BC Regions Lead the Way

When it comes to “regional” innovation, British Columbia is definitely at the leading edge. Originally, the LEEF Chairs program was focused entirely on supporting research at BC universities. Then the LEEF Board identified a significant gap. Why shouldn’t BC’s many colleges and other regional institutions qualify for comparable support? Thus, the Regional Innovation Chair program was created in 2003.

The BC government deserves credit for approving this bold initiative from the outset. With no model elsewhere to follow, we could only look to our University Research Chairs program for guidance. That meant requesting letters of intent from interested colleges, getting them to outline an appropriate plan, identifying potential chair holders, and then having these judged by peer review. But universities and colleges are quite different in many respects. University research is driven by the creation of knowledge; the colleges are about the application of knowledge. “Colleges don’t do research,” in other words. At least that was the thinking at the time. Indeed, when our program was first set up a few years ago, Canadian colleges were ineligible for research funding from the federal granting councils such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

In creating the Regional Innovation Chair program, the BC government has acknowledged that innovation happens in the regions and -- perhaps more importantly -- it should reflect the nature and fabric of the regions. This was ingenious. The great value that colleges bring to the whole innovation process is their close connection to their communities and regions. Universities, on the other hand, are much more broadly based. The LEEF Regional Innovation Chairs can become catalysts to help expand the capacity for innovation to all parts of BC.

We began the college program with funding for six Regional Chairs, and we’ve since received funding from the provincial government for three more. When the first proposals came in, we approved two in early childhood development and four in more broadly-based economic fields. A good example of the latter is the Chair at Selkirk College in Castlegar, announced in 2006. It’s officially titled the Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development for the West Kootenay/Boundary Region, which pretty well explains what it’s about.

Since then, we’ve approved proposals from the University College of the Fraser Valley (see the profile of Chair DJ Sandhu in this edition of LEEF Update), Malaspina University College, based in Nanaimo, Kwantlen University College in Delta, Thompson Rivers University based in Kamloops, UBC-Okanagan in Kelowna and Camosun College in Victoria. Other announcements will be forthcoming, as the chair appointments are made.

My colleagues and I on LEEF’s Regional Innovation Committee are all from outside BC. So we bring a broad perspective to the program. I can tell you that our program is being watched with great interest across Canada. In my own province of Alberta, I expect we’ll soon see something like the Regional Innovation Chairs at our colleges and there have been some changes in Federal programs to recognize the unique role.

Hats off to British Columbia for launching this innovative approach to education and regional development.

Ron Woodward, Chair, LEEF Regional Innovation Chairs Committee

Ron Woodward is President of Red Deer College in Red Deer, Alberta. He has chaired the Research and Innovation Committee of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges and is currently on the Board of the Alberta Science and Research Authority and is Vice Chair of the Alberta Research Council.