Thank you for the question.
Research and development is proportionally a much smaller part of the industrial and technological benefits portfolio, in comparison to procurement and to the development of technology suppliers. Most of our portfolio has to do with agreements between companies, such as prime contractors and Canadian companies, to deliver products and services that complement global value chains.
Investments under the research and development stream target small and medium-sized businesses as well as post-secondary institutions. We try to help contractors reach agreements with these partners and encourage them to do so. Incentives are provided to these prime contractors through policies and multipliers, but these incentives are proportionally less than those in other streams.
We are really looking to foster activities that give partners the opportunity to interact with prime contractors, who are large companies. Usually, these partners cannot speak directly to contractors. Large companies find it difficult to work with smaller companies and schools. We are trying to give them incentives to reach agreements and encourage activities in this area.