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Dear Dr. Crago,

As I settle in after two months in my new role at Mitacs, I am writing to share some exciting news about Mitacs’ ability to work with not-for-profit organizations and survey results that demonstrate Mitacs programs are having a big impact on the research agendas of our industrial partners.

As you may know, Mitacs has been working for several years to raise awareness with our funders about the importance of research conducted by not-for-profit organizations. With approximately 170,000 non-profit organizations in Canada, we have an opportunity to make meaningful impacts on productivity and innovation in this sector. Last month, Mitacs was pleased to announce that eligible not-for-profit organizations and Crown corporations can now receive funding to support research collaborations with universities. Qualifying organizations across all disciplines and sectors will now be able to access high-quality research expertise in order to solve their business challenges, on par with their for-profit counterparts. For more information on the announcement, please see the  on our website.

Additionally, we recently released the outcomes of a longitudinal survey of Mitacs Accelerate. Our survey sampled over 200 current and past industry partners to capture the outcomes and impacts of the Accelerate program. I am proud to report that our findings suggest the majority of Mitacs industry partners are extremely satisfied with their experiences to date, and their participation in the program has led to increased business investments in R&D and innovation. Our findings also suggest that Mitacs Accelerate improves business outcomes and promotes industry-academic relationships and collaborations. Please see the summary document attached and view the full report .

Thank you for the strong support you provide to Mitacs as a member institution. Together, our work will have a growing impact on Canada’s research community.

We look forward to continuing to deliver positive outcomes on economic and social innovation in partnership with Canadian universities.

Warmest regards,

Alejandro Adem
CEO and Scientific Director
Mitacs