Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon. It's a privilege to be before you today as we gather to discuss the capstone organization.
As we navigate an era marked by rapid advancements and unprecedented challenges, the role of applied research in polytechnic institutions has never been more vital. As the largest post-secondary in northern Alberta, Northwestern Polytechnic recognizes the importance and value of applied research. Our institution works directly with small and medium-sized enterprises to address real-world challenges through applied research. When industries and communities collaborate with polytechnics, they create impactful and tangible results. The partnerships I'm speaking to today leverage both academic and industry expertise and resources, allowing for the development of practical solutions that can be swiftly implemented in the community, the marketplace and beyond.
Applied research plays a vital role in addressing the unique challenges faced by rural communities. By focusing on practical and local solutions for our industries, it helps improve quality of life, foster economic development and enhance access to essential services.
In northern Alberta, our main industry partners are from the energy, agriculture, forestry and health care sectors. In agriculture innovations, applied research helps to develop sustainable farming practices, improve crop yields and integrate technology to support local farmers. Applied research fosters economic development by exploring strategies for diversifying local economies, supporting small businesses and creating job opportunities tailored to the community's strengths.
Currently, without the capstone, the national research ecosystem is organized around academic disciplines of social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health sciences. The tri-agencies' roles and functions are to promote and assist post-secondary research in these areas.
The committee has already heard that only 2.9% of current research funding is awarded to colleges and polytechnics. Also, the majority of investments in applied research is in institutions situated in major urban centres. This oversight is problematic because it discounts the value and strength of the collaborations that are occurring beyond the borders of major cities and in the heart of some of our most lucrative industries. It also means that a vital perspective has been left out of the national research ecosystem.
To that end, the missing components are representation, transdisciplinarity and equality. This is where the capstone organization has a fit.
The capstone mandate needs to support mission-driven research that helps to address the urgent societal challenges where the intellectual property belongs to Canadians, not to the individual researcher or the specific post-secondary institution. This is publicly funded research for the benefit of all Canadians.
The capstone's role should be twofold. First, it should be focused on transdisciplinary research of a complex challenge that brings together knowledge from academia, experiences from those working within the challenges and the prospective benefits to Canadians. Second, the capstone's role should be focused on the integration of the Canadian innovation ecosystem where all post-secondary institutions collaborate and contribute to the research enterprise.
Not only does the capstone's structure need to be representative of all post-secondary institutions, including polytechnics, colleges and CEGEPs, it also must intentionally include rural and northern researchers, industries and communities.
The capstone should be funded through a new funding envelope. A dedicated and stable investment will allow applied research to flourish.
In closing, I want to share information with the committee about technology access centres, or TACs, as an example of how the capstone's approach can support mission-driven research on a larger scale nationally. A TAC is an advanced applied research and innovation facility. It enables companies to access state-of-the-art technology, equipment and a multidisciplinary team of experts who will help transform innovative ideas into market-ready products through prototype development, process scaling and addressing specific business challenges.
Northwestern Polytechnic's TAC, the National Bee Diagnostic Centre, is a leader in providing comprehensive diagnostic services and cutting-edge testing for the beekeeping industry with aligned processes and practices with accredited laboratories in the EU and the U.S. It works to advance testing for fraudulent honey to protect the reputation of Canadian honey worldwide.
The other TACs across the country support and benefit SMEs and communities in similar ways through innovation, technology, commercialization and employability. I encourage the capstone to leverage its mandate and role in a way that will not only build on the success of these TACs, but also amplify the strengths of our collective learnings as a collaborative research community.
Thank you very much. I await your questions.