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SIGNIFICANT DECISION-MAKING POWER One of the main assets COREM enjoys is the sustained involvement of its members in the decision-making process to determine the orientation of the consortium’s R&D. This approach is aimed at ensuring that the pre-competitive research program remains relevant and that members’ needs remain at the heart of priority-setting. The board of directors is required to approve of research orientation on the broadest of levels and to contribute strategic perspective to COREM’s pre-competitive research program. It also determines the amount of the annual fees to be paid by consortium members. The pre-competitive research committee consists of representatives from each member and reports to the board of directors. It establishes the priorities within each field of activities, selects projects and performs follow-up of these projects, recommends re-orientation or cancellation of projects as needed, and maintains program balance. The pre-competitive research committee appoints champions for each project approved. The role of the champion is to support COREM researchers performing that specific project, to enrich research activities and to report the progress of the work to the pre-competitive research committee.
SHARING COSTS AND RISKS OF R&D COREM’s pre-competitive research program consists of a project portfolio with a total value of about 5 million dollars per year. This program is financed in part with members fees and also with a contribution from financial assistance programs designed specifically to support research and technology transfer. By virtue of the Loi sur les impôts du Québec (L.I.Q.), the companies member of a consortium can claim a refundable tax credit of 35% of fees paid to the consortium, so long as the monies received are used to perform R&D in the province of Quebec. In order to benefit from this tax credit, it is sufficient that the establishment have a Canadian business address but not necessary that they be based in the province of Quebec. In this way, the fees paid to the consortium produce a leverage effect of up to 13:1, to the benefit of Canadian and foreign companies. It should be pointed out that this formula allows an equitable sharing of the risks associated with conducting R&D.
DIRECT PARTICIPATION IN R&D WORK COREM members can contribute to one or more R&D projects that hold a particular interest for them. Since the experiments are often performed in member’s plants, the participating members would be in a position to profit rapidly from the application of technological solutions developed by COREM. 
PREFERRED ACCESS TO RESULTS COREM members can obtain copies of reports containing the results of pre-competitive research projects. They are granted a secure access to these results via Additionally, COREM members have preferred access to technological solutions developed under the auspices of the pre-competitive research program. The success of technology transfer represents a crucial part of COREM’s commitment to its members.
LIAISON PROGRAM A COREM liaison officer is assigned to each member plant. The main role of this officer is to facilitate the technology transfer of research results to in this plant; he is also required to identify the specific technological needs of this plant and help disseminate information about the pre-competitive research program. The ultimate goal of the liaison activities is to encourage members to integrate greater volumes of outcomes stemming from technological solutions developed by COREM.
TECHNOLOGY DAYS Periodically, COREM organizes technology days for its members. A technology day may be addressed to a single plant or to several plants, according to their affinities. These events provide an opportunity to show plants personnel the projects of the pre-competitive research program, in progress and completed, that are the most likely to draw their attention. The information gathered during these events may affect the orientation of research, depending upon the specific needs of participating members.
PREFERENTIAL RATES In addition to performing the pre-competitive research program for the benefit of its members, COREM offers technology transfer and technical services on a contractual basis at preferential rates. Mr. Yves Harvey
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