Quebec's new innovation strategy tackles low productivity and weak commercialization

Strong research and green business

Quebec's provincial government has unveiled a new provincial strategy backed by $1.16 billion in new funding over three years to address the province's lagging productivity, weak commercialization and low levels of entrepreneurship while maintaining its commitment to fundamental research. Entitled Mobilize, Innovate, Prosper, the Quebec Research and Innovation Strategy (QRIS) keeps elements from its preceding 2007 strategy and introduces several significant new measures designed to boost collaboration, enhance research and technology for sectors in which it competes globally and emphasize environmental sustainability.

The QRIS also provides new details on initiatives first announced in the provincial Budget, namely the amalgamation of the province's three granting councils into one organization (Fonds Recherche Quebec) and the decision to dissolve the Conseil de la science et de la technologie (CST) and bring its policy and advisory functions in-house at the Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (MEDIE).

Funding for QRIS is supplemented by $135 million left over from the previous four-year strategy, which had a budget of $1.2 billion.

Among the strategy's highlights are five major, industry-led development projects with a combined government commitment of $180 million. Targeting aerospace, public transit, forestry, information and communications technology (ICT) and a to-be-determined initiative in either the life sciences or social innovation, provincial funding will be matched by industry for a total of at least $360 million. In some cases, notably aerospace, the 1:1 match is being exceeded, pushing the total even higher. A competition for the fifth project will be launched in late summer with the selection of one in either the life sciences or social innovation early in 2011.

Another key thrust is an additional $119 million to support the further development of strategic technologies: genomics, nano-technology, biotechnology and optics and photonics. This funding is outside of the research support these technologies receive through the provincial granting councils through organizations such as the NanoQuébec, Génome Québec and the National Optics Institute

"This strategy is an update plus more focus on the vision that we have to continue to fund research and (assist) on the business side. We exceed the OECD average (in R&D spending as a percentage of GDP) but the big challenge is productivity gains. We need to make the link and develop a culture of innovation," says MEDIE minister Clément Gignac. "We need to focus more on commercialization and a green strategic approach to brand Quebec as the place in North America with the lowest carbon footprint … It's a re-orientation (emphasizing) economic development and protection of the environment."

The QRIS was informed by a 20-member advisory group co-chaired by Gignac and Dr André Bazergui, which used the existing strategy as a foundation to strengthen the province's knowledge-based economy and its key research and industrial sectors. (Bazergui is the former CEO of the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ) and special advisor to the incoming CEO, Dr Clement Fortin — see page 7). Also contributing to the strategy in terms of formulation and costing was an internal committee of ministerial DMs chaired by Dr Genevieve Tanguay, MEDIE ADM with responsibility for research and innovation. Alain Paquet, parliamentary assistant to premier Jean Charest, reportedly attended all the meetings.

To coordinate and oversee the new strategy and its implementation, a number of committees will be established, including an umbrella strategic science and innovation committee reporting directly to the MEDIE minister.

The strategy is frank in its assessment of Quebec's strengths and weaknesses. Gignac notes that Quebec is home to more than its fair share of scientific jobs, venture capital investment (on a per capita basis) and has relatively high levels of research funding and generous tax credits and incentives for business. Yet productivity is comparatively low, as is the level of entrepreneurship amongst younger Quebecers.

"The problem is an enigma for me. Why so much assets and such low productivity gains? Why are young people less interested in starting their own businesses than in the rest of Canada?," he says. "We have to solve the enigma and understand why there's a low rate of business research and a lack of a culture of innovation on the business side."

The major development projects are the most high-profile initiatives in the strategy aimed at achieving greater business innovation. Bazergui says the strategy as a whole has been "incredibly well received" by the business community and he's particularly pleased that the Ecological Aircraft project will stimulate extensive collaboration on prototype development between large and small companies, universities and provincial research centres.

"This is the first time the government has recognized the importance of demonstration projects and industry is providing $80 million which is better than a one-to-one match," says Bazergui.

Bazergui says there are several other initiatives, both new and existing, that bode well for industry support. These include the maintenance of tax incentives, new industry-university consortia modeled by on the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ) and support for the oft neglected Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ).

Quebec is also the latest province to introduce a vouchers program, giving eligible firms up to $50,000 to access one of the province's technology incubators.

Perhaps most importantly, the province will be launching a separate entrepreneurship strategy. The strategy is expected to contain a science and innovation awareness component to be implemented at the earliest stage of training and education.

granting councils and a chief scientist

On the research side, the QRIS provides new details on plans for consolidating the province's three granting councils — the Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ), the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies et the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture — into Fonds Recherche Québec (see separate article on page 5).

The new entity will be headed by a chief scientist (akin to a CEO) who will be a spokesperson for all provincially funded basic research in the province and its delivery organizations. Modelled on similar positions established in Israel and other countries, the chief scientist will be selected by a committee headed by Sylvie Dillard, interim president of the soon-to-be-disbanded CST who will continue to advise the minister.

cst function moves in-house

Gignac says the function of the CST — providing government with expert policy and programmatic advice — will be maintained and handled through a newly created strategic committee on science and technology within MEDIE.

"We think the expertise within CST will be protected and integrated into my department," he says. "We will create a group for S&T and the minister will meet two times a year to hear suggestions on the academic or industrial sector to improve innovation.

Since the creation of the CST in the 1980s, the S&T policy landscape in Quebec has expanded to include organizations such as CIRANO (centre interuniversitaire de recherche, de liaison et de transfert des savoirs en analyse des organisations) and the S&T policy unit at UQAM (Univ of Quebec at Montreal). Several research chairs dedicated to various aspects of S&T policy have also been created. Dr Camille Limoges, who headed CST in the 1990s, also served as DM within the government and established an internal group for examining S&T measures that continues to this day.

"The whole profile of innovation policy and measurement has changed since the 1980s and 1990s when CST was the utmost authority," says a government official. "The form of the CST will have changed but hopefully not the direction it can provide to government."

The CST's termination was announced in the latest Quebec Budget and was one of 28 organizations eliminated (R$, April 9/10).

While the new funding associated with QRIS is considerable, Gignac notes that the province provides far more in support of innovation. The Finance ministry, for instance, doles out $3.2 billion in tax credits directed towards R&D and innovation while innovation-related funding for other ministries and organizations like CRIQ are also not captured. Between 2007 and 2010, the Quebec government spent $5.5 billion.

"The research community in Quebec should feel privileged to have a government that appreciates the role of research and its contribution to the economy," says FRSQ president Dr Yves Joanette. "We're going from a push to a push-pull system"

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