London strikes alliance with MaRS to stimulate regional organic growth

The MaRS Discovery District has announced that the London region will be its first geographic affiliation as part of a strategy to establish a provincial network aimed at moving promising research into the marketplace. With more than $200 million in funding and growing national brand recognition, MaRS' networking infrastructure and commercialization muscle is being viewed by several London-based institutions as a key mechanism for generating new knowledge-based companies and jobs.

London and MaRS have entered into an MOU through London's TechAlliance association and have branded the initiative MaRS London. TechAlliance represents the Univ of Western Ontario, Robarts Research Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute, Stiller Centre for Biotechnology and London Economic Development Corp. In the coming weeks, the two organizations plan to establish short-term goals for the next year. The initial focus will be on forging collaborative mechanisms in the areas of information technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

"We will share resources and best practices, recognizing London's key R&D strengths and promoting those assets throughout Ontario," says TechAlliance GM Marilyn Sinclair. "MaRS, TechAlliance and our partners are all after the same thing - to facilitate commercialization at our institutions and do it efficiently."

London suffers by comparison to other knowledge-based clusters in the province and comparable US jurisdictions, most notably Ottawa and nearby Kitchener-Waterloo. Without a major corporate anchor, London's research institutions are experiencing difficulty attracting seed and other forms of financing essential to developing a powerful private-sector engine for growth. A recently released strategic plan for London notes that the region must emphasize organic growth to overcome several negative factors including lack of capital, over-reliance on branch plan operations and lack of a "clearly defined economic destination".

"London previously had a number of head offices like Canada Trust and London Life, but they were absorbed into other companies and the decision-making left," says Paul Paulatto, a local entrepreneur and key driver behind London's Next Economy strategic plan. "The region needs to develop its own financial resources base. Kitchener-Waterloo has done a good job through its tax base. Local private investors are starting to rally around and the plan has been endorsed by the city."

TechAlliance's Sinclair agrees that neighbouring Kitchener-Waterloo provides a valuable model for emulation, particularly the work of Communitech, the local high-tech association that helped to develop strong technology transfer and networking tools. She says that the MOU with MaRS will assist in promoting the strengths of the region while it develops mechanisms to stimulate organic growth.

"The timing is right. People outside the community need to understand our strengths. We want to leverage the MaRS brand to get the word out that the region needs risk capital," says Sinclair. "We want to put London on the map for technologies like imaging and break down silos locally."

For MaRS, the MaRS London initiative will be the first test of its strategy of creating geographical affiliates. Ross Wallace, MaRS director of corporate strategy, says work will begin immediately to flesh out the MOU.

"We want to make the Ontario innovation system work. We have physical space dedicated to all provincial innovation players, the ability to run joint programs and events as well as relationships and networks," he says. "Other areas across Ontario will look at MaRS London and decide if it is replicable. Negotiations with other regions are ongoing."

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