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TOP 100 Corporate R&D Spenders

New data show that Nortel Networks Corp has plenty of company when it comes to disappointing R&D performance. Of Canada’s Top 100 reporting firms, 55 either spent less or the same amount in FY03 as they did the year before, resulting in a 5.

A new Health Technology Strategy has been issued by a task group mandated at the 2003 First Ministers Meeting on health care to develop recommendations on how Canada can improve its assessment of health technology.

November 9 in Ottawa

Commercialization of Canadian research is fast becoming one of the most pressing issues facing governments today. While there is agreement on its necessity for boosting productivity and enhancing innovation, no such consensus exists for how it can best be achieved.

CFI New Opportunities awards

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has made another major investment in new researchers under its New Opportunities Fund (NOF). The CFI awarded $18.2 million to support the work of 160 researchers in 135 projects in 32 institutions.

Nov 30 to Dec 2 in Ottawa: Symposium on Network Enabled Operations (NEOps). Hosted by Defence R&D Canada, the international symposium will seek to gather consensus on networking requirements for national security.

Government policy makers must adopt more robust models for commercialization and innovation if Canada is to close the prosperity gap with competing jurisdictions. That’s the conclusion of the most recent working paper from Ontario’s Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (ICP).

By Debbie Lawes

Canada’s biotechnology sector says it is facing a “pending crisis” unless immediate action is taken to deal with a dearth of experienced executives and managers who can navigate companies through the complex process of commercialization.

Speech from the Throne

There was more than the usual anticipation leading up to last week’s Speech from the Throne, the Liberal government’s first as a minority government and one that would indicate any change in the priority for science and technology (S&T).

Analysis

The federal government’s much vaunted Innovation Strategy has been shelved. After more than a year of near silence, the demise of the Strategy is possibly one of the worst kept secrets within policy circles and throughout the S&T community.