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The Vancouver-based Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) has successfully made its pitch for evolving into a national cluster for drug development and commercialization with $32 million over two years in last month’s federal Budget.

The TACCAT Network is having a significant impact on connecting companies with the expertise and state-of-the art infrastructure at its 25 member colleges and Cégeps. Comprised of 14 Technology Access Centres (TAC) and 11 Centre d’accès à la technologie (CAT) affiliated with Quebec’s community colleges, the network was launched as a two-year pilot last September to develop a common services model for industry to access TACs and share best practices among the centres.

There were many highlights at RE$EARCH MONEY’s 15th annual conference which assembled a slate of respected leaders from industry, government and academia to discuss ways of moving Canada’s innovation game to the next level.

R$ Conference

By Debbie Lawes

Canada’s innovation ecosystem is about to get a lot cozier, and according to the experts who spoke at this year’s RE$EARCH MONEY conference, that’s not only a good thing — it’s also long overdue.

An emerging national organization of clean tech companies and investors has re-issued a call for the federal government to increase investments in the sector and restructure and expand Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

New innovation agenda in development

The Liberal government has partially opened the taps on science, technology and innovation (STI) after nearly a decade of stagnant support. The 2016 Budget delivered March 22 by Finance minister Bill Morneau commits new money for university research infrastructure, the granting councils and Genome Canada, contributing to a higher-than-expected budget deficit of $29.

Quebec has delivered a balanced Budget that introduces a series of largely downstream innovation initiatives. But with little for fundamental research, the province’s science community is crediting the federal Budget for providing a much-needed funding boost.

President says major challenges overcome

The National Research Council is expanding its executive suite to implement its new outcomes-oriented strategy for assisting companies in priority areas of the economy.

Canada’s biggest research hospitals are calling on the federal government to embrace a more activist approach supporting health research by making their institutions eligible for infrastructure spending and boosting support to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).