Overview of NSERCs Research Partnerships Fields-Mprime Industrial - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Overview of NSERC’s Research Partnerships Fields-Mprime Industrial Problem Solving Workshop

Jennifer Bean Manager, Innovation Initiatives August 15, 2014

jennifer.bean@nserc-crsng.gc.ca 613/996-4753

Benefits of Partnerships

Where should you start?

• Call us

– Jennifer Bean, 613-996-4753 – Regional Offices, 1-877-767-1767

Encourage a company to work with universities. Stimulate new areas of research. Provide industrially-relevant training. Create job opportunities for your students. Network and build collaborative relationships with companies. Improve ability to attract future funding and personnel.

NSERC can help professors…

Achieve a competitive advantage and grow your business. Leverage and optimize your R&D investments. Connect with universities and colleges. Access state-of-the-art research facilities. Recruit highly qualified personnel.

NSERC can help companies…

Creating Partnerships

What are your options?

SNG IGP IPS IRCC IUSRA EPG PWG I2I ARD CUI2I EGP CRD IRC SPG

Getting started

Workshops NSERC Regional Office Events

Interaction Grants

Engage

Other Grants

First collaboration

Finding partners

• NSERC Regional Office Events

– Connector activities to promote partnerships or industrial training

• Partnership Workshops

– Seed new collaborations through a single workshop

• r multiple smaller events on a focussed topic
• Interaction Grants

– Travel grant for academic researchers to establish a new relationship with companies

Potential for first collaborations

Engage: An applicant and a company that have not previously worked together

Snapshot of Participation in Mathematics

• About 40 Engage awards

– 29 applicants – 38 unique companies, including:

• Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership
• CIBC Global Asset Management Inc.
• Cistel Technology Inc.
• Fundy Tidal Inc.
• Geo-X Exploration Services Inc.
• ISIS Health Informatics Resource Group Inc.
• Prosyna Communication Inc.
• Teck

Engage Awards by math departments

Ryerson 5 Guelph 4 Toronto 3 Thompson Rivers 3 Carleton 3 Windsor 3 Acadia 3 Waterloo 2 British Columbia 2 Calgary 2 Lethbridge 2

Mathematical Sciences Research in Engage Grants

Mathematical modelling Statistics and Probability Differential geometry Applied probability Numerical analysis Applied statistics Optimization Biostatistics Applied mathematics Algorithms Operations research and management sciences Modelling, simulation and finite element analysis Optimisation and optimal control theory

Engage Grant

• Promotes new research partnerships between university

researchers and companies.

• Supports short-term R&D projects aimed at addressing a

company-specific problem.

• Company owns intellectual property.
• Applications are processed by regional offices within a 4- to 6-

week turnaround time.

• Maximum grant of $25,000; no cash contribution from the

company required.

• Success rate: 85-90%.

Feedback from Companies…

• At the end of the project:
• 94% of projects were a success
• 86% of problems were partially or completely solved
• 76% intend to apply the results
• 96% gained new technology or knowledge
• 60% provided stimulus for future R&D
• 72% provided new business opportunities
• 98% would recommend Engage to another company

Feedback from Professors…

• 66% include project results in a publication
• 68% of Engage awardees indicate that further activity with the

company is expected “From my point of view, the project was a success. We expected more data … to be able to do more detailed analysis, but it was enough to obtain some interesting results. I am sure the HQP's worked in this project have learned quite a lot, and this experience will help them with their future career.”

Pawel Pralat, Associate Professor Department of Mathematics, Ryerson University Recipient of 5 Engage Grants to date

Feedback from Companies…

• One year later:
• 84% enhanced skill and knowledge base
• 49% impact on competitiveness
• 62% impact on research or business direction
• 57% impact on product or services
• 84% relationship building
• 72% learned about the benefits of academic R&D
• 69% increased access to HQP
• 70% will collaborate further

There are logical starting points:

Interaction Grant

• Travel grant for academic researchers to establish a new relationship

with companies.

