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6. RESPONDING TO ECONOMIC
circumstances – OCRI REQUEST FOR INITIATIVE FUNDING faire face aux circonstances
économiques – demande de financement d’une initiative de l’OCRI |
DOCUMENTATION
1. Deputy
City Manager of Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability report
dated 11 May 2009 (ACS2008-ICS-CSS-0026)
2. Extract of
Draft Minutes
Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers,
Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services and
Community Sustainability/Urbanisme, Transport en commun et Environnement
Contact/Personne-ressource:
Michael Murr, Acting
Director/Directeur intérimaire, Community and Sustainability Services/Services
de viabilité et des collectivités
(613) 580-2424, 25195 michael.murr@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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RESPONDING TO ECONOMIC
circumstances – OCRI REQUEST FOR INITIATIVE FUNDING |
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OBJET :
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faire face aux circonstances économiques –
demande de financement d’une initiative de l’OCRI |
That Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend Council approve up to $450,000 in partnership funding from the Economic Development Division’s 2009 Operating Budget to support the delivery of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation’s: Regional Innovation Network (RIN); Ontario Research Commercialization Project (ORCP); and Investment Attraction Capacity Enhancement programs.
Que le Comité des
services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil
d’approuver un cofinancement d’un montant maximal de 450 000 $, tiré
du budget de fonctionnement de 2009 de la Direction du développement économique,
en vue d’appuyer la prestation du programme Réseaux nationaux d’innovation
(RNI), du Programme ontarien de
commercialisation de la recherche (POCR), du programme Attraction des
investissements et
du programme de rehaussement de la capacité du Centre de recherche et d’innovation d’Ottawa (OCRI).
The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) is a non-profit agency representing over 650 private sector members that account for more than 110,000 jobs in the Ottawa area. Supported by their members as well as the federal, provincial and municipal governments, OCRI’s mission is to be a lead economic development agency in Ottawa by connecting businesses, research, education, government and talent to advance the competitiveness of the region’s knowledge-based industries and institutions, to build wealth and enhance Ottawa’s overall quality of life.
OCRI, in partnership with the City, delivers economic development programs and activities as identified and directed through the City’s Economic Strategy. Through this partnership, OCRI and the City are able to leverage significant provincial and federal government financial support for economic development initiatives that otherwise would not be available to the City alone.
As such, the City of Ottawa contributes to the city’s overall economic prosperity and quality of life by supporting OCRI’s programs, which are geared toward:
The funding being requested by OCRI in this staff report responds specifically to programs aimed at:
· Facilitating the commercialization of innovation activities; and
Approved in 2003, Ottawa’s 20/20 Economic Strategy identifies a set of strategic directions and priority actions to strengthen Ottawa’s competitiveness and generate high-quality jobs, investment and improved quality of life. The Strategy recommends that the City “accelerate the growth of export industries to increase the wealth of Ottawa’s local and rural economies”. The Strategy also established specific policies for the City to:
OCRI has developed three separate initiatives to respond directly to these policies and their objectives within the 20/20 Economic Strategy.
Regional Innovation Network (RIN) - Request for $250k in City partnership funding
The Ontario Regional Innovation Networks (RIN) were
originally developed as a pilot project with the goal of supporting and
accelerating the commercialization potential of researchers, entrepreneurs and
small to medium-sized businesses in communities across the province. By bringing
together provincial and regional resources, the RIN have demonstrated their
critical role in establishing a regionally-driven innovation environment to
foster a sustainable culture of innovation with enhanced commercialization
infrastructure. Key partners in this provincial network include
universities, colleges, hospitals, research institutions, government
commercialization branches, business support organizations, fourth pillar
organizations and innovative companies.
This
is the fourth year of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation’s (MRI)
RIN program, which seeks to commercialize locally developed technology. The
City has contributed $250,000 to this initiative in each of the last three
years. With the City’s support, the RIN
has been able to provide a full-service investment and commercialization
program for start-up and emerging companies in the life science, cleantech, and
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sectors including:
This
program also launched a business accelerator, an expansion of the Cleantech
Initiative (formerly the Bioproducts, Energy and Environmental Technologies
Business Network), and the Ottawa Medtech Network. As
a result of the City of Ottawa’s partnership funding, the RIN program has
positively impacted Ottawa’s economy by supporting 142 companies, resulting in
63 new jobs and $33 million in new investment.
