When it was founded in 1989, the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) initiative represented a radical change to spur the transformation of research into real-life policies, products and services.

Back then, Canada's researchers competed for grant money and infrastructure in a system that did not appear to encourage information sharing, let alone knowledge translation. The “publish or perish” imperative for academic success seemed to place more importance on the presence of research findings in prestigious journals than in turning those findings into something marketable and life enhancing.

Today, the Networks of Centres of Excellence continues to break new ground through the expansion of its networks and centres, with the commitment to create research partnerships, cultivate opportunity for talent, transfer knowledge and apply innovative ideas to improve the economic and social well-being of Canada.

The Networks of Centres of Excellence program

Today, the Networks of Centres of Excellence continues to focus on four strategic areas: advanced technologies; engineering and manufacturing; health, human development and biotechnology; and environment and natural resources. Its recent accomplishments range from improving automated auto parts inspection systems to launching a national consortium to protect groundwater supplies from pathogens.

The Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program

In Budget 2007, the Government announced plans to commit $46 million to fund large-scale, collaborative networks that support private sector innovation. The Government designated the NCE as Secretariat for the new Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence. These new networks are led by private sector consortia and generate new technologies and products that produce “knowledge economy” jobs and opportunities for Canadians.

The Industrial Research and Development Internship program

Created in December of 2007 with an initial investment of $8.64 million over two years, the Industrial Research and Development Internship (IRDI) program’s goal is to place over 1,000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with businesses all over Canada.

The program is based on a highly successful model developed by the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) network. After a peer-review process, Mitacs Accelerate and Connect Canada have been selected to operate the IRDI program until 2016.

The Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research program

The introduction of 11 new Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) in February of 2008, followed by six new CECRs in 2009, marked the successful completion of $285 million in NCE-supervised competitions. It also fulfilled a Government of Canada commitment, made in Budget 2007, to promote more and stronger partnerships between researchers and industry.

While the centres' individual focuses are varied, all the CECRs have the same goal—to put research to work. Each will help to create, grow and maintain Canadian companies in order to capture new markets here in Canada and across the world.

The Networks of Centres of Excellence going forward

The Networks of Centres of Excellence has done much to encourage the commercialization of science and technology (S&T) in Canada. In this regard, the Networks of Centres of Excellence has been the leading proponent for research that gets positive results for the Canadian economy and Canadians' quality of life.

Furthermore, the Networks of Centres of Excellence builds on the sustained investment made by Industry Canada and the granting agencies: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Their support has been central to building research excellence and supporting high-quality training in Canadian post-secondary institutions. The programs of the NCE also capitalize on the infrastructure support and R&D personnel provided by academia that are enabling NCE networks and centres to forge innovative partnerships.

The networks and centres and their partners have developed multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral research programs that contribute to advancing knowledge and public policies in areas as diverse as engineering and manufacturing, health, human development and biotechnology, and information and communications technologies, as well as natural resources, the environment and water quality.