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The Canadian Microelectronics Corp is participating in a proposal to the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE)to develop laboratories on a chip The Network is seeking $7 million annually and will focus primarily on biomedical and environmental applications, as well as security, forensics and social policy.

The federal government’s cost recovery policy for regulatory programs stifles science-based innovation and a Treasury Board (TB) draft paper outlining a new policy is only compounding the problem. The result is reduced R&D investment, fewer science-based jobs and lost sales of nearly half a billion dollars.

Precarn Inc is looking to expand its funding base as intelligent systems and robotics expand their influence and become enabling technologies for a wide variety of sectors. Currently half way through a five-year, $20-million grant from Industry Canada, the Ottawa-based, not-for-profit national consortium is hoping that a higher profile and an extensive outreach program will bring in new funding collaborators while it ramps up discussions with the federal government to provide stable funding.

The R&D-to-sales ratio for the patented pharmaceutical industry in 2001 was the lowest in 10 years despite a healthy 12.6% increase in R&D spending, pushing the industry total to more than $1 billion for the first time.

R&D and early production stressed

An authoritative new report on the Canadian fuel cell industry is calling on the federal government to move quickly and establish a national strategy for the sector or risk losing Canada’s early dominance to rapidly gaining competitors.

Canadian Centre for Management Development

A new report says federal scientists and policy makers should act more like a rugby team than relay race runners if they want to produce research that benefits Canada and Canadians.

Federal and provincial S&T ministers have agreed to meet following the national innovation summit this November to continue discussions on how they can increase Canada’s innovation capacity.

The ministers met late last month in Vancouver but the official release only contained vague generalities such as the “need for early progress” and addressing the issue of indirect costs for university research, “the environment for biotechnology” and developing criteria for successful federal-provincial-territorial partnering.

Canada’s colleges are putting the finishing touches on a proposal to the federal government for $116 million a year to fund dedicated programs and other mechanisms to enhance their ability to conduct applied research and engage in technology transfer and commercialization.

CANARIE Inc is confident that the financial troubles of the companies contracted to build its newest broadband network for the research community won’t have a negative impact. CA*net 4 is virtually complete and will be switched on in less than one month, says CANARIE officials and the organization will then take responsibility for operating the network.

Canada’s stature in the international research community is certain to get a major boost with the announcement of funding for nine major projects aimed at increasing Canadian research infrastructure and providing access for Canadian researchers to international facilities.