In
order to access $450,000 from the Province’s RIN program in 2009, OCRI is
requesting $250,000 from the City of Ottawa and $60,000 in private sector
contributions. The City funding, if
approved, will support the following deliverables under the RIN program in
2009:
Ontario Research Commercialization Project (ORCP) - Request for $100k in City partnership funding
The Ontario Research Commercialization Program
(ORCP) is part of the Ontario government's comprehensive strategy to help
business innovators take their products to market. The ORCP helps Ontario's world-class researchers and entrepreneurs
combine their skills, expertise and resources to help commercialize their
innovations, creating high-value jobs and a better quality of life for
Ontarians.
OCRI, as a result of their partnership with the City
of Ottawa, has been awarded $1.8 million in ORCP funding over three years (2006-2009)
to specifically support the development of critical entrepreneurial talent, the
start up and acceleration of technology businesses and the commercialization of
research. In support of the ORCP, the
City contributed $100,000 in each of the last two years. As a result of this support, the ORCP
program has positively impacted Ottawa’s economy through the creation of 31 new
businesses, 247 new jobs, $8.2 million in new revenues and $17 million in new
investments.
The 2009 partnership request of $100,000 in City
funding will leverage $480,000 from the Province and $70,000 in private sector
contributions for a total of $650,000.
The funding will be used to further support four specific projects aimed
at building Market/Competitive Intelligence, Business Opportunity Networks,
Entrepreneur Development and Convergence Exploration (technology development
through collaboration of different high tech sectors such as in medical
informatics).
The
City’s funding, if approved, will support the following deliverables under the
ORCP:
The Invest Canada-Community Initiatives (ICCI) – Request for $100k in City partnership funding
The Invest Canada-Community Initiatives (ICCI), formerly known as the
Community Investment Support Program (CISP), was developed to stimulate
regional foreign direct investment (FDI) partnerships and the private sector.
Its objective is to enhance the capability and effectiveness of Canadian
communities to attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment. ICCI is a
cost-shared program, which supports up to 50 per cent of eligible costs for
projects that are part of a comprehensive business plan. The ICCI program supports activities ranging
from improving the “investment readiness” of communities through to larger
projects designed to attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment.
OCRI Global Marketing (OGM) will continue to execute lead generation
activity utilizing the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade’s (DFAIT) Investment Canada Community Initiatives (ICCI) program. Under
the ICCI program, OCRI has focused on establishing global networks, testing and
understanding various geographic markets, competitive forces and developing regional
marketing messaging.
The ICCI program requires
matching funds from the municipality of the applicant organization. Over the past three years, the City of
Ottawa has contributed $100,000 per year to support expanded investment
attraction activities. As a result of the City’s previous support to
the ICCI program, seven new investments were made in Ottawa, which resulted in
74 new jobs, seven companies were retained in Ottawa, which resulted in 500 new
jobs and 83 Ottawa SME’s gained access into foreign markets.
In order to access $190,000 from
the ICCI program in 2009, OCRI is requesting $100,000 in partnership funding
from the City and $90,000 in private sector funds. If successful, the City’s $100,000 investment will allow OCRI to
expand its capacity for investment attraction activities by $380,000.
The 2009 lead generation program will target digital/video gaming new media, security, clean energy and medical devices/convergent technologies in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, Phoenix, and Silicon Valley. It will promote Ottawa as a location of choice in targeted global markets and continue to execute investment attraction activity in India, China, the Middle East, Brazil, Chile, Germany and the United Kingdom. Based on continued support from the City and building on past success, OGM expects to generate more than 30 international leads and six new investments in 2009 under this program.
The investment attraction activity proposed under this request for City funding participation includes the following lead generation programs:
North American Access Centre (NAAC)
A major emphasis will be put on Saudi Arabia in response to new investment opportunities that were identified during a recent visit to the region as guests of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. The development of the four Saudi Arabian “Economic Cities”, with their emphasis on knowledge and entrepreneurship, holds potential for mutual benefits in ICT, green technologies and education through the NAAC initiative.
