Partner Participation Growing

NCEs are research-driven partnerships
CECRs are public-private research and commercialization partnerships
BL-NCEs are private sector problem-driven research partnerships

One of the highlights of the past year has been the growing participation of partners, particularly participation of private sector partners in technology development and commercialization activities. A total of 3,163 partners, including 1455 from industry, participated in the NCE, CECR, BL-NCE and IRDI programs in 2010-11. That compares with 2,699 partners the year before, including 1202 from industry.

Overall, partners contributed $188 million in cash and in-kind support last year for the NCE, CECR, BL-NCE  and IRDI programs—a leveraged ratio of 1.3:1. This compares with contributions of $150.3 million and a leveraged ratio of 1.2:1 for all four programs in 2009-10.

The most notable increase in funding came from the private sector, which contributed $83.7 million toward all four programs in 2010-11, compared with $44.4 million in the previous year.

Beyond the increase in leveraging for the program as a whole, centres are also beginning to report on significant follow-on investment received by partner firms and spin-offs that have resulted from the seed-funding and business acceleration supports provided by the CECRs.

The value of in-kind contributions

Industry partners contribute time, resources and access to specialized equipment and facilities—in addition to direct financial contributions. For example, Bell Helicopter in Mirabel, Quebec, is providing ArboraNano access to its specialized testing facilities for polymer composites. Another ArboraNano partner, Montreal-based Nanoledge, is sharing its expertise in integrating nanoparticles with other materials.

In addition to financial resources, partners often participate on boards of directors, advisory committees and research review panels. For CECRs and BL-NCEs, in particular, private sector partners provide advice on the design of R&D programs, new company creation, seed funds, royalty structures and other commercialization activities, in addition to acting as mentors to SME partners and start-ups. Larger industry partners may contribute money for technology development or as seed funding to help start-ups grow.