Data show Ontario's campus-based entrepreneurship programs having an impact

Ontario has fully implemented its province-wide network of post-secondary based incubators and accelerators and initial data suggest they are beginning to have their intended impact. Managed by the Ontario Centres of Excellence, there are 10 Campus Linked Accelerators (CLAs) and 20 On-Campus Entrepreneurs Activities (OCEA) centres situated at 42 institutions with the express purpose of incenting and supporting entrepreneurial activity.

Funded through the Youth Jobs Strategy of the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), the CLA and OCEA programs received $25 million over two years in 2013 with discussions underway to extend the programs further.

"Both programs try to make our academic institutions the focal point for youth entrepreneurship. They share the same goals and objectives," says Martin Croteau, OCE's director of academic entrepreneurship. "The OCEA program assists institutions in kick-starting entrepreneurship activities on campus while the CLAs are designed for institutions with existing networks."

To date, there have been 1,300 jobs created through the CLA/OCEA programs, while clients engaged in program services exceed 1,000. Events and competitions hosted and designed to engage clients and the community at large such as "lunch and learn to pitch" events are approaching 2,000

"Tens of thousands of students have attended these events and the one thousand clients from young entrepreneurs at the idea stage to established start-ups were way more than expected," says Croteau.

Even for large institutions with relatively large and sophisticated entrepreneurship and commercialization programs, the CLAs and OCEA are proving effective. The Univ of Toronto alone has nine incubators catering to specific departments and disciplines.

"CLA provides institutions with scale-up funding to take existing programs and expand them significantly and make them available institution-wide," says Croteau, noting that CLA and OCEA funding is available to students from all disciplines, not just the fields of natural sciences and engineering. "CLAs are designed for existing track records to build upon and expand programs ... At U of T, it builds on their Impact Centres which are nine and growing."

Croteau describes the programs as a global best practice in youth entrepreneurship and asserts that a real difference is being made.

"They're a key part of our program mix from collaborative R&D and academic-business relationships," he says. "They're an opportunity to provide more experiential opportunities beyond the classroom."

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