Canada's three forestry research institutes join forces as FP Innovations

Feds provide major funding boost

A recently established forestry research organization has received a major funding boost as part of a federal commitment of $127.5 million over two years to address long-term competitiveness issues. FPInnovations (FPI) will officially launch in April and it has already received a mandate to conduct $55 million in pre-competitive in-house and collaborative R&D with the university research community. An additional $10 million will be directed by FPI through the Wood Fibre Centre, a new special operating agency of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

FPI combines the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (PAPRICAN), the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) and Forintek Canada Corp, making it one of the largest forest research institutes in the world.

Once the amalgamation is complete, it will have a core annual budget of approximately $80 million, more than 600 employees and research facilities in Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City. The core FPI budget is comprised of $58 million in industry contributions and $22 million from the federal and provincial governments. The new federal funding will push its annual R&D expenditures to more than $100 million.

Approximately half of the nearly 500 members of FPI's three founding institutes voted on the amalgamation in January. Dr Ian de la Roche, FPI's inaugural president and CEO says the decision to proceed with the merger was "100% unanimous".

"There's a high level of enthusiasm … Although the cultures of each organization are different, there are a lot of commonalities and a strong commitment at the operational level to make a difference," he says. "We can now pull together as a single unit, with mixed skills sets making up research teams."

unique element

In addition to carrying out the mandates of its component institutes, FPI now has the additional responsibility of giving direction to NRCan's Wood Fibre Centre (WFC) The WFC is being split off from NRCan's Canadian Forestry Service with $10 million in new money over two years augmenting its large funding base. It is this aspect of the re-orientation of Canadian forestry R&D that underlines new approaches being taken to enhance the convergence of priorities between industry and government.

"It's a unique model and an interesting challenge. Industry is becoming actively engaged and leveraging its investments with government. It's a true private-public partnership," says de la Roche. "The Canadian Forestry Service … identified 55 people and brought them into the Wood Fibre Centre and recruited an executive director from industry (Dr George Bruemmer). The staff will remain crown employees but take direction from a board external to government."

consolidated effort

The consolidation of research funding in FPI and the federal infusion of new funding is seen as a necessary move to making Canada's forestry sector more competitive internationally and increasing the participation of the provinces. In countries like Finland, consolidation has already occurred, resulting in a tight relationship between government and industry working toward shared goals and priorities.

"Size matter in terms of economies of scale. R&D investment is easier when it's consolidated. There can be big returns," says de la Roche. "The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has looked at this and determined that government has to be involved."

The genesis of FPI goes back several years to the 2002 Innovation Agenda of the previous Liberal government and the creation of the Canadian Forestry Innovation Council. It has had several champions, chief among them FPAC president & CEO Avrim Lazar and David Emmerson, both as the former Liberal industry minister and in his current role as Conservative minister of International Trade.

The $127.5 million in new federal funding is the final component of the Forest Industry Long-Term Competitiveness Initiative, a $400-million commitment made to the forestry industry in the last federal Budget. The government previously announced $200 million to combat the infestation of the mountain pine beetle and $72.5 million for a Targeted Initiative for Older Workers.

The $55 million allocated to FPI will go towards pre-competitive, non-proprietary R&D for emerging and breakthrough technologies such as forest biomass, forest biotechnology and nanotechnology.

"These program areas are being enhanced ... to exploit the Canadian wood fibre advantage. There's huge biodiversity and we need to exploit it," says de la Roche. "There are new emerging technologies involving the genomics of trees and electronic technologies such as sensors and scanning that present opportunities for the pulp and paper and wood products industries."

In addition to increasing FPI's R&D funding, the initiative also dedicates funding in several other areas. The Canada Wood Program receives $20 million to diversify off-shore markets for solid wood products, which will be cost shared with the provinces and industry associations.

The North American Wood First Initiative receives $12 million to capture a larger share of non-residential construction markets. This could include markets where steel and concrete are currently the dominant construction material. Designers and architects will be involved in the Initiative, which will involve educational, marketing, communications and demonstration elements.

The Value-to-Wood Program receives $8 million to develop new products and processes in areas where Canada is deemed to have competitive advantage. These could include prefabricated building, engineered wood products, designer furniture and wood-frame windows. FPI will also participate in this program along with the provinces and universities.

R$