Thank you, Mr. Chair. My thanks to the committee for the invitation to join you in the early stages of this study.
As Pari mentioned, the research capacity of the polytechnic and college sector is overlooked and under-resourced. This bears repeating. When we look at the total annual investment in academic research by the tri-councils, it was $3.7 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year. The Canada Foundation for Innovation distributed a further $386 million. The college and community innovation program, the only purpose-driven program supporting polytechnic applied research, was valued at about $108 million that year.
In other words, 119 eligible institutions shared 2.9% of the total investment in academic research. At the Canada Foundation for Innovation, there were 553 project awards in 2022-23. Only 17 landed in our sector, with total awards of $15.5 million or about 4%. Given the impact of those investments, the disparities cannot really be justified.
Polytechnics Canada represents the 13 largest polytechnics, colleges and institutes of technology and about 50% of Canada’s college population. Together, that network undertook 3,389 research projects in 2022-23. They engaged more than 21,000 students and co-developed 2,678 prototypes in collaboration with more than 2,600 business partners.
For every dollar invested by the federal government, polytechnics were able to leverage $2.24 from other sources.
Even more compelling than the numbers are the stories behind them.
Over the last year, Polytechnics Canada has been undertaking research on the economic impact of applied research. We have spoken to primary investigators and their business partners to understand how their collaborations are driving results. They told us about the value of market-driven research. Every project is undertaken at the behest of a private company, a public body or a not-for-profit organization. They come to institutions with a challenge, an idea or an obstacle to their own growth. The partner defines the scope of the project and retains the intellectual property when the project is over.
For example, Sheridan is using artificial intelligence to drive solutions for the elderly. Kwantlen Polytechnic has developed a lightweight hyperbaric chamber to treat altitude sickness in hikers.
That market-driven character aligns with federal ambitions to accelerate innovation within Canadian industry. Partners, over 80% of which are small and mid-sized companies, co-fund activities and offer in-kind support. More than two-thirds say that research has helped them grow their businesses.
Students who participate have a front seat to addressing real-world challenges, both developing their problem-solving skills and providing invaluable connections to prospective employers. A full 15% of them are hired by the partner with whom they do the research.
In addition to creating new or improved products and services, partners say that their staff gain skills that enrich the business long after the project is complete. They tell us that projects stimulate further investments in R and D, a productivity measure on which Canada consistently lags.
In summary, I want to leave you with a few high-level takeaways that underline why polytechnic applied research warrants greater emphasis in Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
First, as a country of small businesses, Canada needs better on-ramps to research and development activity in companies that simply cannot pursue that activity on their own. This is a sweet spot for polytechnic and college applied research.
Second, despite substantive investments in primary, investigator-led research, we do a poor job of translating those developments to the market. This is where polytechnics and colleges excel, but their capacity is under-utilized.
Finally, there is a funding disparity, but our research funding model also undervalues pragmatic approaches to common problems. We simply do not prize innovation that is incremental and applied. I think that is a mistake.
Thank you very much.