Minister Ambrose Receives Report on Public Procurement in Support of Business Innovation
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GATINEAU, Quebec, November 3, 2011 – The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is pleased to receive Innovation Canada: A Call to Action, Special Report on Procurement, a special report prepared by the independent Expert Review Panel on Research and Development, chaired by Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of Open Text.
“Our Government is committed to improving procurement, in consultation with Canadian industries, so that we can maximize job creation, support Canadian innovation and bolster economic growth across the country,” said Minister Ambrose. “I am pleased to receive this report from Mr. Jenkins and thank him and his panel colleagues for their efforts. We will carefully consider the report, and I expect it will provide some useful insights to inform our work as we move forward.”
In preparing its report, the independent Expert Review Panel on Research and Development consulted industry on how best to maximize the impact of government procurement with regard to job creation, manufacturing capability, innovation, and economic growth in Canada.
“Businesses across the country told us that they want government to play a leadership role as first customer, demanding more innovative goods and services,” said Mr. Jenkins. “This is the role we found government playing in other countries with strong innovation systems. That is why we recommend that the government should make innovation a core objective of federal procurement; it's just common sense that Canada should do what other countries are already doing.”
The government has already taken steps to work more effectively with industry, and improving procurement is a key priority. This includes maximizing economic impacts for Canadians, as demonstrated through the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. Also, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) hosted the first ever Canada/United States/United Kingdom heads of procurement meeting earlier this week to discuss common problems and shared solutions to procurement issues.
The report received today is supplementary to Innovation Canada: A Call to Action, which was issued by the Expert Review Panel on Research and Development at Industry Canada on October 17, 2011.
Departmental officials will review the report and its recommendations. The report is available at www.rd-review.ca.
To view Innovation Canada: A Call to Action, please visit the following website:
http://rd-review.ca/eic/site/033.nsf/eng/h_00287.html.
PWGSC also supports small and medium enterprises through its Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program/Kickstart initiative (CICP). More information on the CICP can be found at buyandsell.gc.ca/innovation.
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