CARPA diem: seize the innovation
It can be hard to cast your mind back to the halcyon days of 2015 and 2016, but I remember it fondly. In the early days after the Liberal government took office, there was a real sense of excitement around innovation in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went viral for a video explaining quantum computing. […]
Is innovation still innovative?
For the last 30 years, the world has been awash in the rhetoric of innovation. National and regional governments have committed billions of dollars to building truly innovative economies. The Government of Canada is revising—not for the first time—our nation’s approach to innovation, but will the new approach be innovative? Innovation is complicated. Governments need […]
Getting CARPA right to deliver transformational innovation
In 1983, I was a summer student at a Calgary-based high-tech company that had purchased the first transportable commercial GPS receiver for use in offshore rig positioning. Costing US$150,000 and weighing 25 kg, we were tasked to evaluate its capability, which entailed lugging it around and buying ice packs to keep it cool due to […]
CARPA-Supercluster synergy can reshape Canadian innovation
Of the many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic that will be examined and re-examined in the months and years to come, its spurring of demand-side innovation should be front and centre. In Canada, this examination must give way to action on two complementary fronts: catalyzing breakthrough ideas and technologies, and bridging the innovation continuum to […]
The world is counting on Canada to lead on vaccine production
Pablum. Insulin. Child-resistant medicine containers. Heart-valve replacements. Cystic fibrosis and stem cell research. Discovering T-cell receptors in cancer research. With these medical advances and many more, each time Canada has led the world. We’ve always had the capacity to be an “innovation nation,” led by a world-class education system, abundant talent, and the know-how of […]
Broad support in life sciences innovation vital in preparing for future pandemics, say industry experts
A diverse approach as the federal government invests billions of dollars into the life sciences sector will be critical if Canada is to be prepared for the next health crisis after COVID-19, according to industry and research associations. “We can put all of our money on the mRNA [vaccine] horse, and that could come in […]
Canada needs a responsible quantum innovation policy
Quantum technologies are leading the next technological revolution, and nations are racing against time. Lacking a coherent and comprehensive vision, Canada seems to be finally adding quantum technologies to the top of its innovation policy agenda. But will it be able to learn from others, and from its own pitfalls with artificial intelligence, to take […]
Health security in Canada demands a co-ordinated response
Confronted with an urgent health crisis, the Canadian government turned to science. A rapid mobilization effort not seen since wartime increased the availability of PPE, created important national networks of scientists to inform the pandemic response, and secured vaccine supply. Canada is now expanding biomanufacturing facilities and spurring domestic vaccine development. With the Biomanufacturing and […]
Innovation
It’s time to think big, bold, and act with a sense of urgency
TORONTO—As the world seeks to avert catastrophic climate change, the times call for “ferocious deployment” of clean technologies already here, but also “ferocious innovation in potentially game-changing technologies,” Eric Lander, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, urged in a challenging speech last month. So it’s time to think big and […]
