Research & Development
Research and development plays an important role in Alberta's economy. Alberta's research infrastructure consists of a strong network of public, private and educational organizations. Both Calgary and Edmonton have an outstanding inventory of research parks for advanced technology activities.
Tenants of the Edmonton Research Park and Calgary's University Research Park can participate in cooperative education and training programs, attracting top scientific graduates.
Collaboration between industry, government and educational institutions has created some leading partnerships that include the following:
The Alberta Research Council (ARC)
Develops and commercializes technologies to give customers a competitive advantage. The corporation performs applied research and development on a contract or fee basis, and co-ventures with others to develop new technologies, deriving a return on investment from the commercialization of new products and processes.
ARC focuses on:
- Life sciences technologies
- Energy technologies
- Forest processes and technologies
- Industrial processes and services
Calgary Technologies Inc. (CTI)
CTI is a not-for-profit agency in the business of economic development focused on Calgary's advanced technology sector. CTI manages the University Research Park, located on 125 acres adjacent to the University of Calgary.
Discovery Place One is a multi-tenant research building, which provides cost-effective facilities for organizations wishing to take advantage of proximity to the research excellence and facilities of the University of Calgary and the major concentration of research organizations already located in the Park.
Discovery Place One currently houses laboratory facilities and many technology intensive incubator enterprises. Taken together, these companies constitute a broad range of research and technology capability in oil and gas servicing, electronics, software and biotechnology.
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Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) manages the 320-acre Edmonton Research Park that was established in 1980 to assist in the diversification of the Edmonton economy through advanced technology. The Park is home to over forty-five electronics, software and biotechnology companies, employing over 1,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff, and is the second largest such park in Canada.
The Park is adjacent to the headquarters and laboratories of the Alberta Research Council.
Advanced Technology Centre
The most recently completed building in the park is the Advanced Technology Centre, a prize winning, 43,000 square foot custom-built incubator designed to support new and early-stage advanced technology enterprises.
For further information, visit:
Greater Edmonton
The Food Processing Development Centre
The Centre serves to encourage the growth and expansion of the food processing industry in highly competitive domestic and global markets.
As an integral part of Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development's Processing Industry Division, the Centre is a modern, fully equipped pilot plant and product development laboratory facility. It is staffed with experienced food scientists, engineers and technologists. Centre services are designed to strengthen and expand the capability of Alberta's food processors to meet the challenges of the marketplace through application of new technology and the development of new or improved products and processes.
Telecommunications Research Labs (TRLabs)
TRLabs is the largest not-for-profit telecommunications research consortium in Canada. It is an applied research consortium based on industry, university and government collaboration focused on commercialization of telecommunications technologies.
With headquarters in Edmonton, it is funded by the governments of Canada, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, major sponsorships from the universities of Alberta, Calgary, Manitoba, Regina and Saskatchewan, and a diverse mix of large and small telecommunications companies.
TRLabs operates a network of research laboratories in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg, and has plans for future activity in British Columbia.
Its research program is focused on five strategic areas:
- data networking
- network access
- network systems
- photonics
- wireless communications
Industrial sponsors can use the resulting products or processes without violating patents, and academics can commercialize their research in a well-funded atmosphere.
National Institute for Nanotechnology
The National Institute for Nanotechnology is Canada's leading nanotechnology research institute. This is a partnership between the National Research Council and the University of Alberta.
Funded by the Government of Canada, Government of Alberta and the university, it involves researchers in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, informatics, pharmacy and medicine. Researchers focus on the work at the nano-scale (individual atoms or molecules). It is one of the most technologically advanced research facilities in the world.
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Netera Alliance is an Alberta-based, not-for-profit organization that plans and implements inter-institutional information and communication technology (ICT) research infrastructure in Alberta. Established in 1993 by Alberta universities, in partnership with government and telecommunications companies, the Netera Alliance ensures Alberta offers world-class computing and networking facilities for research.
Learn more about the federal and provincial grant programs available for research and development. Visit:
The Business Link
