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Dr. Pierre Coulombe
National Research Council Canada
Innovation across the nation
In this, our first issue of Dimensions, we're highlighting success stories from NRC's technology cluster initiatives, which were launched almost a decade ago. A technology cluster brings together a significant concentration of innovative companies around a nucleus of highly skilled people, R&D infrastructure and resources ' the ideal environment for innovation to flourish. It plays a key role in supporting research and innovation by helping develop and commercialize innovations.
NRC has 11 community-based cluster initiatives in critical areas, from health and life sciences to information and communication technologies, fuel cells for clean energy, and urban infrastructure. These cluster initiatives integrate industry, government and university resources through flexible partnership models that help Canadian businesses innovate and compete in the global marketplace.
NRC plays a key role in these cluster initiatives by providing research support and infrastructure; facilitating local, national and global partnership-building; enabling access to targeted financing and specialized S&T knowledge; and sharing its expertise in commercialization and technology transfer.
The results over the past decade have been impressive:
- In 2008-2009 alone, 114 collaborative agreements ? valued at $74.3 million ' were undertaken by the cluster initiatives.
- The Vancouver fuel cell and hydrogen cluster now provides 70 percent of all fuel cell-related jobs in Canada.
- From 2005-2008, the New Brunswick information technology and e-business cluster saw 28 percent job growth and contributed to 30,000 jobs in the region, generating more than $3 billion for the Canadian economy.
- Investment in the Winnipeg biomedical technologies cluster has created nine spin-off companies and commercialization support organizations, with a total market capitalization of $300 million.
I am certain NRC's ongoing involvement with cluster initiatives will contribute strongly to Canada's future success as a global leader in science, technology and innovation. 
