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Numbers

Number 20 / Volume 25 / December 22, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

The grandiose expectations of the biotechnology revolution associated with the heady days of the tech boom have faded from memory, but the platform technologies associated with it are expected to continue contributing to Canada’s economy for the foreseeable future.

Canada Foundation for Innovation lays out plans to broaden scope of support

New strategic roadmap

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) intends to encourage greater research collaboration between academia and the private sector by broadening the range of activities it supports, according to a new strategic roadmap that spells out its intentions for the next five years.

TRRA study examines which college and university attributes best meet industry needs

Southern Ontario manufacturing focus

Proximity and communication are key to expanded interaction between business and the academic sector in southern Ontario, according to a new study commissioned by the Toronto Regional Research Alliance (TRRA).

Looking beyond Canada for innovation that works

Analysis

By Dr WE (Ted) Hewitt

In releasing their long-anticipated report this fall, the members of the Expert Panel for the Review of Federal Support to Business Research & Development have done this country a great service.

Opinion Leader:
Brian Wixted and Adam Holbrook

Dr Brian Wixted

Are charities and foundations the new arbiters of research funding policy?
By Brian Wixted and Adam Holbrook

With the recent Jenkins report and the attention business R&D gets in the media and in academia, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there are only two sources of R&D funding — government and business.

Report authors say Canada needs to act or risk falling behind competition

HPC and cyberinfrastructure

A report on the state of Canadian high performance computing (HPC) and cyberinfrastructure (CI) wants a small group of experts convened quickly to determine future needs or risk falling behind other nations that have made them a priority for developing their knowledge-based economies.

Study estimates value of Canadian biotechnology will reach 4% of GDP by 2030

Commissioned by Genome Canada

A major new report on the production and use of biotechnology in Canada estimates the sector will continue its rapid growth over the next 18 years to a value of $144 billion, accounting for 4% of Canada’s nominal GDP by 2030.

News Bites

News Briefs

PPI strikes second licensing deal with Bayer CropScience

Nordion boosts revenue as AECL reactor back on line

NRC maps employees to new organizational structure

NRC and Bombardier sign framework agreement

iNovia Capital creates third venture capital fund

New institute to move discovery into clinical trials

Mitacs and RDC fund 100 Memorial internships

People

Dr Diane Finegood

Number 19 / Volume 25 / December 9, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

The inability of the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) to generate enough revenue to sustain themselves after five years has been known since the program’s inception. Despite widespread recognition of this fundamental flaw, the federal government has done nothing to rectify the situation.

Report recommends allowing CECRs to apply for extended funding support

Sustainability remains key issue

The initial success of the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program could be jeopardized unless the government provides more time for the centres to achieve sustainability, concludes a new report industry leaders overseeing its activities.

New industry association to accelerate adoption of photonics-driven applications

By Debbie Lawes

The 12-year-old Canadian Institute for Photonics Innovation (CIPI) will be re-born April 1 as a new industry-led organization, marking the end of its two terms as a Networks of Centres of Excellence.

U of T's Institute for Optical Sciences applies student-driven commercialization strategy

The Univ of Toronto’s Institute for Optical Sciences (IOS) is taking steps to ensure that graduates in the physical sciences and engineering stay in Canada by helping them create their own companies. Concerned with the number of graduates heading to the US for career opportunities, the IOS has established a novel commercialization program that creates start-ups in which the graduates have a major equity stake — one of nine programs that shared $4.

Your Opinions are Welcome

Your Opinions are Welcome

What’s your take on the current state and future of Canadian science and technology?

What are the most pertinent issues and what can be done to ensure that Canada is a leading exponent of the knowledge-based economy?

RE$EARCH MONEY welcomes your submissions — 1,000 words in length preferred.

Opinion Leader:
Amy Lemay

Amy Lemay

Measuring science’s other bottom lines
By Amy Lemay

In 1928, Abraham Flexner gave a series of lectures at Oxford on the aims of the modern university and the great challenges threatening society. His insights are eerily similar to those we hear today regarding “the accelerated rate of social change and the relatively more rapid progress in the physical and biological sciences”.