Security Sector
Overall, this program will focus on Canada’s position of strength during this economic downturn and the opportunities that exist for companies operating from Ottawa both inside and outside the North American market. The goal is to contact a minimum of 50 companies and generate a minimum of one new investment.
Information
and Communications Technology
A focused lead generation program will be developed that targets regions both inside and outside of North America. These regions include the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, Brazil, China and India. This program will showcase opportunities in digital media/gaming, wireless technologies (4G and beyond), photonics, and software development. A minimum of 100 companies will be contacted and worked with to generate at least two new investments.
Clean Technology
A minimum of 50 companies will be contacted and worked with to generate at least one new investment in this sector.
Business
Retention / Expansion (BRE) Program
Activities in this category will include:
Life Sciences Market Strategy Development Program
OCRI is currently completing research into the future direction and execution of its Life Science program (following the merger of the Ottawa Life Science Council with OCRI). To support this process, OGM will work with the Life Science team to integrate the new strategy into its international marketing program. Under this program, OGM will engage a consultant to develop the strategy and the specific electronic marketing materials that capture the market opportunities of the Life Science sector. This work will draw upon previously developed materials that support Ottawa’s overall value proposition and the strengths of our strategic clusters.
Overall 2009 Performance Matrix
for Lead Generation Programs:
|
Component |
Key Outputs |
Outcome Indicators |
Anticipated Results |
|
North
American Access Centre |
Lead Generation |
# of Leads
Contacted # of Prospects # of Investments |
100 10 2 |
|
Security
Sector |
Lead Generation |
# of Leads
Contacted # of Prospects # of Investments |
50 5 1 |
|
Information
and Communications Technology |
Lead Generation |
# of Leads
Contacted # of Prospects # of Investments |
100 10 2 |
|
Clean
Technology |
Lead Generation |
# of Leads
Contacted # of Prospects # of Investments |
50 5 1 |
|
Business
Retention / Expansion Program |
Target
identification Outcalls Made Strategic Model |
# of Targets # of Outcalls Model Development |
5-10 5-10 Completed Model |
|
Life
Sciences Marketing Strategy Development Program |
Strategy / Material
Development |
Integrated Strategy
/ Electronic Materials |
Integrated Strategy
/ Electronic Materials |
Because this report is administrative in nature, no consultation was undertaken.
There are no Legal/Risk Management impediments to implementing the recommendation in this report
The funding for these initiatives is available within the Economic Development Division’s 2009 Operating Budget under Cost Centre 112112 – Economic Development.
Upon Council approval of the recommendations contained in this report, Economic Development staff will proceed to formalize a funding agreement with OCRI to carry out the programs on specific activities outlined in this report.
RESPONDING TO ECONOMIC circumstances – OCRI REQUEST FOR INITIATIVE FUNDING
faire face aux
circonstances économiques – demande de financement d’une initiative de l’OCRI
ACS2009-ICS-CSS-0026 city wide / À l’Échelle de la ville
Mr. Ian Duff,
Manager of Economic Development, introduced Mr. Claude Haw, President and CEO
of OCRI. In turn, Mr. Haw introduced
Mrs. Robin McIntyre, the new Chair of OCRI’s Board of Directors and Regional
President of Rogers; Mrs. Michelle Scarborough, OCRI’s Vice President of
Investment and Commercialization; and Stephen Daze, OCRI’s Executive Director
of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Ms. McIntyre made some opening remarks in which she talked about her involvement with OCRI and expressed her belief with respect to the organization’s importance to the community. She noted that OCRI’s work crossed all industries and referenced the scope of its programs. In closing, she expressed confidence in Mr. Haw’s leadership of the organization and stressed the importance of the programs for which OCRI was seeking funding.
Mr. Haw then spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, which served to provide Committee with an overview of OCRI’s mandate and current programs as well as the projects for which the organization was seeking funding. A copy of this presentation is held on file.
Responding to a series of questions from Councillor Wilkinson, Mr. Haw confirmed: that the requested funding was a continuation of previous years’ funding, including support for OCRI’s Global Marketing program; that it would leverage money from other levels of government and the private sector; and that the intent was to bridge together all the different organizations. Speaking to the Global Marketing program, he advised that a delegations from Beijing and Shanghai would be coming to Ottawa in October and that this fit in with the Cleantech Initiative referenced in the report.
