Happy Birthday NRC!

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary or birthday of the National Research Council (NRC). This is a storied institution with a fantastic history of invention and innovation - from basic to applied research right through to experimental development. There is much to be proud of in the NRC - check out the excellent story in the Globe on its ongoing evolution. Much has been made of the transformation the NRC engaged in a few years ago in a more business-focused innovation organization. I am consistently puzzled why this is seen in opposition to basic research. Why pundits see these as mutually exclusive reflects an inherent bias in the country over the role of publicly funded research and our ability to take inventions to market. We need both basic research and applied research. We need to invoke innovation where relevant and applicable. So let's celebrate the NRC, and work on insuring that the great work that they do sees the light of day.

NRC now a Research and Technology Organization

It is somewhat fitting that on the eve of the Polytechnics Canada annual conference the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, has announced that the National Research Council of Canada is now a Research and Technology Organization (RTO). A recommendation of the Jenkins panel, the transformation of the NRC to a RTO represents a key step forward for Canada. With the NRC focused on fostering industry innovation, the country has gained an important new avenue for firms to tap into the world leading talent, facilities and equipment that are useful for commercialization and innovation activities. I look forward to learning more, and to referring industry to the NRC labs, who now form an integral component in the business innovation ecosystem in Canada.

NRC's Innovation News

The recent issue of the National Research Council's NRC Newslink arrived recently (refreshingly in paper format, though it is also online) and features a few good stories on the innovation front. NRC President Pierre Coulombe posits "The Power of Partnerships" in his editorial, rightly extolling the NRC's track record in providing innovation R&D services in concert with academia and business. Missing from his discussion of the NRC's position on R&D relative to the Science and Technology Strategy is the value of the applied research sector, now nascent in Canadian college and Polytechnics (with some exceptions), but growing well. College and Polytechnic applied research has historically close ties to industry, so is well positioned to be a strong contributor to the national S&T agenda. And speaking of the S&T Strategy, Industry Canada Minister Jim Prentice is expected to announce new "funding strategies" for industry and innovation, expected in Budget 2008. A recent Globe and Mail report quotes Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as saying that "Mr. Prentice is preparing a research, development and innovation strategy that "'industries could tap into.'" This will likely be along the lines of the Business Led NCE program.



Another story in the NRS Newslink is about the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), which features NRC-licensed technology to be used at the facility. ALMA has a Canadian project website (404 for me right now). Last year I visited the Very Large Array in New Mexico--a fascinating place and a terrific example of scientific research in action. The photo on the right was taken during my visit.

Research Clusters and the National Research Council

The National Research Council convened a conference this week on Research Clusters. Connections 2007 was billed as the first NRC conference on technology clustering, as aligned with the Federal Government's Science and Technology Strategy. The event was well attended by a variety of stakeholders, and offered some excellent presentations and discussion about the cluster concept. There was good presentations on how to set up clusters, evaluation of their effectiveness, and the importance of fostering business development and intellectual property protection and "IP hygiene."

Steven Casper of the Keck Graduate Institute gave an interesting presentation on the use of social networking analysis to examine and evaluate clusters. Casper uses social network analysis to show three things: the first is the network effects of those who work in clusters - this is very closely related to the kind of work Putnam has done on the importance of social capital - and how there is a lot of mobility between companies in specific clusters. His second point was that clusters are defined by a heterogeneity of actors - people from various organizations and backgrounds - and that non-market actors need to take a systematic role in cluster development in concert with business management personnel. Casper's third point concerns cluster marketplace orientation, and how alignment of government and business objectives around specific industries influence the relative success of cluster development.

Some time ago I wrote about the idea of virtual research clusters, which I think is an idea gaining in momentum. While clusters may always be regional, we are working on a virtual cluster model (aligned with regional strengths) as a means of leveraging Internet technologies and distributed expertise to cohere around specific applied research problems. I'll post more on this as we develop the concept. Suffice to say, virtual clusters, leveraging regional strengths, can foster the aims of the Science and Technology Strategy by enabling Canadian business and research communities to leverage shared assets (i.e. the national broadband infrastructure) for common productivity goals. The NRC conference was an excellent introduction to the kinds of work being done in this area, sponsored in a large part by our national research labs, as well as work being done internationally on evaluating cluster effectiveness.