New Aerospace Innovation & Research network delayed as CARIC readies for fall closure

The end of federal funding will see the industry-led Consortium for Aerospace Research and Innovation in Canada (CARIC) shutter its Montreal office September 30, even without a final agreement to replace it with a new $49-million national Aerospace Innovation Research (AIR) network first announced last June.

CARIC revealed the news April 30, saying that all current projects will continue until that date but that no new projects will be accepted.

Launched in April 2014, CARIC was formed after the blue ribbon Aerospace Advisory Council called for the creation of a national consortium linking academic expertise to industry needs. The national organization was a joint initiative of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), as well as the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ) which co-managed CARIC.

The federal government provided $30 million to CARIC over five years, with about $21 million allocated to 47 projects and the remaining $9 million used for operations, according to CARIC’s 2020-2021 Corporate Plan. CARIC’s members include airplane manufacturers Bell and Bombardier, engine producer Pratt & Whitney Canada, nearly 100 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 24 post-secondary institutions, other research organizations and international giants like Siemens, 3M and Microsoft.

“All together, the $20 million investment by the government has resulted in about $75 million worth of projects,” Denis Faubert, president/CEO of both CARIC and CRIAQ, told Research Money. “For every $1 companies invested, they got about $6 worth of R&D.”

CARIC’s five-year funding envelop ended last year, leaving it with enough residual funds to operate a scaled down office for another year. CARIC’s regional directors were let go in March.

Closing the national office by September was always in CARIC’s plans. In its 2020-2021 Corporate Plan, the consortium states how it “made the preparations to close the network down and kept a minimal presence across Canada to maintain some momentum for the advent of a follow-up program”.

It was expected that a new national R&D organization would replace CARIC and be operational this year. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced at the 2019 Paris Air Show that $49 million over five years would be provided under the Strategic Innovation Fund–National Ecosystems stream to AIAC for a new initiative, to be called the Aerospace Innovation and Research (AIR) Network.

ISED reiterates commitment to fund new network

AIAC declined to be interviewed for the article but issued a statement from its senior VP, Mike Mueller, stating: “This initiative will build upon the work of CARIC by bringing together companies, resources and researchers in the aerospace sector to establish a national aerospace innovation ecosystem that will take on the technological challenges of the industry, accelerate the commercialization of new and improved products, and create more highly skilled jobs for Canadians.”

But work to finalize an agreement between AIAC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has been delayed as a result of the current pandemic, Mueller said.

“AIAC continues to work with ISED on the terms and conditions to set up the new network. This works was underway and supposed to be completed but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this has been delayed,” stated Mueller.

Responding to Research Money, ISED stated in an email: “The Government has been working with the AIAC to build the best approach to meet the needs of the aerospace sector. COVID-19 has affected planning for many projects but we are committed to continuing our work with the AIAC …”

Faubert, who is not directly involved in AIR, says the idea behind the new network was that it would replace CARIC, as well as the Green Aviation Research & Development Network (GARDN) – a Business-led Network of Centres of Excellence. GARDN’s funding agreement with the NCE expires September 30, 2020. The entire BL-NCE program is currently being wound down as part of the larger NCE program draws to a close.

Like CARIC and GARDN, the AIR Network would be industry-led and focus on more applied research projects involving large aerospace companies, small- and medium-sized enterprises and academia. The focus would be on developing technologies to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, the stage before more advanced prototypes are developed and tested in an operational environment.

“The intent of a CARIC, CRIAQ or GARDN was at the lower scale level of the TR levels – derisk the technology, get the people to work in teams, and develop the students. You’re developing the ecosystem so they can tackle the bigger projects with the right people with a lot of confidence between the players… It’s about having a large impact on the fundamentals of the system.”

How the structure of the AIR Network will be affected by the current economic crisis hitting the aviation industry as a result of the COVID-19 crisis remains unknown. SMEs feeding into global supply chains will be the most vulnerable as big companies like Bombardier, Airbus and Boeing work through their order backlogs with few new aircraft purchases likely in the near term.

Prior to the sector’s catastrophic decline this spring, Canada’s aerospace industry contributed over $25 billion in GDP and about 213,000 jobs to the Canadian economy, and invested nearly $1.8 billion in R&D, according to AIAC’s 2018 report on the State of the Aerospace Industry.

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