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| Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council | |
|---|---|
| Name | Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council |
| Formation | 2015 |
| Type | Advisory body |
| Headquarters | Victoria, British Columbia |
| Region served | British Columbia |
| Leader title | Chair |
Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council
The Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council was established as an advisory body to promote innovation, advanced technology and entrepreneurship across Victoria and Greater Victoria. It interfaces with provincial and municipal institutions, post-secondary campuses, research hospitals and industry clusters to align investment, workforce and commercialization strategies. The council convenes leaders from the technology sector, venture finance, health research and Indigenous economic development to advise on policy and program design.
The council was formed in the context of provincial initiatives associated with the British Columbia Economic Development Association, Province of British Columbia, City of Victoria, Capital Regional District, University of Victoria, Royal Roads University, Camosun College and advocacy from organizations such as Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council founders and civic partners. Early proponents included representatives from MindSea, Clio, Meta (company), Amazon (company), Canfor, Teck Resources, BC Tech Association, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada delegates, and local chapters of Startup Canada and Communitech, who argued for a concentrated strategy similar to models seen in Silicon Valley, Research Triangle Park, Waterloo Region, Kendall Square and Boston (Massachusetts). The timeline intersected with policy reports from BC Tech Association and funding announcements linked to Mitacs, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
The council’s mandate emphasized collaboration with institutions such as University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, McGill University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Research Council (Canada), Genome Canada and Perimeter Institute to accelerate commercialization, scale-ups and talent retention. Objectives included advising the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and municipal councils on incentives used by Government of Canada programs like Innovation Superclusters Initiative, aligning workforce programs from Employment and Social Development Canada with sector needs, and promoting sector growth seen in regions such as Bangalore, Shenzhen, Tel Aviv, Stockholm and Berlin.
Membership comprised executives and leaders from entities including British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Vancouver Island Technology Park, Pacific Economic Development Canada, BC Hydro, Island Health, St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto), SickKids, Providence Health Care, Vancouver Coastal Health, and entrepreneurs who had previously led ventures like Hootsuite, First Nations Technology Council, Fortinet, Slack (software), Shopify, OpenText and BlackBerry Limited. Governance structures borrowed from advisory models used by National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI), Advisory Council on Economic Growth (Canada), Council of Canadian Academies and Office of the Chief Science Advisor (Canada), featuring committees with representation from BC Chamber of Commerce, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Fisheries and Oceans Canada stakeholders, Indigenous leadership from Songhees Nation, Esquimalt Nation, Pauquachin First Nation and regional philanthropies like Vancouver Foundation and Jawl Bundon-style donors.
Programmatic work included initiatives modeled on Startup Visa Program, Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program, Accelerated Growth Service pilots, and cluster development akin to Life Sciences BC, Digital Technology Supercluster, Ocean Networks Canada, BC Genome Sciences Centre and Genome BC. Initiatives targeted commercialization pipelines from laboratories such as TRIUMF, Canadian Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory collaborations, and partnerships with incubators like Creative Destruction Lab, Wavefront Systems, Launch Academy, District 3 Innovation Centre and RADIUS. The council supported mentorship frameworks involving alumni from Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Techstars, Element AI and networks like AngelList and Vistaprint (company) founder communities.
Funding and partnerships involved coordination among funders and institutions such as Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, BC Investment Growth Fund, Venture Capital Action Plan, BDC Capital, KPMG Canada, Deloitte (company), PwC, RBC Venture Partners, Canaccord Genuity, BMO Financial Group and philanthropic entities including Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia and Victoria Foundation. The council pursued linkage with federal programs like Strategic Innovation Fund, Canada Research Chairs Program, and provincial funds administered by Innovate BC and leveraged private investments from family offices and syndicates similar to Yaletown Partners, Version One Ventures and Relay Ventures.
The council reported contributions to growing sectors aligned with organizations such as Life Sciences BC, BC Tech Association, Tourism Victoria, Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council partners and increased collaboration with Indigenous Services Canada initiatives. Critics compared outcomes to benchmarks in Silicon Valley, Waterloo Region, Vancouver (British Columbia), and Ottawa (Ontario), noting constraints related to housing pressures highlighted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports, talent inflows affected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada policies, and competition for capital with centres like Toronto Stock Exchange listings. Observers from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Fraser Institute and academic studies at University of Victoria urged more transparent metrics, greater representation from Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation, and clearer linkage to programs administered by Employment and Social Development Canada.
Category:Organizations based in Victoria, British Columbia