Features of Canada’s Innovation System

dr. Mindaugas Kiskismkiskis@mruni.eu, mindaugas@invent.lt

www.kiskis.eu

Research project

• 31 days in Canada, 3 provinces• 32 interviews• diaspora meetings

PROVINCE INSTITUTION

Ontario (Toronto)

Federal Trade Commissioner’s Office in OntarioOntario Ministry of Research and InnovationMaRS CentreUniversity of TorontoRogers Canada

Ontario (Kingston, London, Kitchener-Waterloo)

Queens UniversityPARTEQUniversity of Western OntarioCommunitechWaterloo University

Alberta (Edmonton)

Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education and TechnologyTEC Edmonton, University of AlbertaAlberta Innovates

British Columbia (Kelowna, Vancouver)

University of British Columbia (including University-Industry Liason Office)Premier’s Technology Council

Some facts about Canada• Nearly 2 percent of GDP is allocated to R&D (just above

the OECD 2008 average, although lags the G7 average)• First place in the G7 in the proportion of citizens with

an education beyond high school • One of the most generous R&D tax credit programs in

the world• Below the OECD average in terms of business

expenditures on research and development• Most of the Canadian R&D performed by the public

universities and research centres• University performed R&D was 6.3 percent of total

business funded R&D

SCIENCE PUSH

• Federal $11.7 billion for science and technology in the fiscal year 2010/2011.

• The Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) programme - $1.4 million annual award paid to the chairholders for seven years; freedom to build the teams and acquire the tools they need to conduct world-class research.

The pillars of the Canada's innovation system

• attracting and retaining talent;• supporting world-leading research; and• transforming discoveries into commercial

success.

Canadian Innovation Roadmap

Govt centric approach

• Federal structure• ON - Ministry of Research and Innovation• AB – Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education

and Technology, Alberta Innovates• BC – Premier‘s Technology Council, BC

Innovation Council

Distinctive features• Business-government tandem at the core of most

instruments– Public venture capital funds = co-investment vehicles

matching the private capital, with no govt review– Most grant and innovation advisory agencies in

Canada are headed by people coming from business background

– Overlapping multi-layers of government support (second chance)

– Broad metrics, based on broader economic impact, rather than project ROI, patents or startup numbers

– Local championship (Perimeter Institute)

Networks of Centres of Excellence• 40 focused networks of CoE• Focus areas:– Health and Life Sciences– Information and Communication– Environment– Natural Resources– Manufacturing/Engineering– Cross-sectoral

• Intellectual resource pooling and forcing academic cooperation

Multi cultural approach• IPR:– Universities of Waterloo or Queen’s University lead

the inventor owned policies– University of Toronto or University of British Columbia

pursue institution owned approach.• Technology transfer functions are carried by:– independent business-like entity (PARTEQ)– quasi-independent structure (TEC Edmonton) – integral university unit (UBC University-Industry

Liaison Office). • Integrated sci-tech-park model

Translation of academic knowledge

• Translating technologies/knowledge and are not limited to pre-fixed translation vehicles (e.g. university relationship with the translation enterprise is not pre-fixed to equity or licenses)

• Integrated studies-entrepreneurship (UoW Velocity)

Risks

• Science failure risks• Efficiency risks• Low technology absorption capacity among

Canadian businesses • Bulk of the value from technologies developed

in Canada based on public infrastructure and public capital is captured elsewhere

Critical Self-reflectionState of the Nation 2010 – Canada's Science, Technology and Innovation System – Report: Current best efforts are not getting [Canada] to where [it] want[s] to be. Looking ahead to a period of government restraint around the globe, Canada has the best opportunities to move forward provided industry seizes leadership in doing so. The job of those who partner with industry (including governments and higher education and research institutions) is to enable performance gains by adapting, consolidating and simplifying the policy instruments and mechanisms for collaborating with the private sector on innovation.

What can LT learn?

Instruments independent from public funding:•second chance grant approach•integrated sci-tech-park model•university intellectual property autonomy•studies-entrepreneurship integration

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