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