Mitacs seeks $200 million from feds to enhance flagship Accelerate internship program

Pre-Budget submission

Mitacs is seeking support to dramatically increase the size and scope of its flagship Accelerate internship program and position the not-for-profit as a key mechanism for boosting Canadian productivity and economic growth. The Vancouver-based national organization is seeking $200 million over five years which is will parlay into $720 million to boost its internships from the current level of 2,500 to 10,000 by 2020.

Such an escalation of scale would provide industry with an unprecedented infusion of skilled talent which its backers say will be instrumental in addressing Canada's low levels of business R&D.

Accelerate is one of four programs offered by Mitacs and by far the largest in its arsenal for injecting highly skilled personnel (HQP) into industry and improve its R&D performance. Currently industry accounts for only half of Canada's gross expenditures on R&D (GERD) compared to a 66% average for OECD nations. A deeper dive into the data reveals that the share of academic research supported by business declined from 9.6% in 2001 to 8.1% in 2013.

"Budget 2015 is an opportunity to address persistent threats to Canada's economic performance. Targeted investments in R&D, particularly those that strengthen connections across the innovation spectrum, will improve Canada's economic performance, create sustainable high- quality jobs, and result in long-term benefits to Canadians." — Mitacs Pre-Budget submission

An inadequate level of business R&D has been cited in numerous reports as a prime reason behind lackluster productivity, innovation and competitiveness, exposing the country's resource-oriented economy to the vagaries of commodity price swings and the value of the Canadian dollar.

A boost in Accelerate's funding is intended to achieve several outcomes: increased support for industry investment in peer-reviewed university R&D; skills development for students and increased deployment of researchers into the private sector; linkage of graduate research and training directly to receptor need in skills and innovation; and, providing industry with a low-risk entry into R&D, especially for smaller firms.

"We are recommending an increase to get to 10,000 internships which is not out of line with our growth to date," says Dr Rob Annan, Mitacs' interim president and CEO. "We've built a business team of 30 based across Canada at universities. We talk to industry and cultural events and business problems are cast as research challenges. Our proactive model was key to establishing the program."

"Accelerate offers the opportunity to fundamentally change how students are trained in Canadian universities, not by replacing current approaches, but by supplementing them with training and development opportunities ... As Canada moves beyond 10,000 internships, Mitacs will act as a powerful engine for partnership and collaboration between universities and their industry and community partners. The Government of Canada should increase its commitment to support this paradigm-shifting approach to industrial research training in Canada." — Mitacs Pre-Budget submission

As Accelerate has grown, it has introduced a platform approach as it establishes collaborations with other players in the academic innovation ecosystem. An agreement is in place with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and most recently with Genome Canada which seeks to place up to 100 interns a year (see page 5).

Discussions are underway to strike similar agreements with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and individual Networks of Centres of Excellence.

Mitacs is also lining up companies to participate in the Accelerate program with 15 currently committed for three-to-four-year terms.

"Now that we have reached scale and have the infrastructure, we see the value of opening this up," says Annan. "Growth to 10,000 in a hands-on way is daunting but with our platform approach we can replicate two dozen programs across the country to get to 10,000 internships."

Mitacs currently spends about $60 million annually from federal, provincial and industry sources. If the federal government agrees to provide $200 million over five years, the plan is to match it with $200 million from the provinces and another $320 million, primarily from industry. Recent rule changes allow Mitacs to partner with the non-profit sector as well, with details to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Annan says discussions with all the provinces are now underway simultaneously with federal discussions. A three-year agreement was recently signed with the Quebec government and Annan anticipates that all provinces ultimately will sign on despite the fiscal pressures many are currently experiencing.

In addition to its recommendation for more Accelerate funding, Mitacs is calling on the government continue to invest across the complete research spectrum to ensure that the research pipeline remains robust and can respond to diverse industry research needs.

Mitacs is also recommending the use of mechanisms to "proactively support innovative, high-potential companies, particularly by connecting them to global innovation supply chains". To that end, it has launched Converge — a pilot program that seeks to build value chains by linking smaller firms with multinational companies and universities.

Mitacs hopes to replicate its successful collaboration with Boeing Defense, Space & Security and has already engaged six multinationals in the pilot.

"We need to focus on how we grow our firms and accelerate the growth of those with high potential," says Annan. "We have ideas but other organizations do too and Mitacs alone is not a solution to our challenges. The key to what we do and offer to industry requires a holistic view."

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