CMC gears up to provide commercialization services to research community and industry

Four years after its conception, a new commercialization engine is being launched by CMC Microsystems aimed at creating start-ups and providing services for companies seeking competitive advantage through the increased application and use of microsystems.

ORF competitions cancelled as government launches new regional development funds

In a sign of the worsening fiscal environment, the Ontario government has cancelled the next two rounds of its flagship Ontario Research Funds – Research Excellence (ORF-RE) program competition and transferred the money to two recently created regional development funds.

Analysis: Is Canadian business as innovative as it needs to be? By Peter Nicholson

While the definition of innovation is fuzzy around the edges, there is no doubt that Canadian business, on the whole, is an innovation laggard by all the standard indicators, such as R&D as a share of revenue, patents per capita, proportion of scientists and engineers in the labour force, etc.

News Bites

News Briefs

Government launches second CERC competition

GreenCentre spin-off attracts $3.2 million

Nuvo Research acquires 100% of subsidiary

Genomics-based test for forest pathogens funded

Industrial R&D projected to increase 5% in 2011

Granting councils release new research integrity policy

Updated national building energy code released

FedDev gives $2 million to angel groups

Feds announce $21M for new networks and projects

New KM Networks

Support for SMEs

Number 18 / Volume 25 / November 29, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

Enough reports! The increasingly loud calls for government to stop studying and start acting obviously haven’t been getting through. Industry Canada has called upon the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) to strike an Expert Panel on the State of Industrial Research and Development in Canada (see page 4).

Canadian Science Policy Conference outlines plans for future expansion

Funding remains key issue

The Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) is quickly becoming the go-to event for young science graduates and veteran policy makers as the largest conference of its kind in Canada.

Xerox Canada opens Mississauga labs to SMEs; in talks with province to expand model

By Debbie Lawes

Xerox Canada Limited is pitching the Ontario government on a new commercialization model that would see large multinational corporations open their doors to early stage companies, SMEs and universities needing access to specialized research, testing and scale up facilities.

Council of Canadian Academies asked to assess industrial research and development

Industry Canada has asked the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) to assemble an Expert Panel on the State of Industrial Research and Development in Canada to examine existing and emerging areas of Canadian R&D strength and how they compare on a global basis.

Harper affirms support for continuing Canada-China S&T collaboration

Prime minister Stephen Harper’s re-announcement of funding for joint R&D projects between Canada and China is being viewed as a key gesture of support for bilateral S&T and an expectation that the level of funding for such international engagement could increase as early as the next federal Budget.

Opinion Leader:
Peter Milley

Peter Milley

Universities – Underutilized strategic assets?
By Peter Milley

In recent months, a number of articles and blogs have expressed concerns about the role of universities in our local, regional and national economies that seem to be based on perceptions of limited institutional concern for stimulating economic growth and activity.

Public sector union calls for blue ribbon panel to examine government science

The union representing federal scientists and technicians is calling for a blue ribbon panel to examine government R&D and a reinstatement of the Office of the national Science Advisor to ensure that the national innovation system has “three solid and mutually supporting pillars for science in Canada”.

Refunded government genomics initiative to become more targeted and collaborative

Stronger academic involvement envisioned

The federal government has renewed the Genomics Research and Development Initiative (GRDI) for the fifth time since its launch in 1999 with $59.7 million over three years.

Universities boost sponsored research income by 3.6% but federal cuts anticipated

Sponsored research income at Canadian universities continued its long growth curve, posting a modest 3.6% increase in 2010 to $6.46 billion for the nation’s top 50 institutions. But planned cutbacks at the federal and provincial levels to rein in runaway deficits may curtail the longest expansion of university research in Canadian history.

IRAP delivers ICT support to SMEs as part of government's Digital Economy Strategy

The latest plank of the (to date unreleased) Digital Economy Strategy (DES) has been unveiled with an $80-million, two-and-a-half-year pilot program designed to assist small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) enhance productivity through the adoption of information and communications technologies (ICT).

