NOT SO SUPERCLUSTERS

In June 2017, the Liberals announced a “bold” Innovation Superclusters Initiative (ISI).

The federal government would partner with businesses in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean technology, digital technology and health to create consortiums that would help “Canadian businesses to grow into globally successful brands” as well as create jobs and boost innovation. The Parliamentary Budget Officer looked at how well the initiative is doing. Here are some numbers from his report.

$918M

Money allocated by the federal government in 2017 for the Innovation Superclusters Initiative (ISI), planned to be spent over five years.

$50B

Expected GDP growth from the superclusters program over 10 years, according to lofty federal government estimates. The PBO report called those estimates “highly unlikely,” and presented its own “optimistic” projection of around $18 billion.

0

Information provided to the PBO when it asked for “quantifiable performance indicators” used by the federal Industry department to gauge program success. “As such, the absence of quantifiable objectives prevents PBO from drawing conclusions about the impact of this initiative.”

59%

Portion of total spending under the program that went toward administrative costs rather than to “innovative” projects themselves. Ottawa has spent $30 million on the program as of February, $18 million of which was used for strictly administrative purposes.