a consultancy he co-founded in 1987, specializing in science, technology and innovation policy, communications and education. Jeffrey has been studying challenges facing tech entrepreneurs and the innovation ecosystems that try to support them for over 25 years. He developed the R$ conferences to bring together leaders from the private and public sector to address critical issues around innovation policy and knowledge-based commerce.

Before founding The Impact Group, Jeffrey taught science and human affairs at Concordia University and had an active career as a science documentary writer for radio and television.

Jeffrey is Senior Research Fellow at the Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. He is a founding director of the International Commercialization Alliance and is a past-President of the Canadian Science Writers Association. Jeffrey has a B.Sc. in physics from McGill University, a M.Sc. in astronomy from University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in history of science and science policy from University of Montreal.

Mark has written extensively on research and innovation policy and funding issues since 1994. As the Editor of RE$EARCH MONEY, he has interviewed hundreds of industry executives, senior government officials, research managers and other leaders in Canada’s science, technology and innovation communities. Mark has worked as a journalist and editor for several publications over the past 35 years, including “Network Letter, Report on Wireless”, “Canadian Communications Reports”, “The Electronics Communicator” and “The Ottawa Citizen”. He resides in Ottawa and is an avid music and film aficionado.