Inno-centre forges ahead with community-based model for commercialization

Inno-centre Canada (ICC) will need at least another year to complete its Canada-wide network of company creation and mentoring facilities as it continues negotiations with potential partners including the federal and provincial governments. The Quebec-based not-for-profit organization now estimates that it will be at least four years before its vision of a pan-Canadian network is realized, but in the meantime it is striking collaborations with like-minded organizations such as the Canadian Biotechnology Commercialization Initiative (CBCI) (see page 2).

In addition to their complimentary goals and objectives, the collaboration between Inno-centre and CBCI may be instrumental in their discussions with Ottawa as the government ramps up consultations for its innovation strategy. The central agencies have always been more receptive to unified rather than competing or parallel proposals, and going forward in unison has obvious appeal for both organizations.

To date, Inno-centre has completed its Quebec-based network with offices in seven cities and has established a solid presence in Alberta and Ontario. But ongoing negotiations in other regions have dragged on and negotiations with the federal government for its financial participation in smaller prov-inces have not produced a formal agreement.

“I originally thought the network would be completed in three years but now I think it will be four or five years,” says Claude Martel, Inno-Centre’s president and CEO. “Inno-centre is very much a community-based model (and) in Canada, it’s harder to create critical mass so we need to build networks of regions to achieve that.”

In Ontario, an agreement with the National Research Council is serving as a beach head for a larger network, which has expanded to include Guelph and Toronto. Discussions are ongoing with various potential partners in Toronto and Martel foresees a network with three centres serving the Toronto, eastern and western regions of the province.

The key to achieving the critical mass for launching a new centre in the smaller provinces is financial input from Ottawa. But negotiations are proceeding slowly, although Martel says one new centre will be established this year.

“For smaller provinces, the need to have the federal government as a financial partner is crucial and we are continuing discussions,” he says. “It’s hard to say which new centre will come up first. It’s hard to find champions but once you do then it goes faster. We’ve been lucky in Alberta and Ottawa where we have great CEOs.”

Discussions in Manitoba are fairly advanced, with a conditional agreement now in place, and Saskatchewan is not far behind. In Atlantic Canada, efforts are being made to bring the provinces together to establish critical mass. Inno-centre advisor Dr Peter Morand is negotiating with various players including the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to tap into its new innovation fund. “We are trying to get an Atlantic Canada initiative going but it’s hard to coordinate,” says Morand. “Inno-centre develops different models with individual institutions to overcome barriers and identify disincentives. Creative solutions are required.”

Inno-centre plans to participate actively in the federal innovation strategy consultations, stressing the role it can play at the community level. Martel says the Industry Canada document, Achieving Excellence, provides a clear picture of where the government want to take innovation and it dovetails nicely with Inno-centre’s strengths.

“The section on developing communities is of great interest. The approach is that for innovation to take root, communities must be involved,” he says. “In Quebec, we’ve found that innovation is done in universities and research centres and not necessarily in the large cities.”

The concept for Inno-centre is a series of virtually networked organizations comprised of regionally based public and private sector partners. Each Inno-centre is modelled to conform to regional characteristics and focused on accelerated company formation and risk reduction.

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