Good morning Mr. Chair, committee members and guests. Thank you for inviting me to share our recommendations with the committee this morning.
My name is Nancy Déziel. I am the president of the board of Réseau Trans-tech, a network of college centres for the transfer of technologies, or CCTTs. There are 59 such centres in Quebec, many of which are members of Tech-Access Canada. Every year, our 59 CCTTs conduct 7,000 applied research projects for over 4,000 businesses, mostly small and medium-sized ones. CCTTs collaborate with universities and other research centres.
We are pleased that the Government of Canada is supporting this work by investing in three major funds, NSERC, SSHRC, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, as well as the NRC, the CFI, and Canada Economic Development.
However, our members' ability to support entrepreneurs' progress toward innovation is threatened by the fact that colleges and CEGEPs are financially responsible for much of the cost of their research activities. At present, that is the only thing standing in the way of Canada having world-class applied research capabilities.
The funding situation means that a number of Quebec CCTTs have to put the brakes on development and restrict access to some of their ultra-high-tech equipment so they can reduce the cost of maintaining and updating it and renewing licences. These limitations mean that considerably fewer SMEs and organizations that can access support services.
We believe there is no better time to invest. More than ever before, SMEs have to upgrade and modernize their operations in order to position themselves upstream of market demands and carve out a niche for themselves in the globally competitive knowledge economy.
NSERC's college and community innovation program allows colleges to use up to 20% of a grant to cover certain costs. However, our surveys show that indirect costs associated with research in colleges eat up between 27% and 35% of the funds, so 20% is not enough. Furthermore, this solution applies only to expenditures related to ongoing projects, not those required to maintain the research capabilities of institutions in the network.
Our recommendations are as follows.
First, we recommend that the government establish the regional innovation acceleration fund, the RIAF. We submitted this proposal to the Minister of Science and Sport and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. This fund would ensure the continuity of college research and enable SMEs across Canada to access it.
Second, we recommend that the government invest $135 million in the fund over five years.
Third, we recommend that the government assign delivery of this fund to regional development agencies such as Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions or NSERC.
Implementing this initiative would generate inclusive innovation access opportunities, accelerate the creation of stable, well-paying jobs in all Canadian communities, and increase experiential learning opportunities for students in order to foster innovative talent throughout the country.
How would such a program work? Participation by colleges and CEGEPs would be voluntary. The program would be open to all institutions eligible for NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR programs. The amount of financial assistance would be calculated on the basis of the average of the amounts received over the last two years from competitive NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR programs exclusive to colleges. Hence, colleges receiving an average of less than $375,000 in grants would receive $150,000 per year to support applied research development in their region and allow them to establish a critical mass of research.
In closing, I can assure you that Réseau Trans-tech is collaborating with Tech-Access Canada and with Colleges and Institutes Canada. We are working together, and we represent these organizations, which operate across the country.
The committee and the Government of Canada can count on Réseau Trans-tech's full participation and collaboration in implementing these major initiatives and driving society forward. We are prepared to answer all of your questions and to help implement this project.
Thank you very much.