OCRI - Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation
Ottawa - A Snapshot
Ottawa is an Established North American Technology Centre
Ottawa has more than 1,800 technology companies - all within a 2 hour flight of over 50% of the North American population. Ottawa's key industries include technology services, telecommunications, software, defense & security, wireless, life sciences, semiconductor, environment and photonics, employing nearly 80,000 people. Through the North American Free Trade Agreement, Ottawa is an integral part of the technology infrastructure and supply chain of the United States.
2nd Highest Concentration of Science & Engineering Employment in North America
The Ottawa region has the second largest concentration of science & engineering employment out of 316 North American cities, surpassed only by Silicon Valley. One in nine employees is a scientist or engineer.
The Ottawa region's current workforce has the highest percentage of university graduates in the country. Ottawa also has the highest concentration of PhDs in North America, tied with Boston. (Statistics Canada 2007)
One of the World's Top Sites for R&D
Ottawa is one of the world's top sites for R&D, particularly in ICT, software and telecommunications. 90% of Canada's industrial telecommunications research and development is conducted in Ottawa.
Home to the Development & Support Operations of Numerous Multinational Companies
Ottawa houses the development and support operations of several multinational giants including Nortel, Alcatel, Cognos, Mitel, RIM, Corel, IBM, Huawei, Cisco Systems and Adobe.
Strong Entrepreneurial Spirit - Innovative & Progressive
The region continues to be a hot bed of spin-offs and research commercialization.
The total amount of venture capital invested in Ottawa technology companies over the last decade amounted to over $5 billion CDN.
Professional Services Industry Supporting Ottawa's Advanced Technology Sector
Ottawa's professional services providers have expanded and matured with Ottawa's technology companies, offering value-added world class services tailored to an active globally competitive technology community.
Ottawa, Canada's Capital
The beautiful city of Ottawa offers easy access to key decision makers and an extensive infrastructure of professional services. Ottawa currently ranks 16th best city to live in the world and is the least expensive Canadian city (Mercer HR Consulting, 2009). Ottawa-Gatineau was also ranked 1st in Canada's Best Places to Live 2008 survey by MoneySense magazine.
Canada - OECD's Most Stable Financial System:
The stability of Canada's financial system has meant that Canada has suffered minimal impact from the recent global financial crisis and is quickly recovering from the resulting global downturn.
Kanata - Ottawa's Leading High-Technology Region:
Located on the western edge of the City of Ottawa, Kanata is a thriving commercial and residential community. Kanata is Ottawa's leading high-technology region, often referred to as Silicon Valley North.
In 2007, the Intelligent Community Forum listed Ottawa as one of the 'Top Seven Intelligent Communities' - ranking Ottawa among the top seven business and technology cities in the world. The city's winning attributes, which are exemplified by Kanata, include a highly educated workforce, sophisticated infrastructure, home grown leaders in advanced technology, tourism and business services.
Kanata is the jewel of Ottawa's high-technology population. The Kanata North Business Park has the largest concentration of high-technology companies in Canada. Industry leaders who have established offices and cutting-edge research facilities in the Kanata North Business Park include, Research In Motion, Cisco Systems, Entrust Technologies, Mitel Corporation, Avaya, Siemens Canada, Alcatel-Lucent and MDS Nordion.
Kanata is a great place to live and enjoys the highest per capita living standards in the city. Big city convenience, rural warmth, great housing, stunning golf courses and forest trails, plentiful green space for recreational activities, shopping and entertainment and even an NHL hockey team make up the Kanata lifestyle. (Source: Canderel, 2007).
Clusters:
The Ottawa region has made a commitment to cluster based economic development as a means to ensure its economy remains sustainable, innovative and diversified. OCRI works closely with all levels of government, our exporting companies, our colleges and universities and our local support infrastructure to make the region a model for success in the knowledge economy.
