New data shows that the decline in business and government support cannot be offset by R&D spending in the higher education sector – and the way Canada counts R&D activity in universities tells us a lot about the activities public funding is intended to support. While trends in expenditures on research and development (R&D) by […]
R&D
The latest news about research and development (R&D) spending intentions for the coming year echoes the same sad story that has appeared in previous issues of OCUFA Report . The Government of Canada’s planned expenditures demonstrates that the national R&D effort continues to decline. The federal government will be increasing spending by slightly more than half a per cent. Since 2010, federal R&D […]
For those who track research funding in Canada, the news from a recent Statistics Canada release about business enterprise research and development (BERD) is depressingly familiar. Canadian businesses are expected to spend two and a half per cent less on research and development this year than they did last year. Because the 2015 inflation rate […]
Research and development should be a partnership between business, universities, and government. The latest data on Industrial Research and Development have now been released by Statistics Canada, and it shows that business is letting down its side of the deal. Canadian business spending on research and development activities is expected to be at its lowest level in 2014 than […]
It might be overstating the case for the Globe and Mail’s Konrad Yakabuski to “ blame business ” for Canada’s poor showing in research and development (R&D). But it is also becoming increasingly clear it makes little sense to demand universities and university researchers to become more business-like and pick up the entrepreneurial slack. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, the […]
For a long time, OCUFA has been critical of Canadian business’ sluggish performance in R&D funding. New data reveals that their poor performance is only getting worse. Business expenditures on research and development (R&D) in Canada have been decreasing for a few years, but the decline appears to be picking up steam. Statistics Canada estimates for 2013 show a […]
Support for research and development in Canada has stagnated, due largely to a decrease if federal government support. Ontario continues to do better than most provinces, but mainly by directing more operating funds to research activities. Statistics Canada reports that research and development (R&D) spending by universities and other higher education research institutions rose by 3.4 per cent between 2011-12 and 2012-13. After […]
The Conference Board of Canada recently reported on this country’s innovation record, with Canada ranking thirteenth of the sixteen countries considered. While Canada got a grade of “B” for public spending on research and development (R&D), Canadian business got a “D” for its efforts and ranked second from last. The report observes that Canadian business expenditures on (R&D) […]
The latest provincial-level data on Research and Development (R&D) shows that R&D expenditures as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ontario continue to be higher than the national average. Only Quebec spends more. Although Canadian – and Ontario and Quebec – businesses spend comparatively less than the OECD average , they still account for the largest proportion of R&D expenditures. Quebec businesses invest […]
As the province, feds, and private sector do less for research and development, universities are being forced to do more – often at the expense of basic operating funds. When per-student public funding falls at our universities, so do R&D expenditures. As we’ve shown over the past few weeks, major players in research and development are […]
Like the federal government and Canadian business, the Ontario government talks a good game about the need to innovate. But when it comes to funding research and development, it also balks at the walk. According to Statistics Canada, and after adjusting for inflation, the Ontario government spent 29 per cent less on R&D in 2010-11 […]
If innovation is the name of the game for improving Canada’s economic prospects, who is paying for the research and development (R&D) that contributes to the effort? Last week we saw that business is losing interest. It seems the next biggest funder, the federal government, is getting out of the business too. Statistics Canada reports that […]
In these difficult economic times, “innovation” seems to have become the mot-de-jour for the private sector; actual investment in innovation, not so much. Statistics Canada estimates that industry expenditures on research and development (R&D) in 2012 will increase by less than one per cent over 2011 levels. If economic forecasts for GDP growth are borne […]
Who drives innovation in Canada and Ontario? When it comes to research and development, higher education – fuelled by public dollars – leads the way. According to Statistics Canada, the number of people engaged in research and development (R&D) in Canada rose by almost 67,000 between 2000 and 2009. Ontario accounted for 27,000 of those added positions. During the same period, the […]
Statistics Canada reports that spending on research and development (R&D) in Canada is expected to be two per cent higher in 2011 than it was the previous year. After two years of cutting back, spending by business is expected to increase by five per cent. However, if inflation rose and the economy grew as anticipated in the […]