P.E.I. is looking to bioscience to build a growing and lucrative new business sector

Islanders don't tend to think of it this way, but the economy of Prince Edward Island has always been built on biological resources. Farming, fishing and forestry rely entirely on the ability of the Island and its surrounding waters to grow and support living things.

The NRC's new Institute of Nutrisciences and Health will have its official opening in January.

Now there is a move to take those biological resources to a new level, to explore for new compounds, to research better ways to grow things; to do the science here and develop products can be sold to the whole world; to work together to create a cluster of researchers and business people who can make that dream a reality.

Ever since California's Silicon Valley saw a massive blooming of dot.com companies in the 1990s, the idea of building an industry cluster has had a certain magic to it for governments looking to build local economies. In Silicon Valley, a few information technology companies initially had some success. Their growth attracted new workers, particularly in internet-related fields, and the ideas generated within the companies spawned new companies. The area's reputation for success attracted investors, who brought money to fuel new growth.

Silicon Valley collapsed after growing too rapidly, but there are countless examples of successful, stable industry clusters. The idea was first described in 1990, but the practice predates that. The auto industry developed as a cluster in central North America in the early 20th century. The fashion industry in Paris and film production in Hollywood are other examples.

P.E.I. has developed industry clusters before. Following the closure of CFB Summerside in 1991, the province successfully developed an aerospace cluster. Aerospace companies in Slemon Park on the outskirts of Summerside employ hundreds of people, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and have made aerospace the province's third largest export.

Sally Pitt visits the new NRC Institute for Nutrisciences and Health, and explores how it will help other partners in the P.E.I. Bioalliance. (runs 6:13)

Now the province wants to do it again. A group of companies, research institutions and government departments came together in mid-2005 to form the P.E.I. BioAlliance.

The partners believe that by working together and sharing ideas, they can build a significant new industrial sector. The group's biggest success so far is the establishment of the National Research Council's new Institute for Nutrisciences and Health, which officially opens this month.

The plan goes beyond creating a research centre. The group intends to discover and develop products that can be produced in P.E.I.'s natural environment, and then sold to the world, in the process creating hundreds of jobs and exporting hundreds of millions of dollars in merchandise.

But it all starts with ideas and research.