College research enjoys 68% increase over five years but uptapped potential remains

Investment in applied research conducted by Canada's colleges and technical institutes has increased more than 68% over five years and institutions boast more than 5,000 partnerships with the private sector. Yet that $258.4 million in FY14-15 accounts for only 2.4% of federal investments in academic R&D.

The data, contained in the 7th annual report on applied research from Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan — formerly the Association of Community Colleges of Canada), show a higher level of support from private sector ($80 million) than from the federal government ($74.7 million).

"We have a big need right now … Look at the percentage of students involved in applied research. It's 3% and the percentage of faculty is only 5% so you can imagine the potential," says Denys Amyot, CICan's president and CEO. "The main issue facing colleges is, how do they say ‘no' because there's no more capacity."

The report — Applied Research: Partnered Innovation for Businesses and Communities — cites capacity as a key challenge. It suggests that more funding is required to build college capacity, engage a greater portion of students and faculty and meet growing demand from companies seeking to collaborate. That challenge likely won't change in the near term as the latest federal Budget contained no increase in funding — a situation Amyot calls "very concerning".

"Based on the number of requests we turn down, I'm not satisfied with the amount of R&D funding. SMEs in particular depend on colleges and institutes. They have a direct impact," she says, adding that CICan no longer uses the target of 5% of post-secondary research funding for colleges. "There's no specific target but we want to see progress on a regular basis."

Progress has been most pronounced in convincing the government to increase applied research support through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. Since the launch of the College and Community Innovation Program in 2004, funding has climbed from just $1.8 million in the three-year pilot phase to $47.9 million in FY14-15.

Funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the regional agencies and a host of other federal bodies, pushed the federal total to nearly $75 million.

The report notes that funding provided from internal college resources has been successful in leveraging $199.1 million in external support but there are significant untapped resources that, if secured, could elevate the total even higher.

One area that colleges and institutes are particularly engaged in is the healthcare sector. Yet in FY14-15, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research provided just $762,000 in funding, by far the lowest of the three granting councils. SSHRC provided $2.4 million in the same year and recently launched a major new program — the Community and College Social Innovation Fund — with $15 million over three years.

"Our big challenge right now is CIHR funding. There's lots of potential," say Amyot. "We train 75% of the health professionals in the system so we have a good case for more CIHR funding. We want to be part of the solution for the high costs of the health sector. We're in discussions and there is interest."

Despite the progress, the visibility of college applied research remains stubbornly low. Amyot says while officials at the granting councils and departments such as Innovation, Science and Economic Development are aware of the R&D contributions and industry engagement achieved by colleges, they are exceptions rather than the rule.

"I spoke with a department recently and the person had no clue that IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program) funded colleges ($1.3 million in FY14-15)," says Amyot. "We are the best kept secret so there is a lot of work needed within the federal family and the provinces."

Manufacturing is by far the most active sector for applied research, with 51% of partnerships with SMEs and 55% with large corporations. It is followed in descending order by information and communications technology, natural resources and energy, environmental science and technology, health, medical and life sciences, building technology and social innovation.

In the vast majority of collaborations, the resulting intellectual property remains with the companies.

"In general, colleges and institutes value applied research activities for the benefits and opportunities they create for students and faculty, rather than financial gain," states the report

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