2014-15 Canada-China Business Forum Magazine | Page 54
RESEARCH
LABS ARE OPEN
FOR BUSINESS
Mike_Kiev/iStock Images
Companies can stay competitive by tapping
into Canada’s wealth of research expertise —
if they know where to find it.
If Canada can establish itself as a key partner in
this new phase of Chinese development, both as a
supplier of ideas and as a partner in the development
of Chinese ones, both countries stand to benefit.
Doing so will require negotiated access that satisfies
the concerns of Canadians and Canadian companies
in the areas of reciprocity of national treatment, the
protection of intellectual property and a transparent
arbitration process. Such negotiations will not be easy,
and they must be transparent in order to build the
confidence of capital and labour from both sides.
Ultimately, a window is opening for a new kind of
economic relationship between China and Canada.
This new relationship moves behind the simple
exchange of natural resources and goods, and moves
towards real partnerships that address the significant
challenges that each partner faces. In Canada, that
means using our technological prowess and innovation
to create jobs to satisfy world demand. In China, this
means resolving key environmental, health and social
challenges by tapping into Canadian innovation and
ideas. A more mature relationship will take time to
develop, and will require a concerted effort to work
together to find the right solutions for success. \\ DH
Dan Herman is co-founder of the
Centre for Digital Entrepreneurship and
Economic Performance (DEEP Centre),
a Waterloo-based innovation and
economic policy think-tank.
Follow him on Twitter @danherman
Creating new and innovative products
and services is key to keeping businesses
competitive in global markets. Partnering
with research facilities at post-secondary
institutions can help, but it can be challenging
for companies to tap into this potential —
they are either not aware what resources
they should seek out or they don’t know
what kind of labs or expertise are available.
Now there is a new online directory, launched
by the Canada Foundation for Innovation
(CFI), that will help make sure these kinds of
industry-research partnerships can flourish.
The CFI Research Facilities Navigator is
a first-of-its-kind searchable directory of
research labs and facilities in universities,
colleges and research hospitals across
Canada that are open to working with
business. More than 350 labs from virtually
every discipline are listed in the Navigator,
and the number is growing.
The Navigator helps research facilities
promote their expertise to the private and
public sectors; and for companies, it offers
a venue for finding the labs and facilities
that can help their business grow, stay
competitive, design new or better products
or processes, and foster relationships with
highly skilled people.
Innovating in Canada
Huawei is proud to be a Benefactor Member of the
Canada China Business Council, supporting a positive
working relationship between Canada and China.
Since coming to Canada in 2008, Huawei has grown to
over 500 employees, representing the leading-edge of
Chinese investment and innovation in Canada.
We are proud that our Canada Research Centre in
Ottawa has become one of the world’s leading facilities
in researching transformational 5G wireless technology,
and we are committed to helping ensure Canada’s ICT
ecosystem thrives on the global stage.
See what we’re doing in Canada at www.huawei.ca
“The Navigator is a repository of some of
Canada’s most advanced research facilities
that want to work with the private sector,”
says Dr. Gilles Patry, President and CEO of
the CFI, an organization that funds state-ofthe-art research facilities and equipment in
Canada’s universities, colleges and research
hospitals. “It was developed primarily to give
companies a leg up by allowing businesses
of all sizes to quickly and easily connect with
researchers and graduate students who have
the ideas and state-of-the-art equipment to
solve their research challenges."
Visit the CFI Research Facilities Navigator at
Innovation.ca/navigator
www.huawei.ca