Canada can be proud of its talent pool, its rising number of university graduates and science post-graduates. In comparison to other OECD countries, Canada fares rather well in the areas of education, university-funded R&D, competition and peer review. Where we are not delivering is in transferring the knowledge from our talent pool to the marketplace.

The State of the Nation 2010 report, issued by Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council states “research and development performed by business in Canada is low by international standards.” This is reason for serious concern.

It was with great interest that we, at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), read Paul Davidson’s article “We need a culture of innovation: Build links between business and academe” (July 5, 2011). The article highlighted the findings of this report and rightly emphasized the need for Canada to foster a culture of innovation by building stronger links between the private sector and academic institutions.

In an age where innovation is essential to remaining globally competitive, Canada and its provinces cannot afford to lag behind.

For the last eight years, the Ontario Economic Summit (OES), an initiative of the OCC, has been bringing economic leaders from business, government, academia, labour and non-profit communities together, to address some of the most pressing concerns affecting Ontario’s economic prosperity.

In recent years, leaders participating at the OES have pointed to the need for a dialogue about how business-academia collaborations might be enhanced to help build a robust innovation climate. In response, the OES and the Council of Ontario Universities partnered to develop the “Connect to Innovate” (CTI) initiative in 2010.

These workshops, facilitated by local chambers of commerce and boards of trade, were held in Sudbury, London, Vaughan and Windsor. They featured senior administrators from each University with one of their research partners from the business community – exactly what Paul Davidson’s article said was needed for this country to remain globally competitive.

Clearly, one of the most significant challenges we face is an inadequate innovation culture, as noted in Paul Davidson’s article. OES “Connect to Innovate” set us moving in the right direction.

The discussions held were open and honest and demonstrated a sincere desire from all to foster closer relationships with a view to a more innovative economic climate. Most importantly, they provided insight which could lead to additional solutions as we move forward with Ontario – and Canada’s – innovation agenda. A full report of our findings can be found at www.occ-oes.com/connect-to-innovate <http://www.occ-oes.com/connect-to-innovate>.

We found that academic institutions and businesses across the province were shifting their mindsets and opening themselves up to new collaborations or building on existing ones in more innovative ways. They recognized the strategic importance of being innovative in the way we work together, to advance our standing on the international stage.

We thank Paul Davidson for showcasing the importance of innovation in our economy – and society. We are pleased to be part of the solution as we host additional workshops in other communities across Ontario throughout 2011 and 2012. This unique program will be extended to include Ontario’s Colleges and we will review our progress at the next Ontario Economic Summit, taking place November 21-23, 2011 in Toronto.

The morning panel discussion looked at the long term needs of securing a creative and talented workforce. Kirk Dudtschak, Senior Vice- President of RBC Royal Bank boldly stated “War for talent is here now because we are all searching for the best and brightest to help drive our business”. A collaborative effort of labour, academia, business and government is necessary for a sustainable economy.

IBM Canada utilizes this age of graduates, taking on many interns and hiring new talent. Patrick Horgan, Vice-President of IBM Canada stated that, “The 21st century workforce is about changing the game.” Inevitably, in hiring educated and skilled individuals, this can create “smarter cities and a world-class economy.”

One major challenge of creating a world-class economy, recognized by Horgan, is obtaining critical skills. This involves reversing the trend in the low number of new graduates in core disciplines (science and engineering).  The struggle with family incomes and the incapability to send students to post-secondary institutes is recognized by Patrick (Sid) Ryan, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour. He noted that there should be a “heavy investment in post-secondary education by lowering tuition fees, which allows access to all students in all income levels.”

Institutions realize that it is important to uphold a strong brand image to attract new talent, however strong emphasis was put on the importance of maintaining relationships. Businesses must develop partnerships with post-secondary institutions in order to guarantee the top performers.

Written by: Katie Laviolette and Stephanie Porter

While the debate rages on south of the border about the $938 billion health care reform bill signed into law today by President Obama, Ontario companies may wish to consider how this monumental change to U.S. health care policy could benefit their own business activity in the United States market.

The White House notes that affordable health coverage will now be extended to 31 million additional Americans who previously had to go without.  The bill also requires availability of coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.  If the U.S. Senate approves House changes to the bill that would take effect in 2014, individuals will be required to purchase health coverage or face fines.