Engage Grant

• Connect a university researcher with an industrial partner to solve a

company-specific problem.

Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Award

• Hire a student to work on a company research project.

Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships

• Collaborate with talented master's and doctoral students.

Building on prior connections

Collaborative Research and Development Grants (CRD)

Engage Plus Strategic Projects and Strategic Networks

Continued Collaboration

• Collaborative Research and Development

(CRD) Grants

– Flexible mechanism to support industry-driven collaborative projects of 1 to 5 years

• Strategic Partnerships

– Projects to accelerate research in target areas of national priority – Networks to undertake large-scale, multidisciplinary activity in targeted areas

Support for Talented People

• Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards (IUSRA)

– $4,500 for 16 weeks – Host organization supplements the award by at least 25% of its value

• Industrial Postgraduate / Industrial Innovation Scholarships

– (known as BMP Innovation in Quebec) – Minimum $21,000 per year – Host organization supplements the award by at least one-third of its value – Portion of student’s research time must be spent at the company

Feedback from Companies…

• Companies report:
• 94% consider the project a success
• 98% anticipate hosting another IUSRA student in the future
• 94% of IUSRAs improved their research productivity
• 95% gained new knowledge; 87% intend to apply the

results

• 77% were able to finish research that otherwise would not

have been completed

• 37% of companies have hired at least one former awardee

Feedback from Students…

• Students report:
• The majority learn about IUSRA from the hosting
• rganization
• 78% consider the project a success; 22% a partial success
• Learning a variety of skills (e.g., knowledge of the

discipline, critical thinking, personal time management, communication and interpersonal skills)

To find out more… Call me: 613-996-4753 Send an email:

Jennifer.Bean@nserc-crsng.gc.ca

Program Details

Priorities

People

Attract and retain the best students and researchers in Canada by supporting more than 30,000 students and postdoctoral fellows.

Discovery

Enable Canadian scientists and engineers to become global leaders in their fields by funding more than 11,000 professors for their research programs.

Innovation

Increase Canada’s prosperity by building connections and supporting the application of research by funding research projects with over 2,600 Canadian companies.

Total Budget 2014-15 $1.1 billion 26 25.0% 37.0% 33.0% 5.0% People Discovery Innovation Administration

NSERC at a Glance

Commercialization Program (2%) Industry-Driven Collaborative R&D Program (45%) Strategic Partnerships Program (32%) Training in Industry Program (5%) College and Community Innovation Program (16%) *Does not include Networks of Centres of Excellence

2013-2014 RPP Budget ($299.1M)*

UNIVERSITIES COLLEGES

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS INDUSTRY-DRIVEN COLLABORATIVE R&D COMMERCIALIZA- TION TRAINING IN INDUSTRY COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY INNOVATION

Strategic Project Grants Partnership Workshops Grants Idea to Innovation Grants Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards Applied Research and Development Strategic Network Grants Interaction Grants Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships College-University Idea to Innovation Grants Collaborative Health Research Projects Engage Grants Industrial R&D Fellowships Innovation Enhancement Grants Automotive Partnership Canada Collaborative R&D Grants Industrial R&D Internships Networks of Centres of Excellence Industrial Research Chairs Business-Led Networks

• f Centres of

Excellence

NSERC’s PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMS

EG, PWG, IG CRD IRC BL-NCE

Technology Maturity

Development Research

i-USRA IRDI IPS IRDF i-CREATE SPG CHRP APC NCE ARD IRCC CU-I2I TAC IE I2I CECR

Complexity of the project

Five years One year

College and Community Innovation Program Commercialization Program Industry-Driven Collaborative R&D Program Training in Industry Program Strategic Partnerships Program

29

5 Major NSERC Partnership Programs

PARTNER ELIGIBILITY

• Canadian-based company

– carries out R&D and/or produces goods or services within Canada – Derives the majority of its revenues from the sale of these goods or services and not from government aid or the tax base

