Vanguard Magazine

INNOVATION I At the day-long Arctic Sovereignty Leadership Discussion, BGen Omer Lavoie, Commander, Land Force Central Area/Joint Task Force Cen- tral, and Major Lisa Smid, Com- manding Officer, 1 Canadian Mecha- nized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signal Squadron, outlined the difficulties faced by the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group during Exercise Arctic Ram in February. The largest and most complex of the mili- tary's Arctic exercises, Arctic Ram tested the ability to "shoot, move and communicate" in the North. in one spot and it allows end users to discuss requirements with suppliers. Ultimately, this benefits the Department of National Defence, Public Safety and other organizations that take part in the process." Power of membership By facilitating collaboration between government and businesses of all sizes, the EDGE enables innovation by all stakeholders that is more focused on delivering the right technologies, products and solutions to end users on the frontline. It ensures R&D ef- forts are applied where they are most needed. At the same time, it reduces costs and time-to-market with innovative solutions to real world problems. "This emphasis on collaboration makes good business sense for General Dynamics Canada and for all companies involved, whether they are large businesses or small. The power of the EDGE comes from the involvement of its members, and from what each member brings to the discussion," says Dave Ibbetson, vice-president and general manager of GDC. "That's because the rapid pace of technology development and the complexity of new technologies mean that no single company has all the answers. So every member has something to contribute to the knowledge base. And all members have the opportunity to leverage a collec- tive set of ideas, available technologies and resources to meet the unique needs of their customers." Shared understanding The EDGE brings participants together and fosters innovation at special events structured around a capability gap topic. Through rigorous debate, issues, challenges and possible solutions are ex- amined and an action plan is created for evaluation by members. The effectiveness of this multi-party, collaborative approach was recognized after the most recent event in June. The presentation and subsequent discussion among the rep- resentatives from government, academia and industry focused on the fact that operations in the Arctic cannot be managed in the same way that they are in other parts of the world. In addition, communications networks that form the basis of all effective command and control efforts, and that will provide the awareness and knowledge to support any northern strategy, must be designed to work in the harsh environmental condi- tions of the area. After the discussion, BGen Lavoie noted that the collaborative environment in the EDGE fostered a shared understanding of the unique challenges all stakeholders face when operating in the North. He went on to say that "it is highly useful and desirable for military, strategic think tanks and the defence industry to col- laborate in venues such as the EDGE so that all stakeholders can understand the user requirements, geostrategic context and chal- lenges that underlie operating in a challenging environment such as the Arctic." Collaborative environment The Jenkins report issued in 2011 identified four drivers of inno- vation: ideas and knowledge; talented and entrepreneurial people; capital and financing; and, networks, collaborations and linkages. The EDGE Innovation Centre is an example of a collabora- tive environment that fosters innovation and accelerates technol- ogy development by bringing these four drivers together in one place. It bridges the gap between requirements and solutions by enabling collaboration that transforms ideas into market-ready products. Through the EDGE, Canadian defence, security and public safety organizations are now working together with the defence industry, academia and government to confront the in- novation challenge. www.vanguardcanada.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 33

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