Building resilience in the bio-economy

This research project aims to help Canada’s bio-economy become more agile and resilient. BioTalent Canada will leverage lessons learned by companies in the sector that pivoted and persevered successfully during the pandemic to ensure long-term sustainability within Canada’s bio-economy.

As Canada’s evidence-based thought leader on talent in the bio-economy, BioTalent Canada will connect with its partnership network to research the technologies implemented by companies in this sector to shock-proof and grow their businesses. By accessing its stakeholders and those of its partner associations, BioTalent Canada can conduct pandemic response surveys and interviews to tap into crisis-resilient bio-economy companies and understand their approach to success. Through research and evaluation of the labour market information gathered, the organization will develop an agility checklist for companies to follow to embrace change and weather future disruptions.

Future Skills Centre is investing $1.15 million in this one-and-a-half year project. BioTalent Canada will create a roadmap that illustrates many of the processes, policies and skills development techniques implemented by successful companies to evolve, grow and raise venture capital.

It will look at the planning and cost to increase agility, the HR tools required to adapt, and the barriers to avoid. It will build case studies showcasing innovative ways that these companies have become impervious to disruption. By examining the skills required before the pandemic and those needed to weather it, BioTalent Canada will then use its partnership network to disseminate findings to help accelerate their adoption within the bio-economy. Since many of the discoveries have widespread potential, they can also be implemented by other sectors in the future.

Evaluation Strategy

This project will be evaluated using tools and approaches aligned with its goals, context, and stage of development. The evaluation will focus on generating the right evidence at the right moment to move the intervention forward. Read more about our evaluation strategy.