British Columbia Research Council

British Columbia Research Council

British Columbia Research Council, formerly a nonprofit society incorporated in 1944 to provide facilities for technological research and industrial development in BC. BC Research, a technical wing of the council, comprised scientific, engineering and technical laboratory facilities. Under its mandate to enable small BC firms to improve their competitive position in Canadian and world markets, BCR attempted to balance short-term contract work for primary industries with longer-term "core" investigations, often in co-operation with university researchers and funded through provincial and federal grants.

BCR was recognized internationally for expertise in dual-fuel diesel/compressed natural gas systems; fish- and food-processing technologies; aquaculture; waste management and bulk materials handling; occupational health and industrial hygiene; organic and inorganic chemical analyses; and specialty chemical-processing technologies.

In 1993 BCR became BC Research Inc, a privately owned company. Research is conducted in 3 divisions: Environmental Sciences and Engineering; Biotechnology; and Advanced Systems Engineering. BCRI sometimes conducts research on a for-hire basis, at other times in association with its customers.