IRAP laying groundwork for increased emphasis on international activity

The National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) is shaping up as a key player in the renewed federal emphasis on international S&T. With its strategic plan recently updated to explicitly include an international component, the organization has launched and is continuing with several modest initiatives it is positioning for future expansion. But those plans are largely stuck in limbo as IRAP waits for the federal government to respond to last year’s expert panel report from the Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST), which recommended that IRAP receive $20 million annually and a new mandate for international activity (R$, June 30/00).

The expert panel report singled out IRAP to deliver a new fund to assist Canadian firms in the international arena. It cited IRAP’s highly decentralized structure, network of industrial technology advisors and network of connections as ideal assets for helping business improve their market access and prepare submissions for international funding programs.

IRAP has had a long but spotty record of international activity and collaboration, reflecting the lack of sustained support the international S&T file has received over a succession of governments. Alliances have come and gone, but with a current budget of $2-3 million, resources are at a premium and IRAP had had to be extremely selective about where it directs its energies.

The creation in 1998 of the Strategic Alliances office under the direction of Dr Denys Cooper and with the support of Jacques Lyrette, VP technology and industry support, marked a turnaround of sorts for international S&T. Formal collaboration with the Science and Technology Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) have been re-established after an absence of several years. And programs such as the Technology Information Program (TIP) and the more recent Canadian Institute for Marketing Intelligence remain in place. The latter has had some success in Asia under the direction of Bruce Pridmore IRAP’s regional director for British Columbia and the Yukon.

But due to the lack of funding, the bulk of IRAP international activity has been limited to participating in trade missions in Europe and Asia, receiving foreign missions in Canada, and establishing formal linkages with several nations. Scarce funds have also made the renewed ties with DFAIT all the more important, and it has assigned an industry technology advisor to the department with a three-year commitment to ensure ongoing planning and dialogue.

“We’re working together very closely,” says Cooper, adding that their next joint collaboration will be leading the Canadian presence at the innovation pavilion of the Hanover Technology Fair later this month. “We’re going with 10 companies and five ITAs and the ITAs will be looking for technology opportunities.”

IRAP is also working to jump start the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Program, which was transferred from Industry Canada in 1999. Conceived as a consortium of participating countries, it’s open to both large and small firms with the aim of generating enough projects to make it self-sustaining. Cooper says that unless enough firms demonstrate an interest, it may not be supported in future years.

IRAP is also hoping to revive its International Technology Brokers Program, which had a brief run in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before administrative problems caused its cancellation. “It was a good program. We may do it again if IRAP gets its $20 million (as recommended by the ACST expert panel) ,” says Cooper.

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