Fred Gault

UNU-MERIT and TUT-IERI

Expert Workshop on the Measurement of

Public Procurement of Innovation

OECD, Paris, 4 February 2013

R&D Survey

Procurement of innovation

Innovation Survey

Federal Government Survey

Summary

Procurement

Procurement Policy

Conclusion

References

Research and Development in Canadian Industry (RDCI) Survey

Q 13 on sources of funds a) Internal

b) Parents, affiliates, subsidiaries

c) Federal Grants

a) Industry Canada

a) Technology Partnerships Canada, Strategic Aerospace Initiative

b) National Research Council

a) Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)

c) Regional Economic Development Programs

d) Other

Q 13 (con’t)

d) Federal Contracts

a) Canadian Space Agency

b) National Defence

c) Environment Canada

d) Other

e) Provincial/Territorial: Grants and Contracts

f) Other Companies: Contracts

g) Private Non-Profits: Contracts

The RDCI identifies the value of

◦ grants and contracts

by the federal government

by program or department

Grants do not return goods or services to the

government

Contracts are expected to have a deliverable and could

be procurement of innovation

Procurement of innovation is not mentioned in the

RDCI

Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy (SIBS) 2009 and 2012 in the field

Q 98 Did your enterprise use any of the following types of government programs during the three years 2007 to 2009? ◦ d) Government procurements?

Federal, provincial/territorial, municipal

Could compare the use of government procurements by innovative and non-innovative enterprises

These procurements would include non-innovative goods and non-R&D services

Federal Science Expenditures and Personnel (FSEP)

Q1 Expenditure by activity and performer ◦ Activities include grants and contributions, and contracts

◦ Performers include

The government department (intramural)

Extramural performers

Business Enterprise

Higher Education

Canadian Non-Profit Institutions

Provincial/Territorial and Municipal Governments

Foreign Performers

Other Canadian Performers

Extramural payments take the form of a contract, a grant or a contribution.

Contracts, normally awarded as a result of competitive bidding, provide a service or perform an activity required by a federal department or agency. Almost all of these contracts are awarded to business enterprises.

A grant is an unconditional payment to a recipient and the government does not necessarily receive any goods or services as a direct result.

A contribution requires an agreement between the government and recipient specifying the terms and conditions under which funds will be paid to the recipient.

Payments for university and industry support programs are normally in the form of a grant or contribution.

Annex: Payments to Extramural Performers for

Scientific Activities

Scientific activities

◦ R&D

◦ Related scientific activities (RSA)

Payment type

◦ Contract

◦ Grant/Contribution

For Business Enterprise

◦ For each Department

Every firm receiving a contract for R&D is recorded

In principal

◦ Occasionally, there is a tabulation of federal government R&D

expenditures on R&D by industry and by geography

◦ This answers the basic question of where the government

spends its money outside of government

R&D survey provides source of funds for R&D

◦ Coverage biased to large performers

◦ Do not know if the funding was procurement of innovation

Innovation survey

◦ Sample survey

◦ Identifies use of government procurement

◦ Does not identify procurement of innovation

Federal Government survey

◦ Identifies all federal government contracts and the recipients.

◦ Does not provide information on the purpose of the contracts

Federal procurement policy is to achieve value for

money. There are sub-objectives

◦ Supporting SMEs

◦ Improving environmental outcome

◦ Promoting Aboriginal business

◦ BUT, not promoting innovation

Recent proposals promote innovation

◦ Specify requirements in terms of their performance or

functional characteristics

* Special Report on Procurement, Review of Federal Support to Research and

Development – Expert Panel Report, Government of Canada (2011)

If federal procurement policy is changed to making

innovation a Specific Procurement Objective

◦ The federal survey could be modified to ask about contacts for

R&D that complied with this objective

A burdensome modification as expert staff would have to classify

the contracts issued

◦ There would then be a distinction between contacting for R&D

services to promote innovation and contracts that did not make

use of this objective.

These statistics could then be used to monitor the effectiveness of

the Specific Procurement Objective

In Canada, with existing survey machinery, it is

possible to measure R&D procurement by business

It requires a specific policy on procurement to promote

innovation

The federal survey would be a better instrument than

the business or the innovation surveys

Statistics Canada survey information and questionnaires www.statcan.gc.ca, then click on ‘Science and technology’, then click on: ◦ Federal Survey of Expenditure and Personnel Science and technology (General)

Definitions, sources and methods and 4212

◦ Research and Development in Canadian Industry Research and development

Definitions, sources and methods and 4201

◦ Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy Innovation

Definitions, sources and methods and 5171

Review of Federal Support to Research and Development – Expert Panel Report (The Jenkins Report), Special Report on Procurement, www.rd-review.ca and click on the report name on the left