Prince George, BC November 28, 2011 — Colleges across the country will partner with businesses to collaborate on applied research projects to help develop new clean energy technologies, more efficient forestry practices and technology designed to assist senior citizens.

“These new partnerships will provide skills training for students in the communities in which they are based, position Canadian colleges as a destination for top applied research talent and give local businesses in communities across the country access to the knowledge and resources they need to innovate and commercialize new products and services,” said MP Dick Harris. “These partnerships are necessary if we are to improve innovation in this country. Our government supports innovation because it creates jobs, improves the quality of life of Canadians and strengthens the economy.”

On November 25, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) announced that a total of 35 innovative partnerships between colleges and businesses would be provided with more than $13 million over a period of up to five years through the College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program. The projects were selected for funding following a peer-reviewed competition.

College of New Caledonia is receiving $198,256 in CCI funding to establish an applied research program that will identify relationships between site attributes and risks to candidate tree species for assisted migration in the Sub-Boreal Spruce zone.

This announcement follows on other CCI investments announced in 2009 and 2010, bringing total CCI investments to date to over $120 million for 182 projects at 53 colleges. The CCI program is a collaborative initiative jointly managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The program has also received the support of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges and Polytechnics Canada.

“These CCI investments provide colleges with access to the people, resources and tools they need to be at the forefront of innovation,” said Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC, which administers the program. “The ultimate goal is to create sustainable partnerships that will help sharpen our innovative edge and will have a positive impact on the bottom line of our country and industry.”

NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports some 30,000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies.

NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
More information on the CCI Program, as well as the 35 funded projects, is available in the below backgrounder.