I think it's an ecosystem issue. We just brought all of our institutions together for the national applied research symposium. I believe you were at that event. About 100 community colleges and polytechnics from across Canada were in attendance.
That tells me that applied research, even in small institutions, is part of their mandate and mission, because they want to meet needs in their region and their community.
Existing programs need funding to shore up smaller institutions' resources.
We also need the programs to leverage existing community college networks to include others that may have fewer resources but have a contribution to make.
For example, there is a network called the Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation, or SONAMI. It was led by Niagara College Canada, but it included other colleges. It has even invited universities to join the network, because it wants to meet regional needs. It wants to include institutions from across Canada.