The federal government announced Thursday that it will contribute $9.2 million to Springboard Atlantic, the organization that supports the commercialization of research at Atlantic Canadian universities and colleges.
Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, said ACOA will make the contribution to promote innovation and high-growth industries. Bains has spent the past year in consultations on a new innovation strategy, the pieces of which are beginning to fall into place.
Over the next three years, the Springboard funding will support 30 commercialization officers throughout the Atlantic region. These officers will connect entrepreneurs with researchers so ideas can be transformed into products and services that can be brought to market.
“Innovation can create entirely new jobs, markets and industries that never existed before,” said Bains in a statement. “To do that, we need to turn ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into jobs and start-up companies into global successes. Partnerships between research institutions and industry are crucial in the development and commercialization of new technologies and products that could lead to the creation of new companies that provide well-paying jobs for Canadians.”
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Speaking at a ceremony at St. Mary’s University, the minister said the region is proud of its history of innovation, and highlighted several startups as carrying on the tradition. For example, he named Halifax area startups BlueLight Analytics and CarbonCure Technologies as companies that are growing sales and employing young Canadians.
By backing Springboard Atlantic, the government is supporting an organization that works with 19 post-secondary organizations in the region to conduct $350 million in research each year.
“The investment in Springboard Atlantic drives the regional commercialization network that facilitates industry collaborations and new ventures between Atlantic companies and institutions,” said Springboard CEO and President Chris Mathis. “This increases competitiveness and retains our graduates here in the region.”
In a brief interview, Bains said the consultations on innovation have produced a framework for developing policy and programs, and the government has identified three themes it will focus on: first, developing talent and people; second, helping business and citizens adopt emerging technology to increase competitiveness and productivity; and third, helping small companies to scale.
Does the government now have the funding tools to put such a strategy in motion? “We do have some of the tools we need,” said Bains. “But there’s obviously new tools that we can use to achieve our most desired themes.”
[Disclosure: Springboard Atlantic is a client of Entrevestor.]
