Canada needs to invest in its infrastructure NOW to prevent its economy from under-performing in the coming years.

Clear links are now being established between a country’s investment in infrastructure and its productivity and growth. According to a recent report commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) earlier this month, Canada’s large infrastructure deficit is undermining our economy and overall quality of life.  Another report by the Conference Board of Canada, issued in March 2010, concluded that “for every dollar spent on public infrastructure in Ontario, $1.11 in real GDP was generated”.  As a result, both reports highlight the need for immediate action to improve our roads, bridges, sewers, transit systems, water lines, etc in order for our society to operate and grow.

Quick fixes will not suffice. It is now time for us to turn to long-term stable funding solutions and programs. Our upcoming Ontario Economic Summit (OES) will address this major issue through our panel entitled “Gateways to Growth: Ontario’s Transportation Infrastructure. We invite you to come share your ideas and recommendations to help us build and sustain a more prosperous and attractive province.

For more information on the Summit (including agenda and speakers) and to register, please visit: www.occ-oes.com.

Download the full RCCA report on “Public Infrastructure Underinvestment: The Risk to Canada’s Economic Growth”.

Download the full Conference Board of Canada report on “The Economic Impact of Public Infrastructure in Ontario”.

• A more effective environment for industry-academia collaboration?
• Higher levels of entrepreneurship?
• Increased willingness to adopt new technologies among industry?
• Increased investments and available venture capital?
• Effective management of intellectual property rights and ownership?

has been joined by:

• Kim Parlee, Host of the Business News Network (moderator
• Timothy R. Haig, President and CEO of BIOX Corporation
• Patricia Massetti, Vice President, Public Affairs and Patient Care of Merck

The Gateways to Growth: Ontario’s Transportation Infrastructure panel which seeks to raise awareness about our challenges, review current development plans for transit systems and corridors, discuss ways to further improve our multimodal transportation network in innovative ways, look at solutions implemented in other jurisdictions, and think, outside the box, about alternative funding options given the current constraints linked to public financing has been joined by:

• William A. Henderson, President and CEO of Purolator Courier Ltd.

For a look at the 2010 complete preliminary agenda, with format and timing please visit: http://occ-oes.com/documents-2010/summit-agenda

For program ideas or recommendation please contact gabrielleschachter@occ.on.ca

Terence Corcoran has written an interesting commentary about business confidence in today’s National Post.  Let us know what you think.  Are you seeing signs that businesses are making new investments or still holding out for an “all clear”?

“The development of successful and fair economic policies requires the participation of all stakeholders: business, government, labour, NGOs, and communities. The OES is one of the few venues where all these constituencies can get together for a frank and fruitful discussion of how to build a better economic future.”

The OES is on track to be another memorable and successful event. To find out more about what’s in store for this year’s Summit, check out the preliminary agenda online.

Register before July 30 to receive the early bird discount and save $400!

The OES partnered with the Council of Ontario Universities, VPs of Research and local chambers to develop a series of workshops aiming to bridge the gap between universities and the business community. London, Sudbury and the York Region were targeted for the pilot workshops this spring.

Key issues addressed included:

• Primary point of contact at universities: To whom should business reach out?
• Timelines: What can business expect in terms of getting an answer of yes or no about a research collaboration with the university?
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): How universities negotiate IPR – who owns what?
• Fees: What fees should a company expect to pay for university research and how are fees calculated?
• Long-term benefits of collaboration: What has been the upside in terms of growing the business?
• Key recommendations: How can the landscape be improved so that universities and businesses partner more effectively and improve collaborative activities?

Please read the Connect to Innovate final report* to learn more.

* The report includes similarities and differences between regions/cities, key findings and recommendations.

Things seem to be looking up for Ontario:

• Ontario’s GDP outpaced both Canada and the US in Q4 2009 by 1.6%
• Ontario’s economy is forecasted to grow by 3.6% this year just ahead of Canada’s 3.4% projected growth
• A slight decline in unemployment is expected: down to 8.1% from 8.9%
• Quebec based Héroux-Devtek announced it will be investing $26.5 M in its Kitchener facility
• Hind High Vacuum Company, a Canadian solar firm, announced they will build a solar panel manufacturing facility at the Windsor International Airport which is forecasted to create 200 new jobs

Visit: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ich-epi.nsf/eng/02043.html to receive a full copy of the report.

