Pilot commercialization funds target universities and federal laboratories

NRC being positioned as main delivery agency

Universities and government laboratories are receiving new resources to develop and deploy pilot-scale commercialization models and projects while Ottawa’s chief science officials study ways of improving the commercialization environment. Two pilot funds have been announced that will give $50 million to universities and $25 million to federal labs over the next five years. The funds will be launched late this year, once Treasury Board approval is received.

Reaction from both communities has been positive although it’s clear that much work needs to be done to develop the appropriate terms of reference, governance structures and selection criteria. For the university fund, those eligible to apply include the granting councils, university consortia and research hospitals. Proposals must be geared toward improving the capacity for commercialization.

Funding for the university pilot fund comes with a directive for the granting councils to triple investments in commercialization from a current total of $10 million to $30 million. The target flows from a commitment made in late 2002 by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) to triple university-based research (R$, December 2/02).

“There’s a lot of work to clarify how the money is to be used,” says Dr Tom Brzustowski, president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. “If it’s to be used to eliminate the bottlenecks in commercialization, we know what they are. It’s the ability to provide training to more people who know the science and the market and the investment community and the legalities of licensing and starting up. The really expert people in university technology transfer offices —there’s a shortage of those people.”

The university fund will also be guided by an advisory committee established by Industry Canada. Budget documents say the committee will “ensure a role for the private sector perspectives and expertise” — a perspective Brzustowski acknowledges as appropriate.

“We do understand that feedback from the market and R&D response to that is the bulk of innovation that takes place among producing companies,” he says. “However, importance of university discovery and its commercialization is not to be sneezed at. One has to have a palate with all these colours.”

GOVERNMENT FUND

The pilot fund for federal laboratories is the first indication that, after years of official silence, Ottawa is prepared to acknowledge the role of government S&T in the national innovation system. Although it doesn’t address the more expensive issues of aging infrastructure and facilities, the pilot fund will allow science-based departments and agencies (SBDAs) to build on some of the preparatory work undertaken in support of the Federal Innovation Networks of Excellence initiative.

“$25 million over five years won’t stand the world on its head but it’s a start. We have to look at how to leverage this most effectively and leverage into other programs such as the Business Development Bank. I hope to get two-to-one leverage so that $5 million gets $10 million,” says Dr John Leggat, S&T ADM for National Defence and co-chair of the S&T Integration Board. “The Budget shows that there’s a real opportunity to try and get the various pieces of the innovation system working together. Everyone will get engaged. The environment is very collegial these days.”

Federal laboratories are on the growing list of priorities facing Dr Arthur Carty as he assumes his new position of national science advisor to the prime minister. Along with Industry minister Lucienne Robillard and Joe Fontana, parliamentary secretary for science and small business, Carty will be examining all aspects of the issue.

“The pilot fund is an encouragement but this particular issue hasn’t been tackled in a holistic way and it need to be,” he says. “People recognize that there are serious difficulties in federal labs, for example with infrastructure, where investments are at an historic low. How much innovation has there been in the past five or six years? There are a number of issues to be resolved and I think they deserve to be tackled.”

IRAP GETS $5M BOOST

The National Research Council was also prominently featured in Budget documents relating to commercialization, although the only branch of the agency to receive new funding was the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). It will receive an additional $5 million for its A-base to “strengthen support for regional innovation and commercialization strategies”. The rest of the organization is clearly being positioned for a major breakthrough in the next Budget, even though its proposal this year was turned down.

“The government didn’t have its hands around commercialization but the NRC is positioned to play a leadership role,” says Dr Michael Raymont, NRC’s VP acting president. He adds that the Budget states that the government will be looking to exploit the NRC’s significant potential to foster commercialization and accelerate company growth.

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