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Innovation Studies

Innovation strategies

Innovation and knowledge are the new raw materials of the 21st century economy. The federal government has made a major commitment to promoting innovation. Large investments have been made in Canada’s knowledge infrastructure:

• the Canada Foundation for Innovation
• Networks of Centers of Excellence
• research granting councils (http://www.nserc.ca), (http://www.sshrc.ca), (http://www.crm.gc.ca);
• the Canadian network for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education (CANARIE) and
• the Pre-Competitive Applied Research Network (PRECARN)

Private sector innovation and research are encouraged through the most generous system of tax credits in the world. The government has also made itself a partner in several strategic, near-market innovative technologies through targeted investments. For Canadian productivity to improve in the long term, Canadian organizations in all parts of the economy — education, business, not-for-profit organizations and government — must recognize innovation as a critical success factor and act upon this recognition.

Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST)

The Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST) provides advice to government on ways to better integrate innovation into all facets of the economy. The ACST, which is supported by Industry Canada, was established to provide expert, external advice on how science and technology could best contribute to the government’s agenda of increased growth, improved productivity and jobs.

Benefits of innovation

The returns on Canadian investments in innovation have been high. SOme of the benefits include:

• six to nine times higher productivity growth in comparison with other industries
• experience twice the growth of low innovation industries
• generate the best jobs — which require greater education and skill, and provide pay that is 60 percent higher than that provided by low innovation industries; and
• twice as likely to export compared with their lower innovation counterparts.