Mr. Chair, members of the committee, as a productive and internationally respected research and development organization, the National Research Council, or NRC, continues to bring advanced knowledge and new technologies to Canadian industries, helping them to compete more effectively on the world stage.
We have a long history of scientific breakthroughs such as the atomic clock, the Canadarm, and the synthetic meningitis C vaccine, to name just a few. While these achievements are important for NRC and the country, they represent only one aspect of NRC's impact. NRC's day-to-day interactions, support, and research collaborations with small and medium-sized enterprises result in the creation of new technologies, new jobs, new firms, and greater prosperity for Canadians.
NRC works closely with Canadian SMEs in a number of ways, from collaborative research projects between Canadian firms and any one of our 21 research institutes, technology licensing, the creation of new firms, and most significantly through the work of our Industrial Research Assistance Program, IRAP.
NRC also operates a national network 15 industrial partnership facilities, or IPFs, as we call them. These are specialized business incubators affiliated with our research institutes across the country. Companies, often start-ups or SMEs, link to our R and D capacity, our expertise, and our specialized equipment, and benefit from the synergy that comes from interaction with our advisors from the industrial research assistance program, IRAP.
In 2008-09, 13 firms graduated from our facilities, bringing their innovations to a higher level of technology readiness. We currently have 137 companies incubating in these facilities. It is worth noting that graduates from NRC's industrial partnership facilities tend to enter the commercial market on a stronger footing and have a higher survival rate than the regular startup.
As I mentioned earlier, our most significant interaction with SMEs is through NRC's IRAP program. IRAP is delivered by 240 field staff located in 100 communities across the country. On average, NRC-IRAP works with 8,000 small and medium-sized firms each year. NRC-IRAP provides non-repayable contributions on a cost-shared basis to Canadian technology-based SMEs focused on growth in Canadian and international markets. NRC-IRAP also provides mentoring support and business support to these firms. NRC-IRAP's partner organizations also receive contributions to provide technical and research assistance to Canadian SMEs.
The program supports the government's Youth Employment Strategy with its internship program which provides firms with support to hire post–secondary graduates. Both firms and graduates benefit from these programs: firms benefit from the graduates' expertise in a diverse variety of disciplines and graduates gain valuable work experience that will help open the doors for future employment.
In 2008-2009, NRC-IRAP signed financial contribution agreements worth more than $70 million with more than 1,400 Canadian SMEs. IRAP worked with another 6,349 firms to provide technical, research and business assistance. These contributions translated into close to 5,740 new jobs and employment for 540 youth graduates.
An example of one of the countless successes emanating from NRC-IRAP's SME collaborations is Vancouver-based Angiotech Pharmaceuticals. As a small firm, Angiotech began a working relationship with NRC-IRAP in 1993. Within five years the company had developed technology to help control chronic inflammation and angiogenesis and had signed a $30 million licensing agreement. Today Angiotech has more than 1,500 employees worldwide, with operations in Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
This year, as part of the Government of Canada's economic action plan, NRC-IRAP was allocated an additional $200 million over two years to provide supplementary support to SMEs. This includes $170 million to double its financial contribution to firms, with a goal of reaching an extra 1,360 SMEs over the next two years, and $30 million to help companies hire over 1,000 new post-secondary graduates.
l'm pleased to report that as of October 31, this funding has already reached over 1,200 firms and created 4,536 new jobs, on top of the 455 new graduates that were hired in 376 firms.
To mention a few examples of SMEs that will receive funding as part of this initiative, AV-BASE Systems, a London, Ontario-based company, will receive over $348,000 to develop state-of-the-art maintenance and inventory-control software for the aviation industry. Clear Flow Consulting will receive close to $125,000 to develop environmentally friendly polymers to treat waste water from both aquaculture ponds and rural, small-scale waste water treatment plants.
In conclusion, I hope that I have made clear that the National Research Council is committed to working with small and medium-sized enterprises, boosting their growth and competitiveness while they realize their full potential.
After all, NRC's role is all about turning knowledge and innovation into strategic opportunities, jobs, and prosperity for all Canadians.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.