Atlantic Canada receives largest federal boost to innovation in history

ACOA minister adds to project total

The Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) has awarded $154.7 million to kick-start 47 R&D projects worth $359 million, including eight added to the list after the advisory board delivered its recommendations. The additional projects were selected by Gerry Byrne, minister of state for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), a federal regional development agency with a long history of controversy.

The approved projects were funded through the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF), a $300-million, five-year fund announced more than two years ago as part of a $700-million Atlantic Investment Partnership program.

The projects — announced throughout July — are part of a long-term strategy to build innovation capacity throughout the region. They comprise the first round of competitions under the AIF, which is administered by ACOA and leaves the ultimate selection process of projects in the hands of the responsible federal minister.

Nearly 200 proposals were examined by the AIF advisory board, a 10-person body chaired by Dr Arthur May, an honorary research professor at Memorial Univ and former president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Each proposal was measured against nine criteria (see chart on page two) and ranked by the board with the assistance of peer reviewers selected by ACOA. May says the project approval process “went reasonably well” and that the projects selected by Byrne were largely initiated by the private sector and drawn from the top half of the ranked projects.

“They are projects that would legitimately be in play … They are not very large and may have boosted the overall value of the competition by less than 20%,” says May, who declined to identify the projects in question. “The board is advisory and it’s not like the CFI (Canada Foundation for Innovation) or NSERC in that it does not have delegated power.”

Of the 47 successful proposals, Nova Scotia accounted for the greatest number (16) and the most AIF funding ($46.6 million), closely followed by Newfoundland which secured 11projects and $45 million. New Brunswick is home to 13 projects and $37.6 million in AIF funding, while Prince Edward Island landed seven projects and $25.5 million in funding.

Of the 47 projects, 30 are categorized as non-commercial, and 17 are considered commercial, meaning they were initiated by the private sector. Half of the commercial projects were added by ACOA minister of state Byrne.

AIF funding helped to attract $204 million in funding from other sources, with the vast majority coming from other federal programs. The private sector contributed small amounts to some projects although the total is not available. May says the meager contribution by the private sector isn’t surprising.

“One of the weaknesses of Atlantic Canada is that the private sector is almost non-existent. It’s a chicken and egg thing, but you have to start somewhere,” he says. “Everyone is trying to figure out the right route to commercialization but no one has the text book on it. We’re still in the business of putting the base in place.”

Given the paucity of private sector R&D, the beneficiaries of AIF funding are the region’s universities. The majority of project proposals came from the academic sector to support research niches where capacity exists and needs to be strengthened. Research areas receiving funding include aquaculture, biotechnology, environment, genomics, information technology, manufactured products, materials R & D, natural resources, ocean industries, and oil and gas.

Due to the relatively basic nature of the majority of the projects, their commercial impact is not expected for years to come. But May asserts that the time for building capacity is overdue making AIF funding critical.

“This will help put the university community in a better position to compete for federal dollars from CFI and NSERC. We will also see some measurable difference in private sector R&D and technological activity. It will not happen in three of four years but rather eight, 10 or 12 years,” he says. “The public sector has got to be in this strongly. The trick is to do something that will last and put people in a better position to compete nationally. This is good public policy.”

The largest project award ($15.6 million) went to a Pan-Atlantic Petroleum Systems Consortium headquartered at Memorial Univ. The consortium will direct its research towards various aspects of the oil and gas sector to provide an integrated response to the research and skills requirements of industry. In addition to AIF funding, the consortium attracted $21.7 million from other sources.

The next largest award ($9 million) went to Genome Atlantic leveraging more than $15 million from Genome Canada and other sources (see page 6).

SECOND ROUND ANNOUNCED

The AIF has $145 million remaining from its initial funding envelope and last week it officially announced the second round of competitions. The deadline for submissions is November 27 and the announcement of winners is slated for late 2003 or early 2004. May says that changes are anticipated for the second round to streamline the process by reducing the workload of advisory board members and bringing in additional expert advice.

“In the first round, all applications were given equal status in terms of time spent during the peer and internal reviews. It was a bit unwieldy in retrospect. We literally couldn’t carry the paperwork to meetings,” he says. “This time we’d like to set up expert groups like the Canada Foundation for Innovation, who would look at applications in particular fields. They would select the strongest and the advisory board would look at these. We would also like to get expert help around the table rather than through correspondence.”

R$