President’s Message

I was very pleased to be able to attend the recent announcement of renewed funding for the National Research Council’s Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure Research in Regina.  The NRC is an important partner, and their work in cutting edge sustainable infrastructure research is critical in advancing innovations that result in reduced costs and/or longer asset life for municipalities.

It is exciting to see the government of Canada’s continued support and funding for the long term goal of building a cluster of innovative sustainable infrastructure companies in Saskatchewan.

I look forward to seeing and talking to a cross section of the transportation sector at the upcoming SEIMA luncheons (February 17th in Regina, February 18th in Saskatoon). I’ll be there along with Curtis Berhelot, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Transportation and Infrastructure, to talk about the exciting opportunities that could develop through the Saskatchewan Alliance for Sustainable and Innovative Transportation that we have put together. [Read more]

Attendees Give Linkages Event High Marks

The January 2009 Linkages conference held by the Saskatchewan Environmental Industry Managers Association and sponsored by Communities of tomorrow drew positive reviews from those in attendance. 

The one day event brought together approximately 80 researchers, companies, government representatives and investors to discuss mutual interests in developing and commercializing new technologies in sustainable infrastructure.

“This conference was an important demonstration of the dialogue that takes place when these different sectors are brought together with a common agenda,” said CT President John Lee. “The more often we can get in a room and share our thoughts and successes, the better.” [Read more]

NRC Funding Renewed

The National Research Council’s Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure Research (NRC-CSIR) received renewed funding from the federal government on January 20th. Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear came to Regina to announce the $4 million funding renewal for the Centre.

“The vital services that infrastructure provides, such as safe drinking water, and safe and durable bridges, are the lifelines of our neighbourhoods, our cities, our towns and our rural communities,” said Minister Goodyear during the media conference at the announcement. [Read more]

How Innovation Creates New Markets

Innovative ideas have a way of crossing over boundaries to find new applications that may not have been anticipated by their originators.  Henry Ford brought the concept of the assembly line to building automobiles and revolutionized not only that industry, but virtually every other modern factory in the 20th century.  Ford didn’t even create that innovation; he borrowed it from the meat-packing industry.

Such is the case with a new concept brought to life by the University of Regina’s Dr. Stephanie Young, with the assistance of a Signature grant from Communities of Tomorrow.  Dr. Young’s idea is to reclaim and reuse so called “greywater”, the waste water generated by taps flowing into bathroom sinks. Her research involves the installation of a greywater reclamation plant in the new University of Regina Laboratory building.  The reclaimed sink water can then be reused for non-drinking purposes such as toilet flushing and irrigation.

The original target of Dr. Young’s work was the development of greywater reclamation plants that could be applied to small municipal water systems. However, her innovation has also sparked interest in the restaurant industry. [Read more]

Bad Times Can Be Good TImes for Innovation

You might think that building your innovation culture would take a back seat to more pressing issues when you are steering your company through tough economic times.  But innovation consultant Scott Anthony says it’s quite the opposite.

Writing for forbes.com, Anthony notes that some of the biggest companies we know today were formed in years of recession, including General Electric, Kraft, and IBM. 

Anthony argues that: “Scarcity forces a focus on developing creative ways to deliver customer value. It requires companies to shut down bad ideas early….what they should have been doing already.”

Scott Anthony also points out those companies with strong cultures of innovation simply carry on during economic downturns.  He points out companies like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and IBM, that have all made strategic commitments to growth through innovation. [Read more]