In response to comments from the Councillor with respect to the need to foster the growth of new companies and ensure existing companies remained strong, Mr. Haw submitted it was during this part of the economic cycle that good companies were formed. Therefore, he stressed the importance of being supportive of a great business climate, of being a welcoming and encouraging climate to get companies off the ground and helping existing companies to manage through these difficult times.
Replying to a question from Councillor El-Chantiry with respect to the return on investment, Mr. Duff referenced slides 10, 11 and 12 of the presentation. He explained that OCRI was tracking the success of each of its programs in terms of measurable and reportable outcomes and had committed to achieving the same outcomes through 2009.
Councillor El-Chantiry posted questions with respect to the Eastern Ontario Economic Development Fund. Mr. Haw indicated having just found out about the aforementioned fund and advised that OCRI was interested in accessing it. However, he acknowledged that to date, the organization had not done much in this regard.
Councillor El-Chantiry referenced the Quarterly Performance Report and wondered whether this area of activity would be included as a future measure; how the City of Ottawa was doing compared to other municipalities insofar as its investments in economic development. Mr. Kent Kirkpatrick, City Manager, acknowledged this could be included. However, he believed a more timely and more relevant measure would some out of what Committee and Council had recently approved with respect to refreshing the City’s economic development strategy. He noted that this would include some context in terms of what other municipalities were doing across the province and across the country.
Responding to a question from Councillor El-Chantiry with respect to the focus on small business as a result of the economic downturn, Mr. Haw indicated the Entrepreneurship Centre was seeing a 47% increase in traffic and that this was primarily related to small business. He reported that OCRI had added staff to ensure it could address these needs and had launched a program called Three for Free, which was intended to make sure small entrepreneurs understood the Centre’s services by giving small businesses a one-year free membership in OCRI.
Councillor Bloess acknowledged the need to support economic development, particularly during tough economic times. Notwithstanding this, he referenced the fact that in this case, municipal funding would be used to leverage funding from other sources. In particular, he noted that the level of private sector funding was approximately 10% of total costs and he wondered if this proportion should be increased. Mr. Haw indicated this was one of the things he would look at as he reviewed operations within OCRI. However, he maintained the reality was that every business was suffering. He explained that historically, OCRI had received a lot of support from large companies and he alluded to daily media reports with respect to the difficulties being experienced by large, medium and small companies during these economic times. He submitted that at this time, the organization was probably taxing businesses insofar as their membership fees. However, as the economy improved, OCRI could look at securing more funding from the private sector.
Councillor Bloess
inquired as to OCRI’s influence insofar as helping to bring jobs to the East
end. Mr. Haw stated that OCRI served
the whole City and did not play favorites in terms of geographic location. He explained that when companies came from
other jurisdictions looking for a place to locate in Ottawa, OCRI showed them
everthing the City had to offer.
Further, he referenced the Entrepreneurship Centre’s satellite office in
Orléans and indicated the organization had made a commitment to enlarge this
facility as part of development happening in the East.
Responding to a further comment from the Councillor, Mr. Haw acknowledged the importance of being pro-active in highlighting the advantages of the East end, such as a broadly bilingual population or proximity to photonics and the National Research Council.
Vice-Chair
Desroches addressed a perception with respect to OCRI being focused on
high-tech. He maintained that there was
also a low-tech sector in the City and he inquired as to the organization’s
efforts to support all sectors of the economy.
Mr. Haw indicated OCRI had grown into a bigger and more encompassing
organization and that, because of its comprehensive range of programs, it was
supportive of all businesses regardless of size or sector. However, he acknowledged that, having
started as a tech-oriented organization, OCRI had to increase communications
with respect to its current mandate and scope of programming.
Following these exchanges, Committee voted to approve the report
recommendation.
That Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend
Council approve up to $450,000 in partnership funding from the
Economic Development Division’s 2009 Operating Budget to support the
delivery of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation’s: Regional
Innovation Network (RIN); Ontario Research Commercialization Project
(ORCP); and Investment Attraction Capacity Enhancement
programs.
CARRIED