LONDON, Ontario, March 23, 2009 — The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, today announced that the Government of Canada will help create the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership. The internationally recognized Richard Ivey School of Business will bring together expertise from the business, health sciences and medical sectors to develop specialized talent and commercialize health innovations that will benefit Canada's health care providers and patients.
“Our government is committed to building a competitive advantage for Canada based on excellence in science and technology (S&T),”said Minister Clement. “S&T investment is crucial for attracting, retaining and developing highly skilled people, for creating jobs that will drive our economy and, most notably, for making important health discoveries that contribute to the well-being of all Canadians.”
In May 2007, the Prime Minister released the Government of Canada's new national S&T Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage, setting out a multi-year framework to improve Canada's long-term competitiveness and the quality of life of Canadians. The S&T Strategy includes a commitment to attract and retain talent, support world-leading research and ensure that research discoveries are transformed into practical applications through commercialization.
“There are few things as important to Canadians as health care. This Centre will produce tangible health care benefits for all Canadians. It will create knowledge and foster leaders and entrepreneurs who will drive substantive change,”said Carol Stephenson, Dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario.
In Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has pledged over $5.1 billion in additional funding toward S&T initiatives. This measure will contribute to the creation of a stronger and more innovative economy and a more prosperous Canada. The Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership will be created, pending Treasury Board approval.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Pema Lhalungpa
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
Backgrounder
Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership
The Government of Canada will indicate its intention to invest $5 million, pending Treasury Board approval, in the University of Western Ontario to help create the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership. This investment would create opportunities for specialized training and support the development of a highly skilled workforce. The Centre will become an internationally recognized foundation dedicated to identifying, assessing and commercializing innovative technologies, systems and processes that will benefit Canada's health care providers, patients and health care system.
This investment will be part of the Government of Canada's national Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage. The S&T Strategy sets out a multi-year framework to make Canada a world leader in S&T and a chief source of entrepreneurial innovation and creativity. It focuses on advancing four core principles (promoting world-class excellence, focusing on priorities, fostering partnerships and enhancing accountability) and fostering three advantages (entrepreneurial, knowledge and people).
The S&T Strategy includes a commitment to attract and retain talent, support world-leading research and ensure that research discoveries are transformed into practical applications through commercialization. The S&T Strategy's specific policy commitments have guided federal S&T activities and strategic new investments put forward in Budget 2007, Budget 2008 and, now, Budget 2009.
The objectives of the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership align with the three distinctive advantages and four core principles of the federal S&T Strategy. The Ivey Centre will be designed as a catalyst for the creation and distribution of innovation throughout the Canadian health care system.
With its focus on health — one of the four priority areas identified in the S&T Strategy — the Ivey Centre will seek to be the first of a network of Canadian centres of health innovation and leadership. Once up and running, it will bring together expertise from the business, health sciences and medical sectors to develop specialized talent and to innovate and commercialize health technologies and processes for the benefit of Canadians and the health care system.
The Ivey Centre will generate a knowledge advantage through the work of its project teams, which will be bringing forward new ideas and testing the feasibility of innovations.
By bringing together personnel from business, health sciences and medicine, the Ivey Centre will provide specialized training and foster a people advantage. Since the emphasis of the Ivey Centre is on commercialization and partnership with the private sector, an entrepreneurship advantage is expected as new companies or new divisions and product lines will be created.
The Richard Ivey School of Business, the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (both located at the University of Western Ontario), and the London Health Sciences Centre will collaborate to create the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership.
The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry is committed to providing an outstanding education within a research-intensive environment where tomorrow's physicians, dentists and health researchers learn to be socially responsible leaders in the advancement of human health. Demonstrating its commitment to research excellence, the School has 22 active Canada Research Chairs — awards funded by the Government of Canada to attract some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds to Canadian universities and to retain them.
The London Health Sciences Centre is a premier acute-care hospital and one of the largest teaching hospitals in Canada. It has 10 000 staff and physicians, including more than 718 medical/dental/midwife practitioners and 3100 nursing professionals. Other health care facilities in London and the southwest region of Ontario make London a one-stop shop for the testing and incubation of innovative ideas, processes and technologies.
The Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership will be a new entity that will leverage the strengths of these partnerships. It will work with private sector sponsors to develop the specialized talent and leadership required to innovate, lead and spread the best ideas through the health care system.
