Ontario government commits $100 million to Waterloo Institutes

Endorsement of public-private funding model

Fundamental research in Ontario has been given an enormous boost with $150-million in public-private investment in two Waterloo-based institutes, with the potential for up to $150 million more if the federal government steps up to the plate. The decision by the Ontario government to provide $100 million to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) and the Univ of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) coincides with a new $50-million commitment from Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis and the potential for $50 million more.

The March 23 Ontario Budget announced the government would provide $50 million each for PI and IQC. It also stated that the Lazaridises recently committed an additional $50 million to PI in addition to the $100 million they donated in 2000 when the Institute was established (R$, November 3/00).

Dr Tim McTiernan, associate DM and chief operating operator, Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), says the province’s decision to invest in the institutes was made independently of the Lazaridis’ decision to make a new donation. But he acknowledges that the government recognized the importance of their contribution and its role in determining the nature of a long-term provincial commitment.

"The Lazaridises example provided the scope and critical mass and the Ontario investment clearly contributes to the Waterloo region’s ongoing development as an important technological hub,” says McTiernan.

The latest commitment by the Lazaridises boosts their total funding for the two institutes to $200 million, the largest cumulative philanthropic donation targeting research in Canadian history. Mike Lazaridis is the founder, president and co-CEO of Waterloo-based Research in Motion Ltd.

"Having initiated this project (PI), I have gained the active engagement of governments that have also lent their support,” says Lazaridis. "Now that we have proven ourselves, it has been possible to engage government at a more substantive level. It makes a lot of sense to work together.”

The combined funding is being touted as a prime example of how public-private partnerships can work to establish niche areas of research where Canada can gain world leadership. Having already developed global reputations for excellence during their short histories, both the PI and IQC are now on a firm financial footing and are poised for major expansions.

"The aspiration of both institutes to be the best in the world is part and parcel of Ontario’s innovation agenda, which is to identify provincial areas of research strength,” says McTiernan. "There’s a continuum of the research at the Perimeter Institute and the more applied work of IQC. IQC in particular is at the frontier of the next phase of technological transformation.”

For the institutes, the new funding allows them to scale up operations and begin implementing ambitious strategic plans that include bolstering the scope of their research and expanding outreach activity.

"This (provincial announcement) ensures continued funding and maintains and increases our operation in scale and scope,” says Dr Howard Burton, PI’s executive director. "The government is extremely impressed by the merits and success of the Perimeter Institute, planned and actual … Our goal is to be a globally dominant research institute in fundamental physics and a global brand for outreach and scientific dissemination. We‘re in a position to realize our goals but we need lots of work, energy and resources. And we have to convince the international community that we’re here to stay.”

The PI recently moved into new facilities designed specially for optimum research output and has initiated a series of highly successful monthly lectures highlighting specific areas of its research pursuits. Burton says the bulk of private sector funding the Institute has received has been placed in an endowment and that part of the provincial investment will be used in the same way

"We now have some flexibility. I intend to use some for operations but put it immediately on the endowment to generate income,” he says. "The concern we have had previously is that we would draw down on the endowment to the point where we would jeopardize future operations and expansion to become a world class institute.”

Burton won’t comment on the Lazaridis donation, other than to reiterate that the couple is committed to ensuring that both the PI and IQC are successful for the long term. But Lazaridis says the importance of strategic investment in fundamental research cannot be underestimated.

"By bringing significant financial resources to bear on an emerging scientific field with known commercial potential, we will attract the necessary intellectual capital to stake our claim in this next technological revolution,” says Lazaridis. "Every day of delay increases the cost of entry and the cost to catch up.”

During the recent federal election campaign, the Toronto Regional Research Alliance lobbied for sustaining funding for the PI and IQC. The Liberal Party responded enthusiastically and made the funding part of its package of election commitments (R$, December 22/05 & January 24/06).

Specifically, the Liberals pledged "two $50-million grants, for the Perimeter Institute and IQC, which it is hoped will leverage further support from the private sector and the Government of Ontario”. It is unknown whether the new Tory government is willing to undertake a similar commitment.

The IQC is also expanding the scope of its research and like the PI has similar ambitions to dominate a global niche, in this case in quantum computing. A new $70-million facility is currently under construction at the Univ of Waterloo. The building will be shared with the recently established Nano-technology Engineering Program (a joint initiative between the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering). IQC faculty will expand from 11 to 25-30 and post docs will increase to 50 by 2009.

IQC also has a new executive director — David Fransen — who was a key player on the Industry Canada team behind the federal government’s innovation agenda (R$, November 25/05). Fransen says the $50 million in new funding from the province illustrates an understanding of the economic and social potential that global leadership in niche research areas can achieve.

"This is a terrific vote of confidence by the government — and premier (Dalton) McGuinty in particular — in the research being conducted here at IQC and the potential to bring economic benefits to Ontario,” he says. "McGuinty understands that quantum information processing has transformative potential and we have the ability to develop critical mass and scale to achieve global leadership. With this funding we will have the potential to attract top flight talent.”

Like Burton, Fransen notes that, perhaps as important as their respective research fields is the potential for interaction between PI and IQC.

"The Ontario government has recognized the importance that PI and IQC play in basic research and the relationship we have," he says. "There’s lots of crossover and management interaction and it’s growing."

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