News Bites

News Briefs

GSK launches $50-million Canadian VC fund

Grand Challenges funds emerging nations innovation

CLS has positive economic impact: study

Historic NRC facility gets $8.5-million energy upgrade

Statoil and RDC fund chairs in reservoir engineering

Cangene Corp to fund Alzheimer's research

Correction

People

Dr Geneviève Tanguay

Kathleen Sendall

Michael O'Brien

Number 17 / Volume 25 / November 11, 2011

Editorial:
Mark henderson, Editor

It’s becoming clear that, by the time the federal government reviews the recommendations of the Jenkins Report, the transformation of the National Research Council will be largely complete. Under the leadership of president John McDougall, the NRC is evolving into a research technology organization (RTO) with a greater emphasis on meeting client needs through a strategically focused complement of technology portfolios and ever-changing programs.

NRC pushes ahead with plans to recast itself as a research technology organization

Goodyear expresses support

The federal government must decide whether to accept advice recommending the dismantling of the National Research Council (NRC) or stick with the path of transformation now underway at the 96-year-old organization.

Canada-US innovation summit seeks to boost economic prosperity through innovation

Outdated policies must be replaced

Outdated policies and regulations pose a greater problem to US-Canada innovation than traditional competitors and emerging nations, delegates at a bi-national innovation summit heard last week.

Royal Society developing strategic framework

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has released a draft strategic framework to guide the society between 2012 and 2017 — the first time the 130-year-old organization has undertaken such an exercise. Prepared by Deloitte, the framework will be modified with the input of several task forces now in the field before a final document is submitted at its annual general meeting in Ottawa later this month.

Opinion Leader:
Dr Yves Gingras

Dr Yves Gingras

Time for an independent science council
By Dr Yves Gingras

Anyone who talks about the “knowledge economy” will undoubtedly utter the word innovation. Governments are proud to showcase their “innovation strategies” and ministers are convinced that in our “global world” (another buzz phrase) no society can thrive without innovation.

Canada missing opportunities to use procurement to stimulate innovation: Report

By Debbie Lawes

Canada is doing a poor job of exploiting exemptions in trade agreements that would give homegrown technology companies — particularly small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs)— preferential treatment on government contracts, concludes a second report by an expert panel reviewing federal support for R&D.

Corporate R&D outlays pulled down in 2010 by Nortel and TELUS, new data show

Spectacular declines by TELUS Corp and the now-defunct Nortel Networks Corp led to the worst drop in corporate R&D spending in recent memory as Canada’s Top 100 R&D-performing firms posted $9.64 billion in outlays, a 9.

WiSense accelerates adoption of wireless sensor network technologies

A key research project at the Univ of Ottawa is exploring new ways of expanding the use of wireless sensor networks as increased sophistication of the technology and lower manufacturing costs open up a whole new range of applications.

News Bites

News Briefs

Ontario asks CCA to assess innovation investments

CANARIE releases economic benefits analysis

TCAG receives $5.1 million in Genome Canada funding

Ontario-Quebec life science collaboration focus of meeting

People

Pierre Lassonde

Namir Anani

Tom Barker

Number 16 / Volume 25 / October 31, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

There’s a lot to like. The Expert Panel Report on Federal Support for Business R&D offers a compelling suite of recommendations for making government support for business innovation more effective, accountable and targeted.

Groundswell of debate greets report's fix for largest business R&D support program

Jenkins Panel: SR&ED

The release of the Jenkins Panel report on federal support for business innovation has unleashed a torrent of debate over a suite of proposals designed to enhance Canadian innovation by boosting corporate R&D spending.

Jenkins Panel calls for new Innovation Advisory Council to replace STIC

The Jenkins Panel is calling for the creation a new Innovation Advisory Council (IAC) that engages the government at the highest level and makes its advice public except in cases where transparency is constrained by the tax code or threatens business confidentiality.

OMERS' new VC fund designed to support tech firms through entire life cycle

One of Canada’s largest pension funds is making a serious foray into venture capital investing with a commitment to deploy $180 million over the next three years — the largest pool of patient, long-term capital in the country -— and the prospect of much more to come.

