Volume 4, Issue 2, 1999
Table of Contents

Applied Research at Colleges and Institutes in Canada

By Dr. Norman Streat
Dean, Applied Research
Director, Technology Centre
British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia

Applied research is a growing trend in Canadian colleges and institutes. Since the creation of four technology transfer centres at Cégeps in Québec in the early 1980s, increasing numbers of Canadian colleges and institutes have looked beyond their traditional roles as purely teaching institutions and established applied research programs in a wide variety of disciplines. The trend became evident earlier this year when the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), created by the federal government to revitalize Canada’s research infrastructure, called for applications to its College Research Development Program. The CFI competition drew submissions from more than 30 colleges and institutes and resulted in the award of approximately seven million dollars to 15 institutions in six provinces.

Although Québec remains the most active region with 23 applied research centres, British Columbia, the Yukon, Newfoundland, Ontario, the Prairie provinces and the Maritimes have all established dedicated college-based research centres. The majority of centres focus on applied rather than basic or fundamental research because of the "good fit" between applied research and the traditional role of colleges in supporting local economic development. Many colleges and institutes have established advanced technology training programs to meet the needs of industry in their community. In such cases, it has been relatively easy to harness the expertise of the faculty, the technical facilities of the college and the enthusiasm and energy of the students in order to establish applied research projects in niche areas that assist local industry in developing or applying technology. This trend has advanced more rapidly in those regions where financial support has been forthcoming from provincial governments and federal agencies such as the National Research Council-Industrial Research Assistance Program.

The benefits accrued to the college from its involvement in applied research are just as important as those received by industry. Institutions that engage in applied research report that these activities keep faculty current and enhance their job experience thus enabling the college to attract and retain high-quality instructional staff that they might otherwise lose in today’s competitive marketplace. Involving students in research enhances the learning process and increases the relevance of educational programs. Successful applied research activities also develop a positive image for the institution in the community, which in turn attracts new students and increases job opportunities for graduates. Valuable partnerships developed with industry and the community lead to the increased utilization of equipment and facilities and revenue which may be leveraged by any potential government funding programs.

While all of these benefits are achievable to some extent, one should caution that it may not be possible to maximize them all at the same time. For example, focusing on maximizing revenue may not be compatible with achieving the maximum benefit for college faculty and students. As a result, institutions have developed different strategies for their applied research centres based on their own specific needs and objectives. Considerations include: whether or not the centre is structured as a private entity or is managed directly by the college administration; the extent to which full-time Research and Development staff are employed versus teaching staff who are only available part- time; the extent of student involvement; the attitude towards private sector competition; whether one targets local industries or aims for the world market; and, the importance of federal and provincial granting programs.

Even in the most fertile research environments, the challenge of involving large numbers of college faculty remains. At the conceptual level, this obstacle can be partly attributed to the colleges’ traditional focus on teaching as well as to the traditional view of research as a university prerogative. Attaching the research label to colleges as well as universities will involve nothing less than a major cultural shift. At the practical level, the major inhibiting factor is a lack of time due to the high teaching loads of college and institute faculty. Facilities, equipment and funding for research also require money and staff with the time to chase industry and granting agencies for support. Those institutions that have been successful have addressed the practical issues by employing professional staff to market and administer their applied research programs.

Despite the challenges, the example set by the 15 institutions that received support from CFI's College Research Development Fund will undoubtedly spur others to follow the same path. Allies which can be enlisted include the National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program which delivers technical support to Canadian industry through a network of Industrial Technology Advisors spread across the country, many of whom are located at colleges. But, the most valuable allies are the companies that hire college graduates. Small-, medium- and large-sized enterprises will provide the research and development problems that need to be solved and instill the discipline to do so. Therefore, achieving stable long-term partnerships with industry is the major goal of most college-based applied research centres. These partnerships will constitute the major strength that will set college-level applied research initiatives apart and demonstrate their current and future value to the educational sector and to the economy.

Dr. Norman Streat is Dean, Applied Research and Director of the Technology Centre at the B.C. Institute of Technology in Burnaby, British Columbia. An engineer by training, Dr. Streat has headed BCIT’s Technology Centre since the Institute was formally mandated to engage in applied research ten years ago. BCIT has developed three major R&D niche areas: information technology, health care and mechanical/electronics applications. The Institute’s goal is to achieve an optimum balance of faculty and student involvement with a high level of industry support.