NSERC's forestry research networks

Industry calls on Ottawa to renew

The forestry industry is betting it can once again secure funding for a suite of academic research networks that are helping to transform and sustain the sector for decades to come. Funded in large part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) in partnership with industry and other public stakeholders, the networks have only months left before funding expires, leading many to wind down operations and enter stand-by mode until their fiscal situation is clarified.

Their renewal is a key priority for the forestry industry. After failing to secure funding in last year's federal Budget, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) hopes to convince the federal Tories to inject $60 million over five years into the networks in its 2015 Budget.

The networks underpin the industry's Forest Sector Transformation Strategy and its long-term strategic plan, entitled Vision 2020: Pathways to Prosperity for Canada's Forest Products Sector, (see lead article). The strategy's goals are ambitious: refreshing the sector's workforce with 60,000 new employees, improving environmental performance by 35% and generating an addition $20 billion in economic activity from new products and markets.

"NSERC encourages academics and industry to work together. Canada is a huge forestry basket with 40% of the world's certified forest," says David Lindsay, president and CEO of FPAC. "Operations need to continuously improve up and downstream. Lots of engineering and science is required."

The industry interacts with the networks primarily through FPInnovations (FPI), a not-for-profit forestry research centre formed several years ago from three separate forestry research centres (R$, March 8/07). Research activities focus on a wide range of issues from supply chain efficiency and value chain optimization to the use of biomass energy, energy efficiency and bioactive paper.

First networks launched in 2008

The NSERC forestry research networks were first launched in 2008 and expanded in 2010 under the umbrella of the Forest Innovation by Research and Education (FIBRE) Network, a partnership between FPI, FPAC and NSERC. The networks engage more than 100 professors and have trained hundreds of post-graduate students, addressing key research challenges and providing much needed specialized skills. To date, NSERC has provided the networks with $30 million.

"FIBRE is very powerful. There's extensive cross-fertilization of professors and students engaging in multidisciplinary research," says Anne-Marie Thompson, director of the NSERC's energy, environment and resources division within its research partnerships branch. "It's intended to fund earlier-stage, high-risk research and although no partner funding is required, our partners have provided $4 million in cash and a significant amount of in-kind. The real leverage is the networking itself."

If new federal funding isn't forthcoming, Thompson says there are ample opportunities to work with industry on research projects "but not at this scale".

New opportunities for wood construction

One NSERC Strategic Network that has attracted considerable industry attention is the NSERC Strategic Network for Engineered Wood-based Building Systems (NEWBuildS).

The network's 27 professors and 70 post-graduate and post-doctoral researchers from 13 universities work with industry to expand the use of wood in residential and non-residential buildings by designing structures higher than four stories and experimenting with hybrid construction such as wood-steel and wood-concrete combinations. The height restriction was imposed with the creation of the National Building Code of Canada in 1941. British Columbia has allowed multi-story buildings up to six stories with wood frame construction with the revision of the provincial building code in 2009 and Quebec implemented a Wood First policy in 2013.

Changes to the national building code to allow taller wood-based buildings are expected to come into effect in 2015, opening up the potential for new products in new markets for the wood construction industry.

NEWBuildS hosts annual workshops and utilizes its web site to disseminate research results and technical information to the public, researchers and building designers.

"This network is very different and innovative. It's fundamental, cutting-edge research," says Kenneth Koo, NEWBuildS' network liaison manager and an FPI staff member. "It's broad engineering based with fundamental research in new product areas, material characterizations in fire and duration and student output."

NEWBuildS works with FPInnovations, the Canadian Wood Council and the National Research Council as research results are validated and analyzed. Subjects that fall within the parameters of the design code will be submitted to the relevant code and standard writing bodies.

Value Chain Optimization

Another closely watched NSERC network is the Strategic Network on Value Chain Optimization (VCO). Created with targeted funding NSERC received in the 2008 Budget and support from FPI's Flagship Innovation Program, VCO focuses its research along four main themes: knowledge modelling and sharing, optimized value chains, integrated value chains and integrated forest and industry strategies for the bioeconomy.

"This is big data made practical to develop models for decision-making, product life cycles, process cost accounting and to make predictions on costing," says Dr Paul Stuart, a VCO researcher and professor of chemical engineering at École Polytechnique de Montréal. "It's an example of NSERC leadership and a truly novel network. There's nothing like this anywhere in the world."

Stuart says the forestry sector is highly capital intensive and risk averse and VCO's analytical tools are designed to mitigate that risk and assist in its transformation, guided by Vision 2020's objectives.

"This is the Canadian competitive advantage ... Right now newsprint is in freefall and it's been a bad year for hardwood craft pulp," he says. "There's an opportunity for Canadian industry to find innovative value-added products ... VCO quantifies value-add (and) the next five years is a really critical time for applied research and the transformation as it takes hold."

With FPI and 54 industry partners heavily involved in VCO projects, the government's decision on refunding the NSERC forestry networks is taking on a sense of urgency. With much accomplished, Stuart says further support is needed to sustain the momentum and cooperation already achieved.

"We need to build on what we have already created. We've produced a FIBRE white paper that shows how university-based research can best serve the needs of FPI and industry," says Stuart. "In Budget 2015, it should be an imperative for the government to stay the course and build on the networks to take the next steps. Canada has a huge opportunity and it would be a shame if the funding wasn't there."

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