Ontario's S&T portfolio moves back to economic development

Ontario’s experiment with a ministry devoted solely to science and technology has ended after only six years. The Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) has been merged with the Ministry of Economic Development as part of a smaller Cabinet, unveiled following the re-election of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government.

S&T community reacts to Jenkins panel report on federal support for business R&D

Reaction is split on two key recommendations by the Expert Panel Report on Federal Support to Research and Development to change the eligibility rules for R&D tax credits and fundamentally alter the structure of the National Research Council (NRC).

Opinion Leader:
Dr Richard Hawkins

Dr Richard Hawkins

Jenkins Report a welcome breed apart
By Dr Richard Hawkins

The report of the Jenkins expert panel is the latest in a string of federally commissioned studies about innovation policy in Canada. With the notable exception of the 2009 report from the Council of Canadian Academies, which in many respects is the conceptual blueprint for the Jenkins report, these earlier efforts were frankly of indifferent quality and limited vision.

Panel's call for dismantling NRC may clash with management's current overhaul

Jenkins Report: NRC

The recommendation by the Jenkins Panel to break up the National Research Council (NRC) could put it on a collision course with NRC management which is overhauling the 96-year-old organization to attract more industry funding for its activities.

Federal S&T spending projected to decline following two-year stimulus funding bump

Most departments and agencies register declines

Federal spending on S&T fueled by stimulus funding reached an all-time high of $11.87 billion in FY10-11 but is projected to drop back by 5.0% to $11.

Funding taps from all sources tightening on higher education sector

Years of substantial increases to the R&D budgets of the higher education sector have ground to a halt with little prospect that the glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s will return anytime soon.

Canada establishes world's first national commercialization consortium

Canada may not score high on national innovation indicators but it has taken the lead internationally in tackling the challenge with the first national consortium dedicated to boosting commercialization of publicly funded research and connecting homegrown companies with global markets.

News Bites

News Briefs

BDC earmarks $200M for ICT loans

Partners invest $20M in livestock genomics research

China, Canada to build Alzheimer's research centre

CSA awards six space exploration contracts

Panel to advise on intern'l education strategy

People

Brad Duguid

Drew McNaughton

Dr Nadine Caron

Dr Yves Alarie

Number 15 / Volume 25 / October 17, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

Reading the Jenkins Panel report on federal support for business R&D is a lot like riding a rollercoaster. The panel’s articulation of its vision for an innovative Canada is often exhilarating, with a suite of recommendations clearly intended to move Canada up the ranking of innovative economies.

Jenkins report calls for dismantling of National Research Council, less SR&ED and more direct support for business R&D

A long-awaited report being released today is calling for the complete dismantling of the National Research Council (NRC) and significant reductions in the federal R&D tax credit program with the savings shifted to programs that directly support business R&D.

Canada requires national strategy for intellectual property: CIC report

Canadian indifference to intellectual property (IP) must be met with a concerted national strategy to ensure that investments in S&T are not squandered, according to a new report from the Canadian International Council (CIC).

Deloitte report places SR&ED in global context

A new report that provides a global comparison of Canada’s tax regime for corporate R&D has been released in advance of the report by Expert Panel Review of Federal Support to Research and Development, which was released today.

Opinion Leader:
Dr Jeffrey Crelinsten

Jeffrey Crelinsten

Understanding commercialization
By Dr Jeffrey Crelinsten

Commercialization is one of those opaque words that have as many meanings as the number of people using it. Ask a university researcher and you’ll hear it’s about licensing his or her technology to a company.

Jim Roche back at the helm of CANARIE to lead organization's critical renewal efforts

Mark Roman steps down after six months

Jim Roche is back in the driver’s seat at CANARIE to steer the organization through a key phase of its mandate renewal following the unexpected resignation of president and CEO Mark Roman October 12th after just six months on the job.

