Research

Ontario Minister of Culture, Caroline Di Cocco, announced on February 15, 2007 that Ryerson University has received funding from the Ontario government as a founding partner in a unique public-private partnership that will help fuel the economic development of the GTA's creative and entertainment industries.

The Consortium on New Media, Creative, and Entertainment R&D in the Toronto Region (CONCERT) has raised more than $500,000 in support from partner institutions and will now receive $300,000 in matching funds as part of the government's Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnerships Fund.

CONCERT was founded by three partners (The Ontario College of Art & Design, Ryerson University, and York University) and now consists of more than 20 confirmed members and an additional dozen pending members. The consortium will bring multinational, mid-sized and small companies in the entertainment, screen-based and other creative industries together with academia, government and industry associations to build a consensus on regional priorities.

The consortium will develop and release a regional plan in March 2008. The objectives of CONCERT are:

• Determine regional priorities and a plan to achieve those through government investment, industry moves, and academic alignment;
• Plan investments, target resources for strategic growth, and create a coherent process to help direct needed research that is focused and coordinated among academic institutions, and between academia and industry;
• Strengthen links and working relationships between the research community and industry, and encourage the creation of linkages and the exchange of ideas/information among the academic community, private sector firms and associations, and government policymakers;
• Pilot several industry/academia joint R&D projects;
• Build research and development capacity and enhance the region's ability to successfully access R&D funding;
• Enhance the development/training, recruitment, and retention of highly-qualified people;
• Build a sustainable long-term strategy.

"CONCERT is a unique opportunity to apply Ryerson's traditional mix of recognized strengths in the communications and entertainment sectors where we have excelled", said Anastasios (Tas) Venetsanopoulos, Ryerson's Vice President, Research and Innovation. "Ryerson is pleased to collaborate with the Ontario College of Art and Design and York to spearhead this important initiative which will stimulate scholarly, research and creative activities in the cultural fields."

"Competitive pressures have placed the Toronto region at a critical juncture and CONCERT partners believe strongly that the region's competitiveness is at risk and concerted, grassroots efforts, matched by government actions, are required immediately," said Stan Shapson, York's Vice-President Research & Innovation and Chair of the CONCERT steering committee. "CONCERT will grow the region's entertainment, screen-based and other innovation-driven creative industries into a globally competitive cluster, which will help the GTA capture a larger share of the very lucrative worldwide market."

"Motorola's partnership with CONCERT shows our commitment to drive innovation and economic development in the GTA," said Mike Hortie, president of Motorola Canada, a CONCERT partner organization. "We are excited by the consortium and the innovation that collectively we will be able to identify and deliver."

The three-year, $7.5 million Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnership Fund was launched in September 2006 to stimulate growth in Ontario's entertainment and creative industries by promoting capacity building, marketing innovation and skills development. The Ontario government will also provide smaller cash injections to 13 other projects this year, for a total investment of $1.8 million in 2007.

CONCERT partners include:

• Apple Canada
• Association of Computer Animation Studios of Ontario (CASO)
• Cinespace Film Studios
• City of Toronto
• FilmOntario
• George Brown College
• Industry Canada
• Motorola Canada
• National Research Council - Institute for Information Technology
• New Media Business Alliance (NMBA)
• Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)
• Ontario Film and Television Studio Owners Association (OFTSOA)
• Optical Regional Advanced Network of Ontario (ORANO)
• Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
• Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
• Side Effects Software
• Toronto Artscape
• Town of Markham
• University of Toronto's Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI)
• Xenophile Media

Dr. Venetsanopoulos, a CONCERT Steering Committee member, has appointed Dr. Charles Davis, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Research Chair in Media Management and Entrepreneurship, and Professor in the School of Radio & Television Arts as the Representative for Ryerson University to the CONCERT Academic, Research and Commercialization Sub-committee. In addition, Dr. Dimitri Androutsos, Associate Professor and Program Director for the graduate program in Electrical Engineering, has been designated as Technology Advisor for the initiative. Alex Karabanow and Steve Martin, both of the Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation, have also been appointed to represent Ryerson in CONCERT.

Visit the Ontario Media Development Corporation Web site for details.

For more information on the CONCERT initaitive or if you would like to participate, please contact:

• Dr. Charles Davis
  Academic, Research and Commercialization Sub-committee Representative
  Telephone: 416-979-5000 Ext. 7145
  Email: c5davis@ryerson.ca
• Dr. Dimitri Androutsos
  Technology Advisor
  Telephone: 416-979-5000 Ext. 6124
  Email: dimitri@ee.ryerson.ca
• Alex Karabanow
  Project Team Representative
  Telephone: 416-979-5000 Ext. 7112
  Email: alex.karabanow@ryerson.ca
• Steven Martin
  Ad-hoc Sub-committee on Launch Planning
  Telephone: 416-979-5000 Ext. 2792
  Email: steven.martin@ryerson.ca