Cisco Research: Innovation Funding Gap Revealed in Canadian Businesses

Despite widespread agreement that innovation is critical to competitiveness, new data shows most businesses aren't backing their ambitions with budgets — only 1 in 4 invest in dedicated innovation

News Summary:

• Innovation is non-negotiable — but underfunded — as 87% Canadian business leaders see failure to innovate as a financial risk, yet only 26% have dedicated innovation budgets.
• Seventy-eight per cent of leaders say playing it safe became the biggest threat to Canada's competitiveness, with 82% stating they would take more risks if financial failure weren't a concern.
• As Cisco Canada celebrates 10 years of the Toronto Innovation Centre, it continues to help businesses pilot and scale innovative ideas in a low-risk, collaborative environment.

TORONTO, June 2, 2025 /CNW/ - Nearly all Canadians believe innovation is essential to our future prosperity — and expect businesses to lead the way. Cisco, the global leader in networking and security, revealed new research that shows 93% of business leaders and 89% of Canadians agree that the future of innovation in this country rests with business, not government.

The research, released to mark the Cisco Toronto Innovation Centre's 10th anniversary, reveals a critical gap: despite acknowledging innovation's importance, Canadian business leaders consistently underfund the bold initiatives necessary to compete in today's challenging market.

"We're witnessing a pivotal moment for Canadian business," said Raj Juneja, President, Cisco Canada. "Organizations understand that standing still means falling behind. The question is no longer whether to innovate, but how to do so in a way that manages risk while maximizing opportunity."

Risk aversion and investment threatens competitiveness

Nearly 80% of Canadian business leaders say that "playing it safe" has become the greatest risk to the country's competitiveness. Yet, many businesses still struggle to move from belief to execution.

At the same time, 70% view innovation itself as risky in today's economy, even though the vast majority (87%) agree that not innovating will cost their business more in the long run.

At a time where Canadian productivity is under scrutiny, this paradox underscores a challenge: Canada knows it must innovate to stay competitive, but risk aversion is holding it back.

The data reveals a clear tension between ambition and action when it comes to innovation. While 82% of Canadian businesses say they would take more risks if they didn't have to worry about the financial cost of failure, only 26% have dedicated R&D or innovation budgets. This gap between recognition and investment highlights both a challenge and a significant opportunity for Canadian business.

More than a decade of innovation support

For the past decade, Cisco Canada's Toronto Innovation Centre has worked to bridge this gap by creating a space where innovation doesn't have to be high-risk. With support of Cisco's Canada Country Digital Acceleration Program, the centre has helped Canadian organizations across industries experiment, co-create, and solve real-world challenges with AI and analytics, advanced security, networking and connectivity, and connected devices.

Overall, Cisco Canada invests more than $200 million annually in innovation in Canada including through the Toronto Innovation Centre, research and development, partnerships and programs, and more.

"Canadian businesses aren't short on ideas – they're short on ways to safely test them," said Wayne Cuervo, Director of the Digital Impact Office, Cisco Canada. "When organizations can experiment freely in a collaborative, supported environment, we see remarkable breakthroughs."

In today's economy, Canadian businesses need more than just new technology, they need cultures that support smart risk-taking and experimentation. The Toronto Innovation Centre shows how collaboration between government, academia, and industry can tackle complex challenges and help organizations prepare for what's ahead.

"Over the past decade, our Innovation Centre has brought together partners from across sectors to solve real-world challenges, and the results speak for themselves," said Justin Cohen, Leader, Cisco Innovation Centre Canada. "We've helped connect underserved communities, developed smart technologies that support seniors living independently, created solar-powered meeting rooms and backed projects that make a meaningful difference in people's lives. This is what purposeful innovation looks like and we couldn't be prouder."

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About the Research
These are the findings of a study/survey conducted by Cisco from April 15^th to April 23^rd 2025 among a representative sample of 1501 online Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum and 300 online Canadian Businesses who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of these sizes would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20 among Canadians and a margin of error of +/- 5.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20 among Canadian Businesses.

SOURCE Cisco