Seymour Schulich donates $100 million to create scholarships in STEM disciplines

A $100-million donation from Canadian mining and oil sands industrialist Seymour Schulich will give graduating high school students in Canada and Israel the chance to compete for scholarships in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM).

News Bites

News Briefs

SGC launches third phase with $49.9 million in funding

WD provides funds for mass spectrometers at UVic

GreenCentre Canada licenses pharma catalyst

CRC announce 253 new and renewed chairs

Roche funds joint research projects with CDRD

Nunavut Research Institute re-opens following upgrades

UW signs MOUs with Brazilian research institutions

China promotes increased S&T trade with Canada

IBM acquires Toronto-based Platform Computing Inc

NSERC launches college research chairs program

People

Dr Robert Walker

Dr Gordon McBean

Bruce Lazenby

Number 14 / Volume 25 / September 28, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

There’s nothing like a looming recession and the prospect of severe fiscal restraint to send a chill through the S&T community. Program cancellations and cutbacks mixed with delays in key reports and policy documents send the rumour mill into overdrive, with some predicting a full onslaught against research and S&T.

Oil sands consortium members tackle growing tailings problem by pooling IP

Range of technologies being developed

Canada’s largest oil sands producers have agreed to share intellectual property (IP) for technologies they’re developing to reduce and clean wet tailings generated during surface mining as part of a new consortium that promises to inject at least $90 million annually into R&D.

Digital Economy Strategy delay raises concern over government commitment

Is the Digital Economy Strategy (DES) still a strategy? Does the long delay in its release indicate a lessening in the newly elected Conservative government’s commitment to boosting Canada’s role in all things digital? These are just two of the questions that have been swirling around in policy circles as the S&T community waits for the long-awaited DES to emerge from the Ottawa bureaucracy into the light of day.

Feasibility of a science policy centre on the agenda for upcoming conference

Fragmented policy landscape cited

This year’s Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) could be Canada’s best chance in years to create a central resource for S&T policy coordination, skills development and research into science, technology and innovation.

ArcticNet plans to use largest funding award in NCE history to advance research agenda

ArcticNet has received $67.3 million to implement a second seven-year phase of operations as one of the most successful of the classic Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE). The funding for 2011-2018 represents a 47% increase over ArcticNet’s first seven years as an NCE, allowing it to launch 12 new research projects focused on Inuit health, education and culture and two new research chairs while renewing 22 existing projects.

Opinion Leader:
David Crane

David Crane

Confronting Canada’s innovation problem
By David Crane

If there’s one thing that policymakers agree on it is that Canada has a serious innovation problem, and that this threatens our future well-being as a country.

Precarn to close its doors despite making pitch to support Digital Economy Strategy

Victim of bad timing?

Precarn Inc is ceasing operations 24 years after being launched to stimulate R&D and commercialization in the areas of robotics and intelligent systems. The program is being killed just one year following its second proposal to expand its scope to information and communications technologies (ICT) and align itself with the much anticipated Digital Economy Strategy (DES).

CCSIP in limbo as financial pressures in California delay funding for new projects

The future of the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) appears to be hanging in the balance, with no new projects or funding from either side forcing the organization into a period of hibernation.

Zarlink Semiconductor accepts takeover offer from California-based Microsemi

Zarlink Semiconductor Inc has become the latest homegrown Canadian high-tech firm to be sold to a foreign buyer. The Ottawa-based, virtually fables semiconductor firm is being purchased by Microsemi Corp, Aliso Viejo CA, for US$525 million.

News Bites

News Briefs

Arctic research station moves into design phase

Amika Mobile wins CICP contract for CRC

PrioNet researchers find link between prions and ALS

First Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships awarded

Gamerizon received $5-million private placement

People

Karna Gupta

Dr Xiao-Gang Wen

Kevin Norton

Number 13 / Volume 25 / September 13, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

A new report on jointly developed cross-border intellectual property (IP) collaboration could provide powerful new ammunition for Canadian governments in their quest for increased foreign direct investment.

