S&T community responds in force to call for pre-Budget submissions for new spending

A wide range of S&T-driven organizations have submitted an ambitious list of Budget recommendations for 2015. Although they were made prior to the government's announcements of billions in tax cuts, the submissions reflect an optimism that after years of being asked to wait until the federal deficit was slayed, the time for reinvestment has arrived.

With the most recent announcement of $380 million in infrastructure spending for federal labs and research facilities (see page 4), the projected budgetary surplus for FY15-16 now stands at just $1.6 billion. That could hamper the prospects for many organizations, associations, departments and agencies seeking new money after years of stagnant funding. RE$EARCH MONEY has examined more than 60 submissions. Here are some of the highlights.

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters

CME submitted seven recommendations including making permanent the 50% straight-line depreciation rate for manufacturing and processing machinery and equipment; a swap program to repurpose SR&ED tax credits for companies seeking to invest in their capital assets used for R&D purposes; adoption of the patent box model to increase the commercialization of innovation in Canada; and creation of a Capital Investment Fund to support the development, expansion, or upgrading of manufacturing facilities.

Association of University Research Parks

AURP is calling for the creation of a Research and Technology Capital Infrastructure Fund worth $200 million over five years; a review of the taxation and regulatory framework as it applies to R&T parks; and integration of R&T parks into Canada's Global Markets Action Plan.

AUCC

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is calling for long-term, sustained research funding — with a rate of growth leading the economy — for the granting agencies and predictable, multi-year funding for the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Further, it recommends a package of programs to offer more career opportunities for Canadian students; a new voucher program to hire co-op students and interns; new funding to support institutions' development of co-op placements; and paid internships and additional funding for research internships through Mitacs.

U15

The association representing Canada's largest research-intensive universities is calling for sustained, predictable funding in research excellence through the granting councils and Canada Foundation for Innovation, increasing investments in incubators and accelerators, supporting trials of new, approaches to IP commercialization and boosting support for initiatives contained in Canada's International Education Strategy.

AUTO21

AUTO21 asks for the creation of a Canadian Automotive Research Initiative (CARI) to support the acquisition of advanced equipment, materials and prototype tooling used for project development tasks; fees to access university science facilities on a contract basis; and funding to hire experts to carry out this work. CARI would extend the work of AUTO21, whose funding from the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program expires in 2015.

Consortium of Ocean Research Universities

A $250-million, strategically targeted investment over five years for marine and Arctic science through the granting councils, Canada Foundation for Innovation and Genome Canada.

Canadian Water Network

CWN is requesting $60 million over 10 years to expand its new consortium-based approach to research and its training and development program, leveraging $120 million in public and private investment. CWN's NCE funding expires in 2015.

CANARIE

The national research and education network is requesting a renewal of its funding, which sunsets in 2015. It last received $62.5 million over three years in 2012. CANARIE is also calling for the creation of a national system for data storage; a reduction in barriers in accessing research data; and increasing the leverage of digital infrastructure by the private sector.

Celestica

The Toronto-based contract electronics manufacturer is seeking federal support for a $100-million, high-technology manufacturing cluster — dubbed Canada's Manufacturing ZONE — and a Commercialization Vouchers Program.

Coalition for Canadian Astronomy

It recommends that the federal government solidify Canada's commitment to the Thirty Meter Telescope Project and identify a means to fund Canada's $293 million planned partnership stake. Canada has been engaged since 2003 and approval for its construction in Hawaii was recently granted.

Compute Canada

It is requesting $75 million in capital and operating funds over three years to be largely matched by provincial sources. It also calls for aligning its mandate and funding cycles with CANARIE to allow more cohesive and strategic planning for the foundational components of digital infrastructure.

Genome Canada

The national geonome funding agency recommends a comprehensive policy for R&D that flows from discovery to early stage commercialization; incentives to build bridges between the public and private sectors for program design; and risk reduction for industry; alternative R&D funding models, including direct project-specific funding to the private sector; encouragement of open innovation models of public-private partnerships; and government-backed venture capital funds to participate in early stage investment in Canadian innovation.

Merck Canada

The Canadian subsidiary of the US-based pharmaceutical giant is calling for $100 million per year to fund new vaccines programs.

National Angel Capital Organization

NACO is requesting $5 million over three years to execute its strategic plan and create a national co-investment fund to encourage the mobilization of more risk capital into promising investor-backed ventures.

National Crowdfunding Association of Canada

It is asking for $3-$5 million to develop a national crowdfunding network and financial literacy program.

PIPSC

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is calling on the government to reinvest in Canada's internal capacity for science, technology, innovation, and fundamental research, noting that funding for intramural science has dropped 16.5% since FY10/11. It also recommends comprehensive pension reform and a reduction in spending on external professional services by $2.5 billion annually or FY06-07 levels.

TRIUMF

The Univ of British Columbia big science facility is requesting $68 million to fund CAPTURE — Canada's Accelerator Platform To Unlock Research Excellence — an initiative to exploit the potential of TRIUMF's $100-million Advanced Rare Isotope Laboratory (ARIEL) for isotope production.

Mitacs

The organization is calling for a $200-million investment to expand its Accelerate graduate research internship program, increasing the number of internships from 2,500 this year to 10,000 by 2020 (R$, October 30/14). It also urges continued investment in research excellence across the research ecosystem and the creation of new mechanisms to support the growth of innovative, high- potential companies, particularly by connecting firms to global supply chains.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

The Toronto-based research institute is calling on the government to fund half of a proposed $60-million facility for its Brain Sciences Centre.

Canadian Consortium for Research

The 19-member organization is calling for $150 million in new funding for the granting councils and indirect costs program and $35 million annually for graduate scholarships internships and post-graduate training.

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