News and Features
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Life sciences has been defined as “The application of Science and Technology to living organisms as well as parts, products and models thereof, to alter living or non-living materials for the production of knowledge, goods and services”. Under this definition, the life sciences cluster encompasses a wide range of research and industry activities related to pharmaceuticals and medical biotechnology, medical devices, health informatics, functional foods and nutraceuticals, agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and bioremediation, industrial bioproducts, biofuels, bioenergy, biomaterials, biochemicals, and connected biotechnology services such as genomics and bioprospecting.
Our life science cluster in British Columbia is well positioned for further growth. Recent research has confirmed tremendous opportunities for development but also identified some specific challenges. Meeting these challenges will require a coordinated approach. Towards that end, FWCO is working with representatives of the various sectors and stakeholder groups to prepare a detailed action plan for the life sciences cluster. The action plan for the life sciences cluster in British Columbia will define:
- The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the cluster and, reflecting the results, identifies the key issues to be addressed. These key issues may relate to topics such as research & development, technology transfer including commercialization, market development, human resources, the regulatory environment, access to capital, infrastructure, and culture.
- The strategies that need to be implemented to address the key issues.
- Specific actions and initiatives to be undertaken to promote further development. . The action plan will define responsibilities, resource requirements, potential sources of funding, milestones and timelines.
To find out more, please visit the project website at http://www.lifesciencesactionplan.ca.
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Vancouver has a vibrant arts and culture community. Cultural workers comprise 2.7% of Vancouver’s total labour force, the highest proportion of the total labour force nationally. Between 1996 and 2001, Vancouver’s cultural labour force grew by 24%, while the general labour force grew by 5%. More than three million people attend live performances, screenings, exhibitions, festivals and special events every year in the city. Festivals in Vancouver parks and community centres present more than 1,700 performances annually. Music, dance and theatre groups present more than 750 different live productions while the City’s major museums and galleries feature more than 600 exhibitions every year.
The City of Vancouver is a major supporter of the arts and culture community. Through the Office of Cultural Affairs, the City of Vancouver will disburse about $9 million in grants in 2007 to approximately 200 non-profit arts and cultural organizations, which provide broadly accessible programs and services within the city. The City provides the most in cultural grants, on a per capita basis, of any major city in Canada.
The City of Vancouver commissioned Ference Weicker & Company, to conduct a review of the cultural grant and support programs delivered through the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA). The purpose of the review is to assess the effectiveness and management of the current cultural grant programs, develop recommendations for improvement, and prepare an implementation plan for acting on those recommendations.
For more information, please visit the project website at http://www.OCA-review.ca.
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We are conducting a multi-year evaluation of the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (NCCEH). It is one of the six collaborating centres recently established by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Hosted by the BC Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver, NCCEH is working to increase the access of environmental health practitioners and policymakers to useful information on environmental health issues (e.g. water, air, solid waste, biological, radiological hazards in food, etc).
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Technology is a key economic driver for British Columbia. For example, according to BC STATS, the technology industry in British Columbia generated $14 billion in revenues and employed 65,000 people in 2004. Many people do not recognize that, in terms of GDP, the technology industry is already one of our largest economic sectors – larger, for example, than the construction, forestry, wood products, mining, agri-food, transportation and warehousing, education, health care, retail, and wholesale sectors.
There is a tendency, amongst some, to believe that technology activity in this province is concentrated in the Lower Mainland. However, we know from our experience that there are many companies throughout other regions of BC that are active in the development, commercialization and/or application of technologies across a wide range of economic sectors. To demonstrate this, the BC Regional Science & Technology Network (BCRSTN) is undertaking an extensive project to develop an inventory of the companies that are involved, to varying degrees, in the technology industry. These results will demonstrate the significant size and impact of the regional technology sector to the Provincial and Federal Governments and other key stakeholders. Perhaps, more importantly, the information we collect will provide the foundation for preparing strategies to support the further growth and development of these companies. To find out more, please visit the project website at http://www.bctech.ca.
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The purpose of this project was to assist the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources in developing a focused, BC oriented, set of recommendations and strategic actions that can be used by the Ministry to guide current and future support for oil & gas research and development (R&D) and technology application in BC.
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The BCAC was established in 1996 to serve the people of British Columbia by assisting the development of the province’s arts and cultural community. It fulfills this responsibility by delivering a range of programs intended to meet the needs of a large and diverse arts and cultural constituency. In the last fiscal year, the BCAC had a budget of $14 million and made 977 awards from 1,756 applicants. We conducted a review of its theatre and music programs to provide an overview and assessment of:
- The province’s professional not-for-profit theatre and music sectors;
- Whether the programs are meeting the stated objectives;
- The current eligibility and assessment criteria;
- The effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of the application/adjudication process; and
- The alignment of the program objectives with the Council’s strategic priorities.
In addition, we developed options and recommendations regarding revisions to the existing program structure and content that would serve the sector more effectively and better achieve the Council’s stated priorities.
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With funding from regional economic entities and the provincial and federal governments, Kootenay Rockies Regional Economic Alliance (KRREA), the Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council (KRIC), the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST), and the Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) of the SE Region of BC have come together to prepare an economic development plan for the region that is focused on key industrial sectors. The first step in the process towards creating this industry development plan has been to develop an inventory of companies in these sectors and to obtain input from representatives regarding the key issues that are faced in our region. To find out more, please visit the project website at http://www.ki2i.ca.
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The British Columbia Agriculture Council (BCAC), Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) and the Ministry of Agriculture are conducting a review to determine the impact of past programs designed to increase manure storage capacity on farms in British Columbia and to determine the need of further programs.
