Keith Ashfield

Collaboration driving R&D in Atlantic Canada

By Keith Ashfield

It's a fact of life in today's world that robust research and development (R&D) is central to healthy, productive, sustainable economies. The fruits of innovation — whether they emerge from the laboratories of private industry or from colleges and universities — materially improve our standard of living, our quality of life, and our ability to compete successfully with the rest of the world.

For a variety of reasons, Atlantic Canada has historically experienced a much lower level of business-performed research than the national average. Our post-secondary institutions have carried out the bulk of that research activity.

Our colleges and universities, because of their essential role in Atlantic Canada's innovation system, are viewed as key partners in improving the overall level of research activity in the region. They are also instrumental is forging stronger linkages between the research community and industry.

Today, this growing culture of collaboration is showing sustained results. We are seeing continued growth in many technology-based sectors of the Atlantic economy and the strengthening of local and regional innovation systems. Significantly, we are witnessing improved growth in business-performed R&D across the region.

According to Statistics Canada, business-performed R&D, as a share of gross expenditures on R&D, increased by an impressive 53% between 2000 and 2006. Between 2005 and 2007, Atlantic Canada led the nation in the percentage of university research funded by business.

Nonetheless, the level of business-performed research in Atlantic Canada still falls below the Canadian national average. It also falls below the levels of research in leading innovative nations such as the United States, Japan and Finland, where business accounts for more than 60% of the national R&D effort.

But the progress in Atlantic Canada reflects a welcome and critical shift in the region's technology-based economy. The growth in Atlantic Canada's private sector R&D has been concurrent with sustained efforts to enhance commercialization and industry-institutional linkages. It has fed off a determined advance by our post-secondary community to play a leadership role in this transformation through initiatives like Springboard Atlantic. And it has been propelled by the emergence of dynamic new technology-based industry clusters across the region.

As Atlantic Canada closes the gap on these national and international R&D benchmarks, and with plans to exceed them, it's instructive to consider what lies behind this compelling progress.

First, within Atlantic Canada there is a broadly shared consensus on the mission. In recent years, the region has witnessed an unparalleled convergence of government, academic and private sector interests in the areas of innovation and R&D. These stakeholders have come together, as never before, to proactively chart the region's course as an increasingly competitive jurisdiction for commercializing technologies, and for encouraging the best and the brightest innovators and researchers in fields as varied as aerospace design and manufacturing; pharmaceutical research and production; genetic research; marine sciences; and alternative energy development.

Secondly, we have an important tool to work with. The Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF), one of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)'s flagship programs, has been a powerful contributor to this effort. It is the single largest source of R&D funds in Atlantic Canada. Launched in 2001, six rounds of the AIF have committed close to $575 million in regional R&D, leveraging nearly as much private sector spending. In fact, the percentage of private-sector-led AIF projects has risen steadily from 36% to more than 57% in the most recent round of activity.

The Paris-based Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development recently stated: "AIF has proven to be a key catalyst in encouraging partnerships among businesses, the research community and higher education institutions". And a report by Statistics Canada in 2006 identified AIF as a key driver behind the growth of R&D in Atlantic Canada.

ACOA's approach to innovation, and its collaboration with a wide range of public sector, business and institutional partners across the region, strongly reflect and support the broader objectives of the federal government's strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage.

The success of the AIF program is tied to the strong partnerships it has engendered with the private sector and higher education. When it comes to improving our regional innovation capacity, ACOA's mandate is clear: work with partners and stakeholders in the community to align investments in key sectors; help support the growth of research clusters in both urban and rural areas; and promote Atlantic Canada's capacity to carry out leading-edge research in specialized areas and technology domains.

Simply put, this collaborative approach works. It has translated into more than 170 AIF projects currently underway, involving more than 30 universities, colleges and research institutes and retaining more than 1,700 top-notch researchers in the Atlantic region. In addition, more than 100 international R&D partnerships between Atlantic Canada, the United States and Europe exist as a result of AIF programming.

All of which invites another question: What more should Atlantic Canada do to enhance its R&D capacity in the years to come?

Though the region is clearly gaining traction on the innovation front, we have more progress to make. We must continue to encourage the development of private sector R&D capacity; capitalize on existing industry and research excellence and promote continued collaboration among all of the stakeholders in our local and regional innovation systems.

Atlantic Canada is making an important and growing contribution to Canada's research capabilities and innovation performance. As we imagine our country's place and influence in the world, above all else, we need to remember — brain power breeds global leadership. In this knowledge-intensive, global economy, research and innovation are keys to Canada's future competitiveness and prosperity.

The Honourable Keith Ashfield is minister of state for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)