Nova Scotia Boosts Investment in Research and Development

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT--Nova Scotia Boosts Investment in Research and Development

A $5 million investment will help Nova Scotia's universities, colleges and hospitals remain competitive, innovative and better able to carry out the world-class research and technology development needed to stay at the top of their fields.

The provincial investment in the Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust -- included in the 2005-06 budget -- will strengthen the province's research and development capacity and leverage funding from the federal government.

"R&D investments are important to our scientists, our researchers, our economy, and ultimately our residents," said Ernest Fage, Minister of Economic Development. "These investments generate innovative new ideas and technologies in all parts of our economy, from hospitals to businesses."

If the budget is approved, the province will have invested more than $28 million into the trust since 2001. The Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust works to establish matching funding for provincial research and development projects from national funding programs like the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In the last several years, the trust has successfully secured investments of at least $60 million from national granting councils for Nova Scotia's research infrastructure.

"Funding under the trust helps Nova Scotia-based projects access the money they need to construct laboratories, purchase equipment and acquire other tools for research," said Dr. Colin Dodds, chair of the trust's beneficiaries committee. "This work builds the region's capacity for research and sparks innovation and progress in the province's economy, from the knowledge-economy and life sciences to the more traditional sectors like agriculture and the fishery."

The Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust is managed at arm's length from government by a beneficiaries committee. The committee consists of representatives from the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents, Nova Scotia Community College, Genome Atlantic and the Life Sciences Development Association. Funding support for the Life Sciences Development Association, Genome Atlantic and the Canada Research Chairs program is also provided for by the trust.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation is an independent corporation created in 1997 by the government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. Its mandate is to strengthen the ability of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and other non-profit institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that will benefit Canadians.