Post-secondary sector taking cautious approach to pre-Budget submissions

Fiscal restraint, R&D review panel cited

A cost-cutting strategic operating review and the pending report from the federal R&D review panel are producing a chill in the pre-Budget submissions to government, with fewer organizations and individuals proposing significant new spending for R&D and innovation.

Springboard to strengthen its industry focus with $8.5 million in new ACOA funding

Springboard Atlantic Inc is establishing a new fund to boost its technology commercialization efforts as part of new funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). The $8.5-million investment over three years will facilitate the creation of the Innovation Mobilization Program (IMP) as part of a new strategic plan to be released this fall.

BC government provides an additional $25 million in funding for Genome BC

The British Columbia government is investing an additional $25 million in Genome BC, increasing its support for the agency’s current-five year plan to $75 million. The latest funding is expected to leverage $265 million from other sources for a total of $340 million, significantly more than the amount raised in the previous 2005-2010 five-year strategy.

Ontario chosen as site for investment and development mandate from Hoffman La-Roche

$190 million over five years

Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann La Roche AG has awarded a global development mandate to Roche Canada and a commitment to invest $190 million over five years in a global pharmaceutical development site in Mississauga ON.

Opinion Leader:
Paul Dufour

Paul Dufour

Requiem for a science council
By Paul Dufour

Spare a thought for public and transparent science advisory councils in Canada. They have all gone the way of the dodo. This summer, readers of RE$EARCH MONEY were alerted to the elimination of one of our original science advisory councils — Quebec’s Conseil de la science et de la technologie (CST) (R$, July 22/11).

Report highlights key factors in successful cross-border intellectual property management

US more restrictive than Canada

Canadian university researchers seeking to engage in collaborative research with their US counterparts need a far greater understanding of the rules and regulations surrounding intellectual property (IP) in the two jurisdictions to achieve successful outcomes, says a first-of-its-kind report released this month by a committee of the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP).

Ontario Liberals highlight past, future S&T actions while opposition parties largely silent

If the Ontario election on October 6th was fought on the parties’ stands on science and technology, research and innovation, the Liberal Party would win in a landslide. Of the three major parties, the governing Liberals are the only ones to even provide lip service, highlighting actions taken during their tenure in the areas of clean energy, higher education and increased foreign direct investment.

Canada strong in astronomy & astrophysics research, according to new bibliometric report

Canada is a world leader in astronomy and astrophysics research, ranking fifth among the top 15 leaders in the field, according to a bibliometric survey on behalf of the National Research Council. The survey — conducted by Montreal-based Science Metrix — found that Canada has boosted its standing from ninth to fifth since 1998 and is particularly strong when gauged by the impact of the research on the scientific community.

News Bites

News Briefs

Project to use battery packs for renewable power storage

Gas hydrate projects receive funding

Magna receives $48M grant for electric car development

Cisco makes major R&D commitment to Ontario

McMaster to undertake oil sands research project

Second AIMS institute opens in Senegal

Saskatchewan and Hitachi sign nuclear medicine MOU

People

Dr Kate Moran

Pat Mortimer

Paul Dufour

Number 12 / Volume 25 / August 9, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

Does Canada really need a replacement nuclear reactor for research purposes? That’s the central question facing the federal government as it prepares to examine the fate of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd following the sale of its CANDU commercial division to SNC Lavalin.

Federal government setting sights on AECL's research laboratories

Range of options available

Canada’s nuclear S&T community is anxious to learn more about the fate of the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) — the nation’s largest major science facility — following the sale of the CANDU division of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) to SNC Lavalin.

Canadian tech transfer encouraged to stay with AUTM as organization restructures

Canada is about to lose its guaranteed seat on the board of the US-based Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) but that doesn’t mean that Canadian technology transfer personnel are giving up on the organization.

Impact of economic downturn lingers as business R&D continues to disappoint

New data from Statistics Canada show that industrial R&D spending in Canada is extending the decline that began with the onset of the 2008 economic downturn. Projections for 2010 show that companies spent an estimated $14.

If cost recovery in government labs is worth doing, it is worth doing right

Analysis

By Denzil Doyle

For the past decade or so, pressure has been mounting on the managers of government laboratories to generate more revenue through the sale of services and technology to the private sector.

