Conference Board releases report on college applied research

The Conference Board of Canada today released a report on college applied research. "Innovation Catalysts and Accelerators: The Impact of Ontario Colleges’ Applied Research" offers important information on the complementary role that colleges play in the Canadian innovation system. This includes encouraging industry to invest in R&D, something Canadian firms do not do on par with our international counterparts. Correcting the imbalance between Canada's high per capita spending on R&D funded through higher education institutions and the lack of spending by the private sector is a key concern of government today. Failure to do so will result in lowered productivity and a continuation of our downward trend on our innovation capacity.