Government of Canada Helping to Create Jobs and Growth Through New Funding for Research, Partnerships and Small Businesses

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 6, 2011) - The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), today announced over $1.3 million in support for new research projects funded through the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence. These include initiatives to improve water treatment in the oil industry, develop lighter and quieter aircraft, and facilitate the development of drugs for central nervous system diseases.

"Small and medium-sized enterprises create jobs and grow our economy through innovation," said Minister of State Goodyear. "Our government is pleased to support these businesses as they commercialize ideas through R&D partnerships with our world-class Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence."

Launched in 2007, the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program's Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Co-operative Fund supports collaborative business-led initiatives that enhance private sector innovation. The following four projects will share over $1.3 million:

• The Sustainable Technologies for Energy Production Systems received $470,000 to increase the water treatment capacity of smaller companies in the oil industry.
• The Green Aviation Research and Development Network received $187,500 to work with aerospace suppliers in developing new floor panels for aircraft that reduce weight and noise.
• A second Green Aviation Research and Development Network project, approved for $285,000, aims to improve the manufacturing processes and performance of fan cases for aircraft engines.
• The Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery received $375,000 to research better ways of developing and testing drugs that treat central nervous system diseases.

"Networks and projects such as these are a proven way to connect knowledge developed at our universities with real-world situations," added Suzanne Fortier, Chair of the Networks of Centres of Excellence Steering Committee and President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. "These projects will provide economic, social and environmental benefits in areas that are important to Canadians."

The initiative is managed through the Networks of Centres of Excellence program, which forges partnerships between universities, industry, government and not-for profit organizations. Its goal is to turn Canadian research and entrepreneurial talent into economic and social benefits for all Canadians.

For more information on the recipients, see the Business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence website.

Backgrounder

Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence

Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperative Funds Competition Results

The Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program was created in 2007 to fund large-scale collaborative business-led networks that enhance private-sector innovation in order to deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits to Canadians. They are headed by industrial consortia, and help increase private-sector investments in Canadian research, support training of skilled researchers, and accelerate the transfer of ideas from the laboratory into products and services in the marketplace. The Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperative Funds are awarded to networks for projects that involve the SME community. Networks receive approximately half of their funding from industry.

On the recommendation of the program's Private Sector Advisory Board, the Network of Centres of Excellence Secretariat allocated $2.8 million of the original $46 million budget to support efforts by the existing networks that increase the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in research and commercialization activities. The second competition took place in 2011. Proposals were evaluated against the following criteria:

• the extent to which the project will increase both industry capacity for, and receptivity to, research and development (including among small and medium-sized enterprises);
• evidence that the project will lead to commercialization benefits that position Canadian firms in high-value segments of production chains;
• the extent to which the applicants demonstrate their ability to strengthen domestic collaborations and ensure that benefits spread to a wide array of firms, sectors and regions of the country; and
• the extent to which the project offers the opportunity to create, grow and retain companies in Canada that are able to capture new markets with new innovations.

The competition resulted in four grants totalling over $1.3 million:

• The Sustainable Technologies for Energy Production Systems network will receive funding for a project to increase the water treatment capacity of smaller companies in the oil industry.
  Funding: $470,000
• The Green Aviation Research and Development Network will work with aerospace suppliers to develop new floor panels for aircraft that reduce weight and noise.
  Funding: $187,500
• A second project funded through the Green Aviation Research and Development Network aims to improve the manufacturing processes and performance of fan cases for aircraft engines.
  Funding: $285,000
• The Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery will receive a grant to research better ways of developing and testing drugs that treat central nervous system diseases. The research will seek to improve existing imaging technology and simulation tools that work at the cellular and molecular level.
  Funding: $375,000