BIOCAP Canada officially ceased operations on March 31, 2008.
Despite a lengthy and exhaustive campaign by staff and board members, BIOCAP was unable to secure the long-term funding necessary to continue to deliver on its mandate of finding biological solutions to the challenges of climate change and clean energy in Canada.
This web site will be maintained for a year or two to provide access to the excellent reports that BIOCAP produced or commissioned, as well as providing a record of the contributions made by the many sponsors, researchers and staff that contributed to the success and impact of the organization over the past 10 years.
By following the links on the left, information can be obtained on:
- The nature of BIOCAP, including its history and a list of funding sponsors;
- Copies of past Annual reports and a list of funded research project and other activities;
- Links to downloadable pdf versions of BIOCAP’s Reports;
- Links to the University Research Networks and Centres that BIOCAP has established or to which it has contributed.
The BIOCAP Foundation was blessed with many talented staff, all of which have gone on to take positions in other organizations that will continue to contribute to finding sustainable solutions for the energy and environmental challenges facing Canada and the world in the 21st century.
David B Layzell, PhD FRSC
President and CEO, BIOCAP Canada Foundation
(I will attempt to monitor the email ‘info (at) biocap.ca’ to respond to enquiries)
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BIOCAP’s Impact: 1998-2008
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At the time of its closure, BIOCAP counted 81 members from industry, 53 NGOs, 48 government agencies and departments and 56 universities among its partners. Over the 10 years it was in operation, the organization invested $8 million and leveraged an additional $44 million from research partners to support more than 280 faculty and 430 graduate students at 38 universities across Canada. In total, BIOCAP delivered a comprehensive, integrated suite of programs (research + outreach) focused on the transformation to a sustainable bioeconomy valued at $59M.
The Foundation was instrumental in raising the profile of and support for biological solutions to climate change and clean energy in Canada. In addition to its direct support of university researchers, BIOCAP also helped numerous small, medium and large companies make critical connections, develop their business plans, guide their investments and establish greenhouse gas and renewable energy policies.
BIOCAP’s research investments and the insights they generated, as well as the synthesis and integration work performed by the Foundation, also had a significant influence on policy and investment decisions by governments. Provincial and federal governments have begun to recognize the importance of research investments in many of the areas critical to a sustainable bioeconomy, and have launched new granting programs involving hundreds of millions of dollars. BIOCAP played a critical role in helping to create the demand for these investments, and the capacity of the university research community to deliver on them.
An important BIOCAP legacy that will remain is its role as an innovative and effective model for a research foundation. While the model required base funding and cooperation from multiple federal departments, it demonstrated that it was possible to build partnerships among diverse groups - partnerships that were successful in linking multidisciplinary research and innovative technology development to inform policy and investment decisions by governments and industry. Such partnerships and the knowledge they generate are critical if we are to address the challenges of energy security and climate change.
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