• Able to further apply and exploit research results to create economic

benefit for Canada

• Multinationals – with R&D/Manufacturing in Canada related to the

project

• Industrial Associations – active involvement from member companies
• Public utilities
• Foreign companies – only if major Canadian partner present

Contact us to confirm eligibility of an industry partner before investing significant time in discussions and preparation of an application

Strategic Project Grant (SPG)

• Accelerate research in identified

target areas of national and/or government priority

• No cash required, in-kind is

mandatory

• Competition-based
• Success rate: 20-25%

Strategic Network Grant (SNG)

• Large-scale, multi-disciplinary

projects in targeted areas that require a network approach

• Competition-based
• Success rate: 25-30%

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

• Seed new collaborations through a single

workshop or multiple smaller events

• Up to $25K
• Focussed topic
• Academic and non-academic leads and

participants

• No application deadline

PARTNERSHIP WORKSHOP GRANTS

• Helps academics and companies establish new

contacts.

• Identify a problem specific to a company that could

be resolved through a resulting partnership.

• Maximum grant of $5,000 over 3 months.
• Applications are processed by regional offices

within a 2-week turnaround time. INTERACTION GRANTS

• Promotes new research partnerships between university

researchers and companies.

• Supports short-term R&D projects aimed at addressing a

company-specific problem.

• Company owns intellectual property (IP).
• Applications are processed by regional offices within a 4-

week turnaround time.

• Maximum grant of $25,000; no cash contribution from the

company required.

• Success rate: 85-90%.

ENGAGE GRANTS (EG)

ENGAGE GRANTS (EG) PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• To be eligible for the grant, the researcher must have been granted peer-

reviewed research support in the fields of the natural sciences and/or engineering within the past six years.

• The company must operate from a Canadian base and must have been in
• peration for a minimum of 12 months.
• Researchers are limited to two Engage Grants per year; no limit for companies.
• The company must outline in its letter of support the benefits it will derive from

the project and the measures planned to implement the project results.

• Builds upon results achieved in the Engage Grant
• Partners must make the case for need and benefit.
• Provide a bridge to continuation of the collaboration.
• Company must provide cash equal to amount requested from

NSERC

• NSERC contribution up to $12,500
• Overhead and in-kind not matched
• Vouchers and other grants not acceptable as cash equivalent
• Same features as in an Engage Grant
• 6-month duration
• IP belongs to company
• Simple application and quick decision timeframe

ENGAGE PLUS GRANTS (EPG)

• Flexible mechanism to support industry-driven collaborative

projects

• Covers the entire spectrum of R&D activities.
• Duration of 1 to 5 years. Apply at any time.
• Average grant of $65,000 a year.
• Equivalent contribution from the company (50% in cash +

50% in kind).

• Success rate: 85%
• Intellectual property agreement between the university and

the partner.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (CRD) GRANTS

HOW DOES THE LEVERAGE WORK?

Company $60K In-kind $100K Cash $120K $60K Cash $40K for O/H NSERC

CRD

$180K cash project + company time/materials

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• All applications are peer reviewed.
• Applications of $150,000 or less are evaluated at any time.
• NSERC turnaround time: 3 to 4 months.
• Applications of $150,000 or more are evaluated by a selection committee that

meets four times a year (March, June, September and December).

• Applications of over $200,000 a year are evaluated by a site visit committee.
• Turnaround time: 3 to 5 months.
• Typical IP negotiation time: 3 to 8 months.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (CRD) GRANTS

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS BY PHASE

Market Assessment Phase I Phase 1b Phase IIa Phase IIb Duration (non renewable) Up to 12 months Up to 12 months Up to 6 months 6 to 18 months Up to 24 months Maximum amount requested from NSERC (% of project costs) $15,000 (75%) $125,000 (100%) $60,000 (100%) $125,000 (67%) $350,000 (50%) Additional funds needed from partner none none none $62,500 (33%) 50% of direct costs through in-kind and at least 40% in cash

The objective of Idea to Innovation (I2I) grants is to accelerate the pre-competitive development of promising technology and promote its transfer to Canadian companies.

