Why and How to Grow Your Engage Project into a Longer-Term Collaboration Beyond ENGAGE A special workshop for Engage researchers & industry partners. Presented by: NSERC Research Partnerships Division and NSERC Regional Development Division

Engage 101 6 - month R&D project aimed at solving a company-specific problem New relationship between a company and a university researcher or college $25,000 grant paid to the post-secondary institution (no cash required from the company) IP belongs to the company Applications accepted anytime 6 weeks turnaround time with a 90% success rate

Seven Years of ENGAGEment NSERC’s Engage investment has created 6,800 new collaborations involving… 4,200 companies 72% new to NSERC 3,200 professors 53% new to NSERC-funded industry collaboration 15,000 HQP

Participants like Engage (we know because we asked) 94% of companies describe their project as a success 86% of companies state their problem was fully or partially solved through the Engage project 2/3 of professors report using the results of the six- month Engage project in a publication and student thesis One in six projects results in an Engage student being hired by the company

Company’s problem solved. Is that the whole story? Not quite. Engage companies also report: Enhanced R&D activity (66%) New business directions (62%) Improved competitive position (49%) New investment attracted (26%) Enhanced knowledge base and skills (83%)

Engage ROI (stats from the 5,900 Engage projects completed to Sept 1,370 NSERC-funded follow-on collaborations* 1-in-4 conversion rate to a longer-term project $55M invested by NSERC. $97M invested by Engage companies (* and many more by other agencies like OCE, FedDevOnt, etc.) 500 researchers & companies introduced to Partnerships through Engage were motivated to start new projects with a different collaborator. 300 ‘Engage Plus’ follow-on projects to date

Why re-engage after Engage? You’ve invested six months of effort to establish trust and visibility with a new industry partner. Your visibility with the company diminishes over time. Seize the opportunity! Capitalize on the momentum! Planning + Effort (+ NSERC) = Results

The Path from Engage to CRD Options Engage Plus > CRD Direct-to-CRD Cash Contribution Mandatory $4K - $12.5K Mandatory No min / max Cash Leverage of In-Kind No Yes - 1:1 IP Agreement Not required (like Engage) Required Project Length 6 months max. 1 – 5 years Award Limit 1:1 up to $12.5K 2:1 with no limit Project Budget Up to $25K From $15K to ‘very large’ Co-PI’s? Yes Collaborators? Academic – yes Industrial – yes Application Deadline 6 mo. after Engage end No deadline Evaluation NSERC Committee External Peers Application Turnaround 4 – 6 weeks 12 weeks

Advancing to a CRD