Article Type: Generic

Industry Canada has begun fleshing out the ambitious targets underpinning the Innovation Strategy, projecting the share of R&D each sector is expected to fund and perform by 2010. The new information is contained in its most recent report on federal S&T for 2002.

Projects funded under the inaugural round of the Canada’s Foundation for Innovation’s new $500-million Research Hospital Fund (RHF) are being tied to proposals made under the CFI’s current Innovation Fund (IF) competition.

Aim to underpin Innovation Strategy

Three national, not-for-profit corporations operating within the critical interface between university research and industry are banding together to explore the potential for increased collaboration and to raise awareness for their self-described 4th pillar organizations.

Who controls process remains unresolved

A draft report from a key Innovation Strategy workshop on developing commercialization capacity has established a course of action and a three-year timeframe to tackle what many consider to be the most pressing obstacle in Canada’s drive to become a truly innovative nation.

Assistance hinges on federal buy-in

Canada’s efforts to remain in the running to host the massive $14-billion ITER fusion project are getting down to the wire as the competition heats up over which country will be selected.

A new company created by Canadians and headquartered in New York has assembled an impressive team of high-powered, international executives to assist struggling technology companies in securing global markets for their products.

It’s been called the commercialization gap and the valley of death, and it threatens to derail hundreds of Canadian biotechnology firms that are moving products and technologies towards the marketplace.

Critical mass of expertise

Toronto’s best bet for improving its commercialization performance for medical and biomedical research was officially unveiled with the launch of the Medical and Related Discoveries (MaRS) Discovery District project.

Investment by Canada’s venture capital industry took a steep dive in the first three months of this year, managing disbursements of just $305 million – the lowest level of activity since 1998. The absence of larger deals in the telecommunications and other information technology sectors was cited as a major reason for the precipitous decline which has hit the Ottawa region particularly hard.

The Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA) will examine the federal government’s internal and external science and technology linkages for a new report slated for release next Spring. The intent is to learn more about existing linkages and how they can be enhanced to bring the full weight of Canadian and international science to bear on issues requiring coordinated knowledge and action.