Organization: Global Advantage Consulting Group

The Short Report – August 3, 2022: CAMH awarded the first federal psilocybin study grant; C6 Launch Systems prepares for suborbital test at a foreign spaceport; Ottawa launches calls for Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund projects, and more.

CAMH receives first CIHR grant to study psilocybin and its effect on treatment-resistant depression; Toronto-based C6 Launch Systems prepares for its first suborbital test at a foreign spaceport through its Brazilian subsidiary, Ottawa makes $40 million available for projects that deliver business supports for women entrepreneurs, and more.

New advanced research agency high on federal innovation minister’s lengthy to do list

Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is facing a very busy year, with a mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that includes more than 30 assigned tasks. They include establishing a new advanced research projects agency, launching a Canadian critical minerals strategy and a national quantum strategy and creating a global centre of excellence for eliminating methane gas emissions.

Opinion Leader: Much stronger public sector support needed for industry’s commercialization of intellectual property

More public sector support is needed to help Canadian companies generate and protect valuable intellectual property, because businesses are failing to exploit their IP and reap the economic benefits for Canadians, Daniel Katz, lead research analyst at Global Advantage Consulting Group, and Natalie Raffoul, managing partner of Brion Raffoul LLP, say in an op-ed.

Opinion Leader: A Canadian DARPA will need an enabling ecosystem to succeed

As Canada and other countries look to the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a model to drive innovation, it is vital to recognize that DARPA isn’t simply a “plug and play” model but requires a supportive, integrated ecosystem and an enabling culture, says Dr. Camille Boulet, PhD, senior partner at Global Advantage Consulting, in an op-ed.

To fuel innovation, Canada needs an R&D spending target: David Watters

Canada needs a national R&D spending target and a permanent process for building a better R&D innovation system to overcome its lagging innovation performance and fuel longterm economic growth, says David Watters, president and CEO of Global Advantage Consulting Group.

Canada needs a targeted industrial strategy to improve innovation performance, experts say

Canada’s continued poor performance in innovation and business productivity is due to a failure to link publicly funded research and innovation programs to an industrial strategy based on the country’s strengths, say innovation experts. Meanwhile, studies by University of Toronto researchers show the federal innovation agenda has negatively impacted funding for basic, investigator-driven research but hasn’t addressed the underlying problem of industrial innovation in Canada.