Ontario overhauling its S&T portfolio to place greater emphasis on commmercialization

New and merged programs planned

The Ontario government is engineering a massive overhaul of its science and technology activities with a series of new programs and possible repatriation of flagship programs outsourced by the previous government. The administration is keeping the specifics of the proposed changes under wraps until a consultation phase with stakeholders is completed and Cabinet approval for new programs is secured.

But some details are emerging and the province’s Budget estimates — quietly released several weeks after the Budget was tabled on May 18 — contain funding allocations for programs administered by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) that are new or renamed (see items in chart below preceded by an asterisk).

RE$EARCH MONEY has learned that the new Ontario Research Fund (ORF) is a renaming and consolidation of the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund (ORDCF), the Research Performance Fund (RPF) and the Ontario Innovation Trust. The latter was chiefly used to match awards made under the federal Canada Foundation for Innovation program and the Canada Research Chairs program. That could mean that the ORDCF and OIT will no longer be administered by the Innovation Institute of Ontario, a private, not-for-profit organization that also administers the ORDCF.

“I understand that MEDT will collapse the ORDCF and OIT and possibly the RPF into the Ontario Research Fund although it’s not definite as to how this new program will be delivered,” says one insider. “This raises a huge staffing question.”

An MEDT spokesperson acknowledged that the ORF is a new program and constitutes a re-focussing of existing funds but would not confirm which programs it will incorporate. The spokesperson also confirmed the existence of new programs but would not provide details and added that it is standard procedure to allocate funds for programs in anticipation of their creation.

“The programs are firm but we will be going out to consult and develop the details ... We’re re-evaluating everything right now,” says the spokesperson. “We’re re-focussing our priorities to better support the McGuinty government’s agenda for change but we can’t say anything definitively.”

COMMERCIALIZATION STRATEGY ANNOUNCED

MEDT is also considering the merger of the Ontario Cancer Research Network with the Cancer Research Institute of Ontario, a $1-billion, 10-year commitment announced with great fanfare by the previous government (R$, April 16/03).

At the macro level, the McGuinty government is more forthcoming. Late last month, a new commercialization strategy was unveiled by MEDT minister Joseph Cordiano.

“This strategy will help build capacity in university and college technology transfer offices and help increase their networks,” said the press release. “The government is also placing a greater focus on commercialization in all its science and technology programs, including The Ontario Centres of Excellence”.”

Cordiano also announced the creation of an Ontario Commercialization Advisory Committee to be chaired by Dr John Evans , chair of the board of directors for MaRS Discovery District, and a new mandate for the Task Force on Competitiveness, Prosperity and Economic Progress. The Task Force will now focus on commercialization and away from productivity and competitiveness indicators. It will also provide recommendations to Cordiano “on how to best leverage Ontario’s economic advantage and increase prosperity across the province, across regions and in households”.

The minister also used the occasion to re-announce the two new commercialization programs contained in the Budget — the Ontario Research Commercialization Fund and the Ontario Commercialization Investment Funds program (R$, May 27/04). They are receiving $27 million and $36 million respectively over four years.

Budget estimates show that MEDT is receiving a 14% increase to its operating budget, rising from $198 million in FY03-04 to $226 million in FY04-05.

“How we are going to use that money has yet to be determined,” says the MEDT spokesperson. “We’re still working out the details. Stay tuned for the fall.”

Dr Tim McTiernan, ADM for the S&T division at MEDT says any discussion about the re-organization of the S&D division at this time would be “hugely premature”.

“Our first order of business is to figure out the overall design and operation of our new commercialization program and what that entails and then looking at alignment of staff and resources around that,” says McTiernan. “It will probably be over the course of the summer and into September and October before we’ve done the work necessary on program design and rollout with the appropriate consultations with stakeholders.”

There is clearly frustration within the government over the evolution of its S&T performance. The outsourcing of the ORDCF and OIT led to sagging morale within MEDT. And late last year, the provincial auditor general issued a scathing report on the government’s S&T operations, slamming programs such as OIT for their lack of transparency. The government responded with a decision to place all S&T programs under review (R$, December 11/03).

Also of concern to the new government is the sobering reality that the province has relatively little new commercial activity to show for the $2.6 billion it has invested in public research over the past 10 years. The new commercialization strategy and program re-orientation is intended to produce corrective measures.

“The changes show the potential for stability and will help boost morale indirectly which had fallen to a low ebb,” says a former MEDT official. “They should also address issues associated with transparency and accountability.”

Complicating the S&T division’s re-organization are MEDT’s contractual obligations with the Innovation Institute of Ontario (IIO). The not-for-profit organization was created in 2000 as a subsidiary to OIT and administers and/or provides back-end support for OIT, ORDCF, Ontario Genomics Institute, MaRS Discovery District and Ontario Cancer Research Network.

IIO officials are also reluctant to discuss anticipated or pending changes, saying it’s too early to determine what the final outcome may be.

“The ministry is preparing a new Ontario Research Fund that will address the needs of infrastructure, research and overhead,” says IIO communications advisor Bob Kalbfleisch. “There will be consultations over the coming months and until then the existing funds will remain. There is no new money for the OIT or ORDCF as they currently exist in the Budget estimates ... The OIT is an endowment with $750 million to date and it’s fully committed.”

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