Among our clusters with formal organizations are:
- Ottawa Photonics Cluster - www.ottawaphotonics.com
- Ottawa ebusiness Cluster - www.ebusinesscluster.com
- Ottawa Wireless Cluster - www.ottawawirelesscluster.com
- Ottawa Software Cluster - www.ottawasoftwarecluster.com
- Ottawa Security Cluster - www.securitycluster.com
- Ottawa Regional Contact Centre Association - www.callcentres.org
- OCRI Life Sciences - www.ocri.ca/lifesciences
- Ottawa Clean Technology Initiative - www.ottawacleantech.com
- Ottawa MEDTECH - www.ottawamedtech.com
- Ottawa Tourism - www.ottawatourism.ca
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Ottawa has an education system that is unsurpassed. The region has four universities, two colleges and numerous technology institutes and professional schools to create a highly integrated and flexible education and training delivery system that is conducive to lifelong learning.
Boasting the highest educated population in Canada, post secondary education is extremely important in Ottawa's knowledge based economy. Nearly 40% of Ottawa's citizens have a graduate certificate, diploma or degree. Ottawa's current workforce has the highest percentage of university graduates in the country. Ottawa graduates are the highest number of computer science and engineering graduates in Canada and the region also has the highest concentration of PhDs in North America, tied with Boston. (Statistics Canada 2007)
The Ottawa region has the second largest concentration of science & engineering employment out of 316 North American cities, surpassed only by Silicon Valley. One in nine employees is a scientist or engineer.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Inspired by the vision of the city's early entrepreneurs, today's Ottawa based companies are among the leaders of the technology industry. Ottawa boasts a dynamic and comprehensive research infrastructure that focuses on government, university and industry collaboration. The city has over 50 years of experience with incubation of start-up and spin-off companies. With a critical mass of government, university and private sector R&D, a highly-educated workforce and substantial R&D tax incentives, Ottawa is widely acclaimed as a world-class centre for research.
Corporate - R&D:
Many of Canada's top corporate R&D spenders have research and development facilities in Ottawa; these firms include Nortel Networks, Mitel, Bell Canada, and IBM Canada. Additionally, Ottawa is home to the R&D arms of several multinational companies including: March Networks, Alcatel-Lucent., Cognos, Zarlink Semiconductor, Huawei and Cisco Systems.
University - R&D:
Ottawa's two main academic institutions, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, are active participants in both fundamental and applied research across a variety of disciplines. Both have the unique position of being situated within the heart of Canada's most intensive concentration of advanced technology enterprises as well as being in close proximity to government agencies, laboratories and libraries.
Government - R&D:
Some of Canada's most notable research and development organizations are located in Ottawa:
National Research Council (NRC)
- Canada's leading government R&D organization is a major force in Canada's drive to strengthen its national system of innovation. NRC undertakes research programs in a wide variety of areas including microstructural sciences, information technologies, chemical process and environmental technologies, astrophysics, molecular sciences, metrology, construction technologies, biological sciences, aerospace, surface transportation, and hydraulics. NRC's Ottawa campuses house a number of specialized facilities that are accessed by companies and research organizations around the world. NRC also offers incubation services to assist the process of commercializing viable technologies.
Communications Research Centre (CRC)
- Canada's major facility for research in terrestrial wireless communications systems and components, satellite communications and radio propagation, rural and remote broadband access, broadcast technology and broadband network technologies. CRC's Innovation Centre offers incubation services to the commercialization of viable technologies.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Canada's leading agricultural research organization has a number of research facilities and initiatives, including the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre in Ottawa. At this facility, research is focused on grains and oilseeds for eastern Canada.
National Sciences and Engineering Research Council
- The national instrument for making strategic investments in science and technology capabilities through university research.
Natural Resources Canada CANMET Energy Technology Centre
- is Canada's leading federal government science & technology organization with a mandate to develop and demonstrate energy efficient, alternative and renewable energy technologies and processes. The centre has world-class research facilities, laboratories for advanced combustion, chemical processing and development, metallurgical fuels and fuels characterization.
Defence Research and Development Canada
- Defence R&D Canada (DRDC) is an agency of the Canadian Department of National Defence responding to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces. Its mission is to ensure that the CF remains scientifically and operationally relevant. The agency is made up of six research centres located across Canada with a corporate office in Ottawa.
Canadian Police Research Centre
- The Canadian Police Research Centre (CPRC) is a partnership among the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the National Research Council Canada. The CPRC serves as a single, national focal point for technology R&D efforts in support of Canada's law enforcement community. By promoting innovation and cooperation the CPRC strives to ensure that the best possible resources are made available to police and related organizations in a cost-efficient and timely manner.
LINKS TO MOST IMPORTANT WEBSITES