CICan says more funding needed for colleges to reach full applied research potential

Applied research conducted by Canada’s colleges and institutes totalled $246 million in FY15-16, up 76% over FY10-11 levels, according to the latest survey by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). While impressive, the association says its members account for just 2% of all federal funding of higher education R&D and argue their contribution to Canadian innovation could be much larger if institutions had greater access to research grants, internships and work-integrated learning opportunities. Broken down by firm size, CICan reports that the number of applied research partnerships between colleges and large firms rose 51% over the six-year period of the survey, while partnerships with small and medium companies rose 23%.  In contrast, partnerships with micro-enterprises (less than five employees) rose 560%, while partnerships with non-profit organizations rose 76%.