Organized by York University
For 35 years since the passage of the US Bayh Dole Act (1980) and the subsequent growth of technology transfer in Canada (the Fortier Report, 1999), the predominant paradigm of university participation in Canada’s innovation agenda has been the commercialization of university technology and research collaborations with industry. With the termination of the Alliance for the Commercialization of Canadian Technology (ACCT) in March 2015 traditional concepts of technology transfer are broadening to include other forms of engagement between university researchers and non-academic research partners. These forms of collaboration include knowledge mobilization, graduate internships, experiential education, entrepreneurship and social innovation. Knowledge mobilization is emerging as a means to support not only economic impacts of university research but also social, environmental and health impacts and thus supporting broad notions of innovation.
The presence of social, environmental and health areas of focus in addition to traditional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) priorities in Canada’s recent Science, Technology & Innovation Strategy (December 2014) calls for Canadian universities to collaborate across disciplines and across sectors to maximize the impacts of university research and contribute to Canada's broader innovation agenda. As well as being the primary generator of graduate level talent, universities are partnering with public, private and non-profit organizations to develop new solutions to persistent social, economic and environmental challenges. This emerging orientation of partnered research is supported by new funding programs that embrace new models of collaboration. Mitacs and Ontario Centres of Excellence fund graduate student internships with eligible non-profits. Ontario Social Enterprise Development Fund created opportunities for investment in social enterprises. Ontario Regional Innovation Centres Communitech, ventureLAB and NORCAT are collaborating on supports for social ventures. Networks of Centres of Excellence in Knowledge Mobilization (NCE KM) are working with industry, government and health care partners on bullying prevention, cyber security, stem cells, child and youth mental health and children’s emergency medical care.
This panel will explore the gaps left unfilled by traditional notions of university industry collaboration and explore the potential of Canada's universities to contribute to broader notions of innovation that create triple bottom line (economic, social, environmental) benefits for Canada. The panel will explore Canada’s existing assets and what we need to build in order to maximize the return on investments in university research?
