Industry-driven applied research is about applying useful knowledge and ideas to solve today's business problems while contributing to the bottom line. Applied research generates wealth for business, industry and the economy as a whole and can lead to important social change, improved quality of life and creation of employment for budding Canadian entrepreneurs.  

Applied research does not have to come at the price of basic research, which has led to critical  breakthroughs and saved countless lives. Rather, support for applied research helps make the funding pie bigger so colleges and technical institutes can do what they are good at -- work with business and industry to solve real problems.

Technical institutes, like the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, find themselves in a “chicken-and-egg” dilemma. Without funding to build capacity, including infrastructure, equipment and the ability to free up staff time, it's hard to expand applied research programs. At NAIT, instructors spend an average of 28 hours per week teaching, leaving little time for research. Compare the funding for universities versus colleges and technical institutes.

In The College Advantage: Private Sector Innovation and Highly Qualified Personnel, Roger Fisher of Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, notes that “nationally, regionally and provincially, Canada's colleges are constrained in their applied research and innovation activities by systemic bias in favour of universities. This is evident in the composition of funding agency panels, selection criteria, restrictions on eligible expenses (such as faculty release time), outcomes and expectations.

“The university-centric nature of these competitions precludes fair access for colleges, or requires that they participate as ‘junior partners' with universities,” states Fisher. “To date, less than one per cent of Canadian Foundation for Innovation grants and less than half a per cent of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council research grants have been awarded to colleges  . . . This kind of funding represents less than one per cent of (NSERC's) annual research funding programs.”

Consider the value for Canadian business. More than 97 per cent of businesses in this country are small and medium enterprises. As such, colleges and technical institutes are uniquely positioned to provide them with applied research, business planning and prototyping services to keep them globally competitive.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges notes Canadian colleges and institutions house a capital inventory of more than $25 billion and 60,000 full-time and 150,000 part-time employees. With 150 colleges in more than 1,000 communities, no other institution in Canada can match this breadth and impact.

In Alberta and Ontario, governments have recently provided significant funds set to promote applied research. In Alberta, $2 million per year is coming from the Alberta Association of Colleges and Technical Institutes, while in Ontario a three-year, $3.5-million grant has come from the Ontario Research & Commercialization Program of the Ministry of Research and Innovation.

Applied research has visible, practical and immediate results.

For example, NAIT's Bachelor of Technology in Technology Management students are required to complete a research project in which teams of students work with industry on identified problems to deliver practical solutions or viable recommendations. This year, teams worked with the Edmonton Valley Zoo to reduce its impact on the environment, designed a computer workstation that reduces user pain and fatigue, evaluated an organization's supply chain management, and reduced scrap material and downtime in a building client's production process. 

At NAIT, the flagship of our applied research program is the novaNAIT Centre for Applied Research and Technology Transfer. Business and industry across the Edmonton region can access novaNAIT's resources – including access to labs, grants, testing and simulation, prototype development and commercialization.

Since 2006, NAIT's Prototype Development Program has provided development and technical advice to more than 90 clients. Most are individual entrepreneurs and small companies and most tell us they want more services. In November 2008, the Alberta government announced an innovative voucher system to help Alberta's entrepreneurs develop technology-based ideas into marketable products or services at approved agencies including NAIT, to ‘fire up Alberta's next generation economy.” To date, more than 179 vouchers have been awarded in the province.

The NAIT Shell Manufacturing Centre has completed 20 projects, and most of these have supported small and medium enterprises. Twenty-five companies applying to the new provincial Innovation Pilot Voucher Program have consulted with NAIT.  

Technical institutes have the talent, commitment, innovative ideas and approach. We have the community and industry connections. We have the sheer numbers. What we need now is a commitment from granting agencies and industry.

The time has come to invest in applied research at technical institutes. Investments are being made by some of Canada's top companies in creating applied research chairs at NAIT and this will set the trend for more investments in colleges and technical institutes.

Such investment is not only the right thing to do. By cultivating innovation and ingenuity, it's also the smart thing to do.

Applied research has the potential to be an economic engine for Canada, creating wealth, successful entrepreneurs and jobs. This country needs these results. We need to act now.

Sam can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Courtesy of Troy Media

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