Changes to federal funding for science and innovation are good news for CMC Microsystems (CMC) and Canada’s National Design Network (CNDN), says Gord Harling, president & CEO of CMC. 
“The increase to the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Major Science Initiatives (MSI) Fund announced Monday is a significant investment and will directly benefit the CNDN,” he says.
CNDN, managed by CMC and hosted by Queen’s University, is recognized by CFI as a Major Science Initiative. Enhancements to CFI’s MSI program will directly benefit seven of Canada’s 16 MSIs.
“We welcome changes that enhance Canada’s innovation ecosystem and help address gaps in CMC’s funding,” says Dr. Bozena Kaminska, chair of the board of CMC. “We applaud Minister Kirsty Duncan for this investment in research, and we continue to look for other strategic partners, federal and provincial, to help us address their science and innovation priorities.”
Adapting to ensure long-term sustainability
“These recent developments mean our services for developing micro-nanotech innovations will continue to be accessible to more than 10,000 academic and industry researchers in the coming year,” Harling observes. “But we are also adapting to ensure long-term sustainability of our programs.”
CMC is developing new revenue sources for base operating funds. These include expanding services to industry, developing technology platforms for use in Canada, extending design software access services to U.S. universities, and performing contract R&D where there are gaps in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. The organization will remain not-for-profit, supporting research in advanced technologies, especially hardware that powers everything from the Internet of Things to products with embedded Artificial Intelligence.
“We’re sharpening the focus on growing our user base and simplifying our service delivery to give researchers more choices while still being affordable,” Harling says. “We’re also enhancing our areas of strength – design software, fabrication of research prototypes and lab services. We will continue our efforts in training, support, and best practices, because these underpin our success in creating highly skilled personnel for industry.”
“Researchers and entrepreneurs across Canada have been extremely active in advocating for the value of our offerings, and our new mission reflects that feedback,” adds Harling. “As we look to the future, our mission is to support research and we will continually improve delivery of services to our clients.”
