Universities pledge to double research and triple commercialization with federal help

A framework agreement hammered out between the federal government and Canada’s universities commits institutions of higher learning to double the amount they currently spend on research and triple their commercialization performance by 2010. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and Industry minister Alan Rock announced the Framework of Agreed Principles on Federally Funded University Research at the national Innovation Summit in Toronto last month.

AUCC officials say the agreement will comprise a significant component of the government’s future policy on university research and its role in making Canada one of the world’s most research intensive and innovative nations. They also assert that it’s consistent with the AUCC’s Action Plan: A Strong Foundation for Innovation, which was submitted in July as part of the innovation strategy’s engagement process.

The Framework’s objectives — which also include an unspecified target for increasing the training of graduate students — are contingent upon securing appropriate levels of new federal funding. The idea for a framework of principles was raised by Rock at the AUCC’s membership meeting in October, sparking a flurry of discussions between officials from the minister’s office, Industry Canada and the AUCC.

LIGHT ON SPECIFICS

The document, which was approved by the AUCC’s board of governors, is light on specifics and requires further refining before it becomes a workable document.

“There needs to be more discussion about targets. For commercialization, we’ve committed to triple our overall performance, but there are different ways to measure it. We will look at all the indicators and come up with the best way to achieve this,” says Robert Best, AUCC’s VP national affairs. “The government is quite interested in specific aspects of our Action Plan, particularly the research portion ... This is an opportunity to further our case for more research funding, especially indirect costs.”

Best says he expects the federal government to move on university research funding in the next Budget, expected this February. The government has been sending out strong signals that it will implement a permanent program to cover the indirect costs associated with federally funded university research, likely at a level of 40%.

“It will be in the Budget for sure,” says a university official who asked to remain anonymous. “The government has established a group that’s looking at the policies for indirect costs and working out the guidelines. The question now is to what extent they should be directed towards technology transfer and business development.”

According to the most recent Statistics Canada data, the higher education sector spent a projected $6.94 billion on R&D in 2002, with the federal share estimated at 22.5% or $1.56 billion. AUCC officials are working on the assumption that the framework commitment to doubling research outlays refers to total spending by universities, although it’s unclear which figure will ultimately be used.

“We’re not sure what exactly doubling means. We have to figure out the parameters,” says Lawrence Aronovitch, a senior policy analyst with AUCC’s research division.

It’s also unclear what level of federal funding will be required to achieving the doubling of research spending, since the largest single funders of university research expenditures are the universities themselves. If Ottawa shouldered the entire increase, it would entail the unlikely scenario of a quadrupling of current federal expenditures. AUCC officials say it’s too early to say what sources will contribute, although the framework states that “The Government of Canada is responsible for providing the necessary levels of investment in university research to achieve these aims”.

CAPACITY CHALLENGE

For individual universities, absorbing such a large amount of new funding poses several challenges. Finding an adequate number of new faculty to perform the new research activity will require an unprecedented recruiting effort, at a time when the international environment is increasing competitive. A doubling of research funding will also place pressure on existing physical infrastructure, while the commitment to triple commercialization performance could strain an already weak industrial receptor capacity.

The AUCC and government recognize that not all universities have the equal ability to ramp up research and increase commercialization, so their performance will be measured collectively.

“The universities are capable of doubling their research, but there are limitations in some institutions. Many require additional physical facilities,” says Dr Carl Breckenridge, VP research at Dalhousie Univ. “For commercialization, Dalhousie has had a challenge marketing and moving intellectual property through the commercialization chain because there’s not a lot of receptor capacity in the region. For many mid-sized institutions there’s a challenge to add value.”

The AUCC has also agreed to produce a periodic public report to demonstrate progress against its commitments, not only from the Framework but from its Action Plan.

Released in July, the Action Plan was the AUCC’s official submission to the Innovation Strategy consultation process. It contains many more commitments than the Framework and establishes specific targets. The university commitments include:

• increased learning opportunities for 20-30% more full-time undergraduate students by 2011;
• improved degree completion rates and shorter times to degree;
• raising the number of graduate degrees awarded from 27,000 in 2001 to 38,000 by 2011; and,
• improved knowledge transfer services, enhanced interaction with smaller firms and greater industry-university research collaboration.

In order to meet its objectives, the Action Plan says government and other sectors must help. In addition to a permanent program for indirect costs, the federal government is called upon to boost direct research funding by doubling the budgets of the three granting councils, “with particular attention to addressing the relative underfunding of the social sciences and humanities”. The AUCC also asks the federal government to introduce a 10-year capacity building program that provides block grants to smaller institutions.

Given the absence of these measures in the Framework, it’s unclear to what degree Ottawa will accept and implement them.

“The Framework notion is consistent with the Action Plan, but it doesn’t supplant it,” says Best.

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