Demystifying innovation: Why clarity counts

From fragmented support systems and lack of capital to limited access