Strategy calls for two new NRC institutes

A powerful proponent of the Toronto region’s R&D community is thrusting research and innovation into the federal election campaign and is calling on the government to increase its investment in the area to a level commensurate with the amount of R&D it performs.

The Toronto Regional Research Alliance (TRRA) is urging funding approval of two National Research Council (NRC) institutes proposed for the region, as well as sustained funding for the Univ of Waterloo’s growing cluster of physics and quantum computing. It notes that none of the NRC’s numerous facilities are located in the Toronto region.

Unveiled December 20, the lobbying initiative was and spearheaded by an open letter from the TRRA board of directors to the federal parties requesting clear articulation of their stands on innovation and their plans to maximize Toronto’s role in the emerging knowledge-based economy.

“We want the parties to address the innovation agenda and provide some specifics. We decided that the best time to do this was before the Christmas break,” says Ross McGregor, TRRA’s president and CEO. “The federal government has been pretty generous on the R&D agenda but unfortunately these investments have not been translated into the marketplace.”

The TRRA lobbying campaign builds on the growing consensus that Canada’s major urban centres are the country’s most effective vehicles for developing critical mass and clusters of expertise in key technology areas. In conjunction with an open letter to the leaders of the federal parties, TRRA has released a short document outlining its rationale for increased federal funding. Prepared by David Pecaut of The Boston Consulting Group, the report says that the region’s share of federal funding delivered through the various granting agencies is $438 million, or 21.1% of the funding distributed by the same funding bodies. That compares to Toronto’s performance of 35% of all R&D in Canada, as well as being home to 33% of the country’s most high cited scientists.

“One would expect that with the region’s high level of research excellence and large R&D industry clusters, a higher proportion of federal research funding would be invested in the region,” it states. “The Toronto region is receiving the lowest funding per capita of any major Canadian urban centre.”

The report’s argument is similar to the rationale for increased federal R&D funds employed by the Bloc Quebecois and Parti Quebecois. In previous elections and budget statements, both parties have argued that Quebec is not receiving its fair share of federal R&D dollars. For McGregor, Toronto’s funding share within a national context should not be a central concern.

“We’re getting drawn into an academic and false argument here. It doesn’t matter how much R&D funding Toronto gets vis-a-vis other Canadian cities. We should be comparing ourselves to international jurisdiction. We’re looking for greater R&D investment in all of the major R&D jurisdictions across the country,” he says. “R&D investment and the NRC in particular have been used as mechanisms for regional development. We should be more strategically investing in clusters … If we have a half a dozen R&D powerhouses in Canada, we should fund those.”

The TRRA has a lengthy list of areas where it contends federal participation in the Toronto region could be enhanced. But in the near term it is focusing its efforts on support for the new NRC institutes. McGregor says the NRC has moved the proposed institutes up its priority list and that they are a key component of the NRC’s renewal strategy, which is now effectively complete. Both NRC president Dr Pierre Coulombe and recently appointed life sciences VP Dr Roman Szumski have been in contact with the TRRA. Szumski is leading discussions with the proponents of the new institutes and will be adding full-time staff to the negotiations beginning in January.

“They’re actively looking a new models. Roman is very excited about this,” says McGregor. “Both proposals have evolved dramatically in the past few months.”

NRC officials could not comment due to election gag rules, although they have reportedly asked the lead backers of the proposals — Univ of Toronto and York Univ — to discuss areas where they can collaborate and enhance each other’s activities.

York Univ VP Dr Stan Shapson says discussions will begin in the new year between York, NRC and the U of T to identify areas of complementarity.

“They would remain separate institutes that work closely together,” says Shapson. “We want a strong NRC presence because they add a lot of value and the NRC has developed new models for institutes through its renewal process. The two proposals are complementary and not competitive.”

York Univ has long sought an NRC institute involving IBM, the area’s largest corporate entity with a sizable R&D presence. The current proposal for a National Institute for Convergent Technology (NICT) aims to blend the York region’s strong information technology, biotechnology and medical devices sectors to accelerate development of new products and processes.

Land or a turn-key operation is being offered by the Town of Markham a few minutes from York Univ and in the heart of Markham’s commercial district. The idea is to strengthen the product lines of existing firms and help grow smaller companies and assist in penetrating global markets.

The U of T’s proposal — the National Centre for Biomedical Innovation — is for a new facility to be located within the MaRS Discovery District to assess and commercialize medical discoveries. U of T has joined forces with the Battelle Institute, the US contract research and management organization to develop the proposal. Battelle has been in discussions for several months with NRC, U of T and others as part of an expansion into Canada (R$, July 22/05).

“The U of T proposal involves big pharma and new drugs while ours combines healthcare and IT,” says Shapson. “We want to grow industries in both areas and develop international markets, entrepreneurial training for dealing regulatory environments, and accessing venture capital.”

Shapson says that until negotiations with NRC are further advanced and a model is decided upon, it’s not possible to say how much the NICT will cost.

“The NRC is saying they have left a gap in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and they see an opportunity to change this,” he says. “This also fits with York’s R&D outreach strategy into the surrounding area.”

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