As Diane Francis argues in her commentary today in The National Post, the changes do not solely respond to a moral imperative, but also address rising and unsustainable health care costs in the U.S. – affecting overall economic conditions in the world’s largest consumer market.  As Francis simply characterizes it, “That’s good news for Canada and others who rely somewhat on a successful United States.”   The U.S. consumer will no longer be as concerned about a big “what if” scenario, prompting individuals to stockpile money to pay for a serious illness down the road.  That’s money that otherwise would be invested back into the economy.  Of course, this argument assumes this is indeed happening with such regularity as to affect overall consumer spending levels.  Either way, the decline in U.S. household consumption since 2008 is unmistakable and anything to improve that situation is a positive thing.

Perhaps the most direct area of opportunity for Ontario arising from U.S. health care reform lies in the increased opportunities for Ontario’s exporting life sciences and medical devices sector.  From advanced biophotonics to diagnostic equipment and surgical tools, Ontario is already competing on the world stage with a solid reputation for innovative product development and expertise.  According to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, our medical devices industry already boasts over 600 companies with 22,000 employees and revenues of $4 billion annually.  The expansion of the U.S. health care market can only be good news for these companies and the growth of this knowledge-intensive sector in Ontario.

OES welcomes three new speakers to our agenda!

Thought leaders (listed below) from each of these organizations will be joining us at the 6th Annual Summit.

Big Impact Infrastructure

Fausto Natarelli – Director, Ministry of Transportation
Bringing knowledge from the Windsor Border Initiatives Implementation Group

A Knowledge Driven, Creative Economy: Our Pathway to Prosperity

Dr. Diana Pliura – President, ALBRY Inc. & Entrepreneur In Residence, The Health Technology Exchange (HSX)
HSX supports the growth of a dynamic, prosperous Ontario medical and assistive technologies industry sector.

Sara Diamond – President, Ontario College of Art and Design
OCAD is Canada’s “University of the Imagination”

Check out the preliminary agenda to find out more!

Blog submitted by Sara Diamond – President, Ontario College of Art and Design

We have a terrific opportunity in Ontario to leverage creative industries; introduce design thinking and methods to traditional industries and use the digital revolution to leap forward.  Ontario cultural industries, representing content, services and platforms, are economically important, with an 8% growth rate since 2000; billions of dollars of profit each year and high-paying knowledge-industry jobs, and with a strong ethnic diversity that can reach global and Canadian markets. Technology strengths include micro-electronics for display technologies, animation, mobile technology and applications. While the GTA is the powerhouse, through effective clustering these industries have positive impacts on local economies. Migrating into Ontario are two international gaming companies, Electronic Arts and UbiSoft; their presence is testimony to existing capacity in Ontario—they will stimulate the further development of Canadian gaming companies. 

Here are three proposals:

Ontario has the fourth most powerful design labor force in North America and Ontario has top ranked PSE design programs.  We have the talent, but too few Ontario manufacturers hire this talent base. Studies show that manufacturing industries that take advantage of design knowledge thrive. They develop unique intellectual property; they diversify products effectively; they find business efficiencies and anticipate consumer trends and demand. Designers can look at existing technology and imagine new applications. Designers have the skills to collaborate with workers on the shop floor who are an under utilized source of creative ideas for new products and processes for their industries. Let’s create incentives to bring design companies, designers and design researchers together with the manufacturing sector to help traditional industry thrive. 

Core industrial sectors, such as financial and health services are going digital, and mobile. This transition requires fastidious attention to the interface between humans and the technology working in the background.  That is a cultural problem.  Significant profits can be made by bringing together creative industries, service industries, and the mobile sector.  Ontario has capacity in these areas, but requires action on policy and investment to ensure that companies are internationally competitive.  

Digital media is booming and can continue to boom, with national as well as international markets. Digital media is rooted in traditional cultural knowledge and production. While technology platforms, content enablers and creative content have often developed side by side, without strategic integration, there is growing success in intertwining capacities, through clustering related industries together, providing research capabilities to industries through our post-secondary sector and creating efficiencies within production and distribution.  Ontario firms need capitalization to grow to the next stage, as well as business development support and cross-sector match-making.

We can have our Silicon Valley, and more.

As an example of Ontario talent Xenophile Media, Toronto, continues to win prestigious international Emmys!

Ontario Students developing their talent: OCAD/Telus Design Collaboration.

Sara Diamond
President, Ontario College of Art and Design