Opinion Leader:
Emmanuel Mongin and Renata Osika

Renata Osika

The growing need for open science
By Emmanuel Mongin and Renata Osika

For decades, public funding for science has been provided on the premise that a better understanding of the fundamental sciences will ultimately lead to a more prosperous and healthier society.

Business and academia gear up to influence government review of AECL Nuclear Labs

Process could take years

The pending sale of the CANDU division of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd to SNC Lavalin has once again raised hopes within the materials science and other nuclear research communities that the federal government may finally approve construction of a new reactor at Chalk River ON.

CCA works to diversify funding, assessment sources as it plans beyond current mandate

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) is developing a long-term, diversified funding strategy as it enters the second half of its 10-year funding agreement with Industry Canada. The move — along with closer ties to its member academies and a broader range of experts on its assessment panels — was recommended by an expert panel that recently reported on the CCA’s activities for its first five years of operation.

Direct support for business among recommendations to Finance committee

Direct support for business R&D, more innovation clusters, stronger engineering design and open access to scientific data are required to ensure that Canada does not squander its major invest- ments in basic research and public education, says a major scientific body.

News Bites

News Briefs

MaRS Phase II back on track

Environment Canada to lose 700 positions

Feds announced 167 more Vanier Scholarships

CICP pre-qualifies 19 firms for government contracts

OraSure to acquire Kanata's DNA Genotek

GestureTek sells some tech assets to Qualcomm

People

Dr Denis Thérien

Bogdan Ciobanu

Number 11 / Volume 25 / July 22, 2011

Editorial:
Mark Henderson, Editor

The Jenkins report on federal R&D spending can’t come a moment too soon. Tagged to advise government on how to more effectively spend its R&D dollars and support innovation, the work of the expert panel is occurring at a critical evolution in Canadian S&T.

STIC report finds few improvements in Canada's innovation performance

Significant strides in deepening the knowledge talent pool have done little to offset Canada’s declining productivity and innovation capacity, according to the second biannual State of the Nation report issued by the Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC).

Dr Rémi Quirion to take the helm as Quebec's inaugural chief scientist

Quebec appointed its first chief scientist after months of delay but has scrapped its original plan to fully integrate the three provincial granting councils after concerns were raised by the scientific community.

Pitfalls to avoid in applied research and scholastic pursuits at colleges

Dr Deepak Srinivasagupta

The Canadian collegiate system touches virtually every community in Canada. Historically, Canada’s colleges and technical institutes have focussed on their education and training mandates.

Opinion Leader:
Ron Freedman

Ron Freedman

Could Canada’s innovation cup be half full?
By Ron Freedman

Can things really be this bad? The Science, Technology and Innovation Council’s 2011 state of the nation report contains the typical compendium of statistics purportedly showing how badly Canada is doing at research and innovation.

R&D-to-sales ratio for Rx&D members declines for eighth consecutive year to $1B

Pharmaceutical R&D slumping

The decline in pharmaceutical R&D investment in Canada is accelerating with the latest data showing a 7.4% drop in expenditures by all companies and nearly 12% for those who are members of Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D).

Quebec report recommends compulsory training of students in IP management

By Alex Navarre

The final report from the Conseil de la science et de la technologie (CST) concludes that intellectual property (IP) is at the heart of innovation strategies that are increasingly driven by collaborations and market opportunities.

News Bites

News Briefs

Toyota receives Automotive Innovation Fund support

Ontario-India seeking life sciences projects

Pilot plant for hydrogen production receives $2.7M

PrionNet provides $2.9 million for 11 projects

NSERC funds youth science promotion across Canada

NINT receives three microscopes worth $15M

Open Text acquires Global 360 for $260 million

Westport enters R&D agreement with GM

Performance Plants signs deal with Chinese firm

Agreement will launch open innovation projects

DVS Sciences receives $14.6 million in series A financing

People

Dr Rémi Quirion

Dr Edward McCauley

Dr Yves Joanette