Investment in research offers hefty dividend: Duncan
Scientists are not unlike business people, Kirsty Duncan says.
“We have a lot in common with entrepreneurs like you,” Canada’s science and sport minister told an audience of over 100 people at the Holiday Inn & Suites Parkway Conference Centre in St. Catharines. “We explore, we test and chase results.”
Duncan was speaking to a group of business people and representatives of Brock University and Niagara College on Thursday during a Niagara Business Leadership Series event organized by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce. Duncan, who comes from a life as a researcher before she entered politics, touted the impact government investments in research can have on the economy.
She was an associate professor of health studies at the University of Toronto and the former research director for the AIC Institute of Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management.
But like a savvy business person, she said investments in research can pay a nice dividend.
“It has been estimated that a one-time investment of $1 into fundamental research will result in a 20 per cent return on investment (ROI). That is double the return you’d expect from the 500 largest companies of the New York and NASDAQ stock exchanges.”
The ROI means higher wages, more jobs and more sales, she said.
“When you look at it from that perspective, we can say that research is one of the best performing investment sectors.”
To that end the federal government invested $2 billion into research and development in 2016.That was followed by a record $4 billion in 2017, said Duncan.
Some of those dollars flowed Niagara’s way.
She said the region is fortunate to have in its midst research hubs at Brock University, Niagara College and the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.
“These are important institutions; they do important research and they also help drive the local economy.”
She cited the work of Dr. Michael Duncan at Niagara College, who is in the field of precision agriculture and who, in conjunction with the government, the private sector and other tech companies, is exploring ways to help farmers get better crop yields at a lower cost.
Post-secondary institutions, meanwhile, are also big economic drivers themselves, she said.
“Our post-secondary institutions produce over $55 billion annually in economic activity. It supports 600,000 direct and indirect jobs (across Canada).”
And those same post-secondary institutions also account for 41 per cent of the country’s research activity. The research focus has also made Canada a top destination for international students and students are good for business as between themselves, family and friends, she said.