As part of this review, we will be conducting a large-scale survey of producers in British Columbia. The survey is designed to assess the impact of past programs, the current status of manure storage in the province, and whether producers believe that such programs should be a priority. To find out more, please visit the project website at http://www.manurestorage.ca.
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We conducted this extensive international market assessment for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to:
- Identify the key markets, based on a thorough review of all available economic data and demographic trends for Ontario’s agri-food and bio-based products
- Determine which key markets are best suited to development by Ontario exporters, considering geographical, logistical, and economic factors as well as the strengths of Ontario’s agri-food and bio-product producers and processors.
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BC
Hub is a network. A place where business and research from around
the province come together to access a coordinated pool of
resources. The goal is to create a collaborative social environment,
both virtual and tangible, where innovation is promoted as a result
of people interacting at a social and business level. BC Hub is designed to
stimulate economic growth and build a sustainable industry—all based
upon BC’s identified technological strengths. Ference Weicker &
Company is in the process of preparing a feasibility study and
preparing a business plan for the network. For more information on BC
Hub, please visit the website developed for the project at
http://bchub.ca
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FWCO is leading the
development of a comprehensive technology strategy for the
Province of British Columbia that outlines
priorities, commitments and goals of the government, industry and
other key stakeholders in promoting development of the technology
industry. The
technology strategy will:
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Use the results of recent research to identify,
analyze and prioritize the key issues facing the province.
n
Present a vision and set of objectives that represent
targets for the enablement and growth of the technology industry in
British
Columbia. The objectives will be actionable,
time-bound and measurable. The objectives will focus on a range, or
cross-section, of issues such as employment, revenues, R&D,
technology transfer including commercialization, trade development,
academic programs and enrolment including graduate students,
taxation including tax credits, access to capital, human resource
development, and infrastructure.
n Define the strategies
that will be implemented towards achievement of these objectives.
The strategies will represent commitments of time, resources and
money.
n Outline specific actions
and initiatives, consistent with the stated strategies, for each of
the identified objectives. The action plans will define
responsibilities, resource requirements and timelines. The plan will
also assign responsibility for the development of these detailed
action plans to be implemented under the strategy.
For more information on
the project and to learn how you can provide input, please visit the
project website at http://www.techstrategy.ca.
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The BC tree fruit industry creates
significant economic activity in the growing, packing, processing,
selling and transporting of tree fruits. In addition, the orchards
serve as a major tourism draw by providing a park-like setting for
tourists and residents to enjoy. In recent years, the economic
health of the industry has become a major concern as BC growers,
particularly in the apple sector, face increasing competition. In
response to these conditions, the British Columbia Fruit Growers
Association commissioned development of a strategic plan for the
tree fruit industry.
The project is being implemented in three phases. To find out more, please
visit the website at http://www.treefruits.ca.
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The agri-food industry is highly valued by
British Columbians because of its impact on our economy, our
food-security, and our physical environment. While we remain a net food
importer, the industry serves as a very important source of food
products and employment for British Columbians. As concerns about food
safety increase so to does the importance we place on having a
strong domestic industry that provides a measure of food
security. We highly
value agriculture land because it benefits the environment and
protects significant areas of our green space from further urban
development.
The agri-food industry is undergoing a
period of unprecedented change. BC producers face increasing
pressure from low-cost competitors at a time when the costs of many
of our key inputs are increasing. Consumers are becoming more
demanding, product life cycles are shortening, and the level of
market segmentation is increasing. Consolidation is occurring
at all levels of the food chain. Unemployment rates in BC
have declined to a generational low, making it hard to attract and
keep the workers we need. Environmental pressures and incidence of
urban/rural conflicts are increasing. Technology is changing how
we develop, produce and market our products.
How well we react to these changes will
determine the future of the agri-food industry in BC. With this in mind, the
Investment Agriculture Foundation of British Columbia, the BC
Agriculture Council, the BC Food Processors Association and other
organizations came together recently to commission the Focus on the
Future project.
Specifically, the project was designed
to:
n
Identify and
assess key issues that are strategically important to the overall
long-term success of the BC agri-food industry.
n
Identify specific
strategies and meaningful actions that industry, government and the
Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC can pursue to assist
industry to expand, diversify and enhance its competitive position
and build a stronger industry future.
The project was undertaken in four phases
over a period of ten months.
A copy of the resulting report is available at
http://www.iafbc.ca/current.initiative.htm. The recommendations are now
being implemented by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC as
well as the Federal and Provincial
Government.
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Linx BC is a
public/private partnership, involving the Province of
British
Columbia and a group of member
communities, which was established in 1998 with the objective of
attracting call centres into BC as a means to stimulate economic
recovery. The
organization has been very successful, attracting 10 call centres to
BC representing over 8,500 sustainable new jobs. The organization
has received awards from the Economic Development Association of BC
(EDABC), Business Facilities Magazine (Best Economic Development
Program in North America in 2001)
and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Program
Award (Platinum in 2003).
Linx BC is now looking to broaden its model to
additional sectors of the economy, with an initial focus on the
advanced manufacturing, agri-food and tourism sectors. Extending the model to
additional sectors requires some changes to the business model and
structure, given that the organization must now be capable of
targeting multiple sectors, balancing multiple initiatives each
year, and serving a larger membership
base.
Ference Weicker &
Company has been working with Linx BC to define the new business
model and structure that will be employed by the organization,
develop a marketing strategy for attracting members, develop a
marketing strategy for attracting investment to the member
communities, and prepare an action plan.
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