The Centre of Research and Innovation Project is a collaborative effort between Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland (GC), the College of the North Atlantic (CNA), and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited (CBPPL). The Centre aims to support local and regional economic growth through innovation, research, and training.

There are three related components to the project:

1. Development of a research and innovation facility in downtown Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.
2. Research to foster innovation in the region, particularly within the forest sector.
3. Development of training opportunities for CBBPL employees at CNA and GC-MUN.

The project's three components each operate individually and jointly to support economic growth and resilience in Corner Brook and western Newfoundland. Key outcomes for the Centre of Research and Innovation include: 1) infrastructure and capacity building; 2) research and development; 3) entrepreneurship and innovation; 4) education and skills training; and 5) growth in the agricultural and forest sectors.

The Centre has a governance structure that includes the Executive Committee and four sub-committees:  1. Operational Oversight, 2. Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, 3. Training, 4. Building Renovation Project Management.  Sub-committees support the Executive Committee’s work. The governance structure for this project was designed to ensure all partners have a voice in the process, that each component of the project can proceed efficiently and that funders are regularly updated on progress. The committees are constituted by members from all partner institutions, namely CBPPL, CNA, and GC.

 

Development of the Facility

This component of the project is focused on the creation of a new applied research and innovation centre in Corner Brook. Key partners in this component are College of the North Atlantic (CNA), Grenfell Campus – Memorial University (GC), and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd (CBPPL). The Centre is housed in the former CBBPL Human Resources Building, located at the intersection of Lewin Parkway and Mill Road in downtown Corner Brook. Though unoccupied since 2004, CBPPL has maintained the building. CBPPL has offered the building to develop the Innovation Centre.

The Centre aims to be a hub from which new businesses, ideas, and innovative practices emerge through the collision of industry and entrepreneurs, students and faculty, community leaders, and government representatives. The Centre provides a space for collaborations and unique partnerships that will spark innovation and creativity and transform the regional culture and economy. It builds on and enhances existing partnerships such as CityStudio, which has brought students from Grenfell Campus to learn and share expertise with the City of Corner Brook to to help solve urban planning challenges. Until now, CityStudio coursework has been delivered partly at Grenfell and partly in City Hall, but the Innovation Centre offers an ideal collaborative space in downtown Corner Brook for this curriculum to be delivered. The Innovation Centre will also house a makerspace and incubator operated by Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre, co-working space, training centre and research space:

• A makerspace is a collaborative, community-based workspace stocked with tools and materials for people to experiment and create new products. 
• An incubator is a physical location that provides a defined set of services to new entrepreneurs or small businesses. 

Co-working spaces allow people to work independently, while sharing values for collaborative working arrangements.

 

Development of Training Opportunities

The third component of the Centre of Research and Innovation project is focused on industry and student training opportunities. Key partners in the training component are CNA, CBPPL and GC. The training component of the Research and Innovation Centre represents a strategy for long-term employment and succession planning at CBPPL through the development of training initiatives tailored to meet skill requirements. It will ensure that CBPPL’s s current and future workforce will have the necessary skills for the mill to prosper. CNA is currently leading discussions with CBPPL on a project to develop and deliver training for CBPPL employees as a long-term strategy for succession planning for skilled workers at the mill. Discussions between CNA and CBPPL on training as a long-term success strategy will address the need of CBPPL for increased employee retention. In addition, co-operation between CNA and CBPPL may also provide a strategy for recruitment and training of potential new employees, thus also benefiting future CNA students. The training program would be housed in the proposed Innovation Centre facilities, within the mill and at CNA’s Corner Brook Campus.

The first goal of this component is to ensure the right skill sets exist within CBPPL to drive an innovation agenda and to introduce new products at the mill. The second goal is to make employment opportunities at CBPPL more accessible to individuals in the western region through the development of a training program in pulp and paper processes at CNA. Finally, the third goal is employee retention at CBPPL by improving the skills of current CBPPL employees through training opportunities at CNA.

 

Governance

Executive Committee 

The Centre’s governance structure is headed by the Executive Committee whose role is to ensure that its vision and mission are achieved. The Committee was selected with representation from each of the lead project partners (Grenfell, CBPPL and CNA), also seeking to represent each of the research, innovation and training components. The Executive Committee consists of the following entities/members and designated representatives as identified below.

​Partner	​Representative(s)
​Grenfell Campus	Dr. ​Ian Sutherland
​College of the North Atlantic	​Elizabeth Kidd
​Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.	​Darren Pelley

 

Sub-committees

A number of sub-committees work together to ensure the smooth operation of the Centre for Research and Innovation. The following table outlines the participants within the four sub-committees of the governance structure of the project.

 

Operational Oversight

​Partner	​Representative(s)
​Grenfell Campus	​Dr. Kelly Vodden (chair)
​College of the North Atlantic	​Chad Simms
​Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.	Chris Pembrooke

 

Training

​Partner	​Representative(s)
​Grenfell Campus	Charlene Connors
​College of the North Atlantic	Judy Dobson
​Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.	Amy Hennebury (chair)

Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

​Partner	​Representative(s)
​Grenfell Campus	​Ken Carter (chair)
​College of the North Atlantic	​Michael Long
​Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.	​Chris Pembrooke

Building Renovation Project Management

​Partner	​Representative(s)
​Grenfell Campus	​Dr. Todd Hennessey (chair), Rayna Luther, Keith Bowden
​Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.	​Glen Fisher, Larry Marks

 

Innovation and entrepreneurship

Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre’s presence in the Innovation Centre dramatically increases its ability to spur a culture of entrepreneurship in the region by incubating successful start-ups that build on regional advantages. The makerspace and business incubator serve as integral sites of collision between entrepreneurs in the community while providing resources and workspace to new firms. The Centre also houses and allows access to technologies not widely used in the region, such as 3D printing and Raspberry Pi, as mechanisms to spur entrepreneurship and innovation, ensuring that the Centre has significant impact beyond CBPPL.