Presentation made to the ACCT Conference 2008 Daniel Hubert Michelle Gauthier November 24, 2008

1. Canadian Universities’ Research and Knowledge Mobilization Performance Beyond Tripling Presentation made to the ACCT Conference 2008 Daniel Hubert Michelle Gauthier November 24, 2008

2. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada • Representing Canada’s universities at home and abroad since 1911 • Membership: Executive Heads of 94 public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges • Mandate: • Facilitate the development of public policy on higher education and university research • Liaise with the federal government on university funding and policy priorities • Encourage cooperation among universities, government, industry and communities as well as with international partners

3. Canadian universities’ commercialization performance: Beyond tripling Presentation outline • R&D investments and activities • Drivers of change and key policy questions • Benefits from university research and knowledge mobilization • The way forward

4. R&D investments and activities

5. The private sector, the federal government and universities are the main funders of research in Canada $849 M (2.9%) NOT-FOR-PROFIT SECTOR PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS $1,482 M (5.1%) FOREIGN SOURCES $2,618 M (9.0%) UNIVERSITIES $4,758 M (16.4%) $5,437 M (18.8%) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT $29 billion $13,840 M (47.8%) PRIVATE SECTOR Source: Statistics Canada.

6. All domestic funders of research have increased their investments, though the overall rate of growth has slowed significantly since 2001 $ billions Source: Statistics Canada.

7. Private sector and university research activities contributed most significantly to the increase in Canada’s overall research performance Source: Statistics Canada.

8. Canada’s GERD to GDP ratio has not kept pace with increases observed in leading competitor countries * Or most recent data. Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators 2008/1.

9. Compared to many countries, universities in Canada perform more of the country’s R&D Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators 2008/1.

10. Funding sources of research performed by universities, 2007 In 2007, an estimated $10.4 billion was invested in university research $ Millions Federal, $2,787 Provincial, $1,067 Private sector, $881 Not-for-profit sector, $813 Foreign sources, $127 Total: $10.433 billion Source: Statistics Canada.

11. All sectors increased their investments in university research over the last 15 years, most notably the federal government $ billions Source: Statistics Canada.

12. Drivers of change and key policy questions

13. Five drivers of change • Heightened recognition worldwide of the critical links between university R&D and prosperity/quality of life • Global race to attract and retain research talent and highly qualified university graduates • Growing costs and complexity of the university research enterprise • Increased emphasis on measuring the impact of university R&D • Strong impetus to partner across institutional, sectoral and geographic boundaries

14. Universities’ R&D partnerships • University-private sector research collaboration • University-government research collaboration • University-community research collaboration • Universities’ international research collaboration • Rationale for the collaboration • Breadth and depth of the collaboration • Programs and mechanisms to support the collaboration

15. University-private sector research collaboration • $6.5 billion invested in university research over the last 10 years • 6,000 research contracts valued at $370 million • 25 university research and science parks house more than 750 hi-tech companies and research centres, employing more than 39,000 people and contributing over $3.8 billion annually to the national economy • 934 Canadian scientific articles in the natural and health sciences and in engineering involved authors from both universities and the private sector • More than 2,000 students pursue industrial internships with private sector companies every year

16. Toward better collaboration with all sectors • Mutual understanding and respect • Recognition of roles and responsibilities • Governance and decision-making • Sharing the costs of research • Incentives and rewards for faculty

17. Federal support for the four foundational elements of university research • Public investments in university research focus on four interrelated, foundational elements: • Developing, attracting and retaining highly qualified research talent (people) • Putting in place and operating cutting edge research infrastructure and facilities (infrastructure and facilities) • Producing new ideas (direct costs of research) • Providing institutional support for the research effort (institutional costs of research) • Key policy question: What is the appropriate mix and level of investments in university research?

18. Benefits from university research and knowledge mobilization

19. People educated in a research-rich environment • Mobilization of information, insights, theories, methods, skills, informed opinions and culture • Development of skills conducive to entrepreneurship • Responsiveness and adaptability of the workforce • Generation of economic and social value for individuals and society at large While university graduates made up about 22 percent of the population aged 25 to 64 in 2006, they accounted for 34 percent of earnings, contributed 40 percent of the income tax base and received only 13 percent of the direct government transfers to individuals

20. Knowledge generated and disseminated • Knowledge repositories and archives • Breakthroughs in fundamental knowledge • Publications and citations • International prizes and fellowships • Global research talent While Canada accounts for only one half of one percent of the world’s population, its publications accounted for 4.7 percent of the world total in 2005, resulting in an eighth place ranking in the world

21. Innovations Fuelled • Commercialization of university research • New products and processes • New services, policies and public sector applications • New ways of thinking and behaving With a cumulative economic impact of at least $60 billion in 2007, as well as its wider impact on Canadian society and culture, university research is a critical driver of prosperity and quality of life in Canada

22. History of the tripling target • Federal innovation strategy • Framework of agreed principles between AUCC and the government of Canada • Creation of an ad hoc committee to develop the indicator • Vice-presidents, research • Directors of technology transfer offices or industry liaison offices • AUCC staff The tripling target: A political marker of universities’ engagement in commercialization

23. Universities are increasing their commercialization capacity Base for the tripling target (1999): $23.4 M Current level (2006): $54 M Target (2010): $70.2 M Source: Statistics Canada and AUCC calculations.

24. Example of a new product New drug delays progression of MS • BioMS is a spin-off firm that was created via the University of Alberta’s technology transfer office based on research at the university’s Multiple Sclerosis Patient Care and Research Clinic • This research unit has developed a new drug that has shown to delay median time to disease progression in MS patients by five years, by targeting a gene that is found in approximately 75 percent of MS patients worldwide • In Canada alone, MS affects 75,000 people • This has resulted in one of the largest pharmaceutical deals ever seen in Canada – worth as much as $500 million, plus royalties on sales of the product if successful

25. Example of a new process The University of Western Ontario undertook a modest research contract to create a nozzle that would improve the efficiency of fluid cokers, a processing unit used in the oil refinery industry to produce synthetic crude oil Modest research contract Millions saved annually = None of this wealth creation is formally attributed to the university in national statistics on contract research or commercialization

26. Example of a new way of thinking and behaving PREVNet • Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network (PREVNet), a coalition of Canadians concerned about bullying • Includes experts from 26 Canadian universities and 42 national organizations According to a 2004 study, approximately 12% of girls and 18% of boys reported bullying others at least twice in previous months, whereas 15% of girls and 18% of boys reported being victimized at least twice over the same time period The impact of initiatives such as PREVNet on bullying is immeasurable

27. The way forward • How do we improve national indicators to measure commercialization and research impacts more broadly? • How can you better communicate the value-add of TTOs and ILOs internally and externally? • What role should TTOs and ILOs play in filling the gap between research discoveries and their applications?

28. Thank you www.aucc.ca