Dissolved 2012 Motto Engaging Innovation Origin CivicAction | Type Economic Development Founded 2005 | |
Focus Investment Attraction, Research Capacity Building, Public Awareness Location MaRS Building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Origins Toronto City Summit Alliance Area served Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Peel, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington, York | ||
The Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA) was a regional economic development organization promoting increased investment in research and innovation to further economic prosperity. TRRA was a public-private partnership supported by the governments of Ontario and Canada, and a wide range of regional stakeholders from the private sector, universities, colleges, and research hospitals.
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History
TRRA was conceived in June 2003 as a result of the civic consensus achieved through the Toronto City Summit Alliance (TCSA). TCSA represents over 40 civic leaders from the private, labour, voluntary and public sectors in the Toronto region. This unique group came together in 2002 to assess our urban region's strengths and challenges and shape a framework for action that could move the region forward over the next five to 10 years. TCSA released its report, Enough Talk: An Action Plan for the Toronto Region, in April 2003. This report included a recommendation to form TRRA.
Mission
TRRA focused on retaining and growing foreign investment into regional organizations; attracting innovative, research-intensive foreign companies to locate in the Toronto region; promoting enhanced research intensity among regional businesses; and advancing initiatives to strengthen research and innovation capacity. The organization focused on the following four broad research-intensive sectors:
Toronto Region
The Toronto Region Innovation Zone consists of key innovation clusters in a broad geographic area anchored by the City of Toronto, and includes the surrounding regions of Durham, Guelph, Halton, Hamilton, Peel, York, Waterloo and Wellington.
The Toronto Region has a population of about 7.4 million (including over 200 ethnic groups and 180 languages) and a GDP over $300 billion. It has 9 universities, 8 colleges and 12 research hospitals. It also houses a skilled labor force, with 64% of workers aged 25–64 holds a post-secondary degree or equivalent.