Having just returned from South Korea, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty now insists that the #1 priority for the upcoming G20 Summit in Toronto is a plan for debt reduction and sustainable economic development in Europe.  Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney also notes that it is easier to “connect the dots” between problems in Europe and Canada’s economic growth going forward. 

Given that Ontario has historically had so much of its growth tied to a strong U. S. economy, it might seem odd that Europe (the European Union accounts for about 9% of all Ontario exports) could negatively impact overall progress here.  This is the interdependency of our global economy playing out right before our eyes.  Let’s hope that a framework for European economic stability, along with concrete global financial reform is soon a reality.

From left: Dr. Patrice Sawyer, Laurentian University, Mr. Marc Boudreau, BESTECH Inc.

Our panelists – Dr. Patrice Sawyer (VP of Research & Graduates Studies, Laurentian University), Mr. Marc Boudreau (President & CEO, BESTECH), Mr. Bill Mantel (MRI) and Dr. Tom Corr (OCE)- answered some tough questions head-on and listened intently to the suggestions made by our highly engaged audience, composed primarily of business, association and university representatives. By the end of the session, we had several positive messages to walk away with, and a stronger sense of commitment from all involved.

Here are some of the highlights from our Sudbury session:

• “As we’ve seen locally and provincially, the past year and a half has presented some serious challenges to Ontario’s economy. Businesses of all stripes have had to shift their perspective in order to sustain and grow…Those who expand their focus, maintain an awareness, and utilize strategic resources, are considerably stronger and better suited to wheather hardship… By being here, you’ve demonstrated awareness… I encourage you to speak freely.  We want the same goal: to build strong, realistic, effective, collaborations between our businesses and Laurentian University, and your input will assist us achieve that”, announced our moderator Debbi Nicholson (President & CEO, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce).

The following questions drove the panel discussion and we received honest answers from Laurentian University and BESTECH:

• Approach: What is best way for business to approach Laurentian University? Who should your business approach?
• Timelines: What timelines can business expect for an answer of yes, the university can help or no, it cannot?
• IPR: How does Laurentian University work with business on IP issues? Who owns it?
• Financial Costs: What kind of fees can a company expect to pay for university research, how are the fees calculated, what about the costs for any legal services to support the partnership?
• Potential Long Term Benefits:  Can you provide examples of companies that have worked with your university, small to medium particularly important for these audiences, or large companies that were once small and have capitalized on some university research?
• A question for business: What could universities do to improve the entire process and environment that stimulates partnerships with business and the commercialization process?

Key comments/recommendations from business included:

• Coming from the university world means that you already know the people and understand what the university can do for you.  As a startup, or SME, not affiliated with a university, the best option is to use an association (e.g. SAMSSA, CEMI, OCE) as a conduit to have better access to funds. Business needs to recognize that Universities are experts at leveraging but still need to bring money to the table to leverage this relationship. This will be an advantage to the business and to the community as a whole.
• To move forward, it is crucial for all those involved to be aware of the timelines right from the “get-go”.
• Despite business and Universities having different objectives and timelines, and the process being difficult, it is a necessary one to get through, especially if the business is serious about the commitment, has a really good idea and wants to move forward with it.
• Ownership of IP should be shared, especially if Universities and business are partners.  At the moment, the default at Laurentian is for the faculty members to wholly-own the IP, or the business.  Universities and business need to look into this further and find viable solutions.
• Relationships with universities vary depending on a company’s size. SMEs have different needs and Universities need to look at what drives them. They need to reach out to them more, since they are the largest generators of wealth in the region.
• MRI and OCE are fully committed to building structures that will help them partner with strong regional organizations and make the environment less complicated. They want to bring the right resources to companies at the right time to help them be first on the market.

Join the debate. We look forward to continuing this debate at the upcoming London and York Region events, as well as at the Ontario Economic Summit (OES), and implementing viable solutions to enhancing the current innovation environment in Ontario.

The OES team will compile a summary of findings of the Sudbury Connect to Innovate workshop in the coming days. Until then, check out: http://twitter.com/oes to view updates from Sudbury as they happen.

Want to know more about Connect to Innovate?