We heard that the government should be more focussed on helping innovative firms to grow and, particularly, on serving the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
greater cooperation with provincial programs
innovation support is too narrowly focussed on R&D – more support is needed for other activities along the continuum from
ideas to commercially useful innovation
more productive and internationally competitive economy
whole-of-government program delivery vehicle – the Industrial Research and Innovation Council (IRIC)
SR&ED program should be simplified
includes non-labour costs, such as materials and capital equipment, the calculation of which can be highly complex
the base for the tax credit should be labour-related costs, and the tax credit rate should be adjusted upward
fund direct support measures for SMEs
promoting the growth of firms
facilitating access by such firms to an increased supply of risk capital at both the start-up and later stages of their growth.
building public–private research collaborations
National Research Council (NRC) should become independent collaborative research organizations
become affiliates of universities
create opportunity and demand for leading-edge goods
encouragement of innovation in the Canadian economy should become a stated objective of procurement policies and programs.
the government needs to establish business innovation as a whole-of-government priority
put innovation at the centre of the government's economic strategy
Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) – a body with a whole-of-government focus that would oversee the realization of our proposed action plan, as well as serve as a permanent mechanism to promote the refinement and improvement of the government's business innovation programs going forward.
focus resources where market forces are unlikely to operate effectively or efficiently and, in that context, address the full range of business innovation activities, including research, development, commercialization and collaboration with other key actors in the innovation ecosystem
the closer the activity being supported is to market, and therefore the more likely it is that the recipient firm will capture most of the benefit for itself.