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Presentation to Technical Research Committee

Canadian Home Builders’ Association

in Banff, Alberta

February 23, 2011

Walter Cool

Industrial Research Assistance Program

National Research Council Canada

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NRC-IRAP Overview

• Who we are

• What services we provide

• Who our clients are

• What we do in Construction and Housing

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NRC-IRAPOur Purpose

We support small and medium-sized, for profit, enterprises (SMEs) grow

through technological innovation.

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We assist firms to develop, adopt and adapt technologies and incorporate them into competitive products and services to be commercialized in the

global marketplace

NRC-IRAPWhat we do

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Who Are Our Clients?

NRC-IRAP worked with 8,693 SMEs* in 2009-2010, of which 2,871 received some form of funding.

• 84% have less than 50 employees

• 65% have fewer than 20 employees

NL

352

PE

74

NS

222

NB

377

QC

1936

ON

3037

MB

352

SK

188

AB

954

BC

1201

* small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – Firms with 500 employees or less

* small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – Firms with 500 employees or less

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LEGEND

NRC-IRAP Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA)

NRC-IRAP Regional Office

NRC Institute

NRC Cluster

The ITA Advantage

*ITA – Industrial Technology Advisor

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The IRAP Model

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Financial Contributions

• Innovation projects with SMEs (for profit and less then 500 employees)

• Graduates (younger then 31) working with SMEs (for profit and less then 500 employees)

• Organizations that support innovation with SMEs

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Helping Our Clients Grow Stronger, Faster, Bigger

Recent client surveys show• 91% have increased technical

knowledge and/or capabilities

• 68% increased business knowledge and/or capabilities

• 62% enhanced their ability to conduct R&D

• 61% consider that NRC-IRAP helped develop/improve the firm’s internal business/ marketing/ management

• 63% of clients have indicated that NRC-IRAP helped identify other sources of financing Quantiam Technologies, Edmonton, AB

NRC-IRAP in Construction

• NRC-IRAP supports a large number of construction projects with manufacturers of building products

• NRC-IRAP supports a number of software and communication technologies projects for the construction sector

• NRC-IRAP more recently is supporting projects related to making buildings more sustainable by incorporating a range of innovative technologies and green design principles

• NRC-IRAP has supported a few project with home builders related to automation of manufacturing of building systems

• NRC-IRAP has funded an Industrial Technology Advisor who worked out of the CHBA office in Ottawa

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Innovation Opportunities for Home Builders

• Digital Show Homes

• Computerization of Business Process Management

• Implementation of Building Information Modeling

• Modeling Tools for Net Zero Homes

• Development of Innovative Building Products

• Automation of Production of Building Panels in Plants

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