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A new report that sheds light on the poorly understood but exploding area of contract research at Canadian universities and research hospitals concludes that the activity has a far greater economic impact than traditional technology transfer.

Growth across all sectors

Research contracts continue to surge as government and industry increasingly look to post-secondary research expertise and infrastructure to solve problems and develop new products and processes.

Russia’s attempts to develop a knowledge-based economy and diversify away from a reliance on natural resources have produced a groundbreaking memorandum of understanding with a Canadian venture capital firm to finance new start-ups in select application areas of nanotechnology.

Toronto scores major commercialization engine

The innovation engine that’s being built to improve Toronto’s weak commercialization track record just got bigger with the integration of BioDiscovery Toronto (BDT) into MaRS Innovation (MI).

A new report says increased international trade will provide the pressure and benefits to make Canada more innovative and competitive and urges governments to encourage new and deeper trade relations.

Two centres face cutbacks or closure

Canadian high performance computing (HPC) is facing an urgent funding crisis as aging equipment and insufficient operating support threaten at least two Ontario-based centres with downsizing or closure.

Israel and Canada are moving to deepen their S&T ties at the company and research levels with recent meetings in Ottawa and Toronto to respectively discuss innovation and nanotechnology. While information is scant on the August 9th Ottawa meeting (chaired by National Research Council president John McDougall on behalf of Industry minister Tony Clement), the August 10th Toronto meeting brought together research officials and nanotech experts from across Canada to meet with their Israeli counterparts including chief scientist Dr Eli Opper.

The government’s long-awaited announcement of a competition for the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) two flagship programs signal a much tougher funding environment for future university research infrastructure projects.

Part of NSERC engagement strategy

A new program designed to foster new linkages between industry and university researchers has exploded out of the gates, far surpassing initial expectations and triggering positive feedback from both sides of the collaborations.

The Canadian Arctic research Initiative (CARI) inched forward with the decision to base the planned Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay in western Nunavut. The announcement, made during prime minister Steven Harper’s annual Arctic foray, is a key step for research station’s realization — a five-year, $18-million “pre-construction design phase” announced in Budget 2010 that followed a $2-million feasibility study.