Message from the Chair

Welcome to Research That Works: The Networks of Centres of Excellence Year In Review 2007-2008.

This has been one of the most transformative years since the NCE program began in 1989.

Budget 2007 praised the NCE for successfully guiding the application of scientific research over about two decades. Confident in our remarkable track record, the Government of Canada entrusted the NCE with the creation of 11 new Centres of Excellence for Commercialization of Research. We met that challenge and these inaugural CECRs are now hard at work, leading the way toward the commercialization of academic discovery and innovation.

To further sharpen Canada's competitive edge, the Government also asked us to establish new Business-Led Networks, which apply the proven NCE model to industry-led, industry-driven organizations. The NCE Secretariat conducted a national competition and will administer these new networks.

The NCE was also placed in charge of the Industrial Research and Development Internship program. The IRDI gives graduate students and postdoctoral fellows the chance to apply their talent and know-how in a business setting; their work in turn is keeping Canadian companies competitive. ACCELERATE Canada, a consortium of several networks and other groups led by the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) NCE, is successfully running the program.

Of course, these are just the newest additions to the NCE family. We continue to fund 15 full-fledged networks and three NCE New Initiatives. Over the past 12 months, all have enhanced Canada's stature on the world research and innovation stage.

While our responsibilities have grown, our priorities have not changed. More than ever, we are committed to excellent research that gets results, improves our lives and allows our economy to weather global storms. In short, research that works.

Dr. Suzanne Fortier

Chair, NCE Steering Committee