IDEA TO INNOVATION (I2I) GRANTS

Launch of the NSERC Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation (new grant types like Engage)

Number of companies

NUMBER OF INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS PARTICIPATING IN NSERC PROGRAMS

SPI: GROWTH IN COMPANY PARTICIPATION

1632 1974 2443 2745 2962 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Number of Companies working with Universities through NSERC Small Medium Large

NSERC Regional Offices

Five offices located in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Mississauga, Montreal and Moncton

Pacific Prairies Quebec Atlantic Ontario Pacific Prairies Quebec Atlantic Ontario Pacific Prairies Quebec Atlantic Ontario

Roles

• Increase awareness of and

participation within NSERC’s partnership programs across industry and academia

• Help to establish new collaborations

between academic researchers and the companies that can use their results

• Leverage the networks and activities
• f other regional organizations
• Gather regional intelligence
• Deliver a suite of programs: Engage, Interaction, Partnership Workshops, Regional

Opportunities Fund and Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards

44

$ Million

36% 31% 12% 15% 6%

Ontario Quebec Pacific Prairies Atlantic

REGIONAL BREAKDOWN OF NSERC’S PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMS BUDGET

• Special events and activities in NSE
• Typically $1k-$5k
• Academic and industrial participants
• Promote NSERC’s RPP or Industrial S&F
• No application deadline

REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND

NSERC provides a wide variety of programs that meet the varying needs of business, from short-term to long-term R&D

• projects. NSERC invests over $300 annually million in funds to

support more than 1,500 industry-academic R&D partnerships.

VALUE PROPOSITION

1) By cost-sharing with NSERC, Canadian businesses can fund relevant R&D for as little as 17 cents on the dollar when combined with tax credits for R&D investment.

VALUE PROPOSITION

CRD TAX EXAMPLE

British Columbia Investment Tax Credit SR&ED Tax Credit Cheques back from credits Net Cost to Company Industry Cash 25,000 $ (2,500) $ (8,750) $ 11,250 $ 13,750 $ Industry In-Kind 25,000 $ (2,500) $ (8,750) $ 11,250 $ 13,750 $ NSERC CRD Cash 50,000 $ Project Value 100,000 $ 22,500 $ 27,500 $

2) Researchers who undertake applied research in partnership with companies are often at the forefront of their respective specialties often with recent state of the art equipment available. Companies benefit from their insights and advances.

VALUE PROPOSITION

3) All major R&D funding proposals are reviewed by experts and this can help companies ascertain whether there may be any technical or feasibility concerns/issues.

VALUE PROPOSITION

4) Links to universities and colleges can be a plus for businesses seeking investment capital, especially from private sources.

VALUE PROPOSITION

5) NSERC's industrial scholarships and fellowships allow companies to hire, at substantial savings, the appropriate level of expertise for almost any R&D task. From undergraduate students for short-term problem solving to postdoctoral fellows for longer term, and sometimes game- changing research, these highly skilled people make important contributions to their employers.

VALUE PROPOSITION

6) Since 1997, the federal government and its partners have invested more than $4 billion in university and college research infrastructure and equipment. Many of these well-equipped facilities are one-of-a-kind and would be too costly for any single company to set up and operate. University and college technical staff are on hand to help companies maximize the use of these facilities.

VALUE PROPOSITION

Resources

For questions relating to eligibility of partners or applicants or Program requirements, please send your query to: RPP@nserc-crsng.gc.ca 613-995-1111 For questions/support regarding the on-line application process, please contact: Helpdesk: (613) 995-4273 webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca Ontario Regional Office:

Tel.: 1-877-767-1767 nserc-ontario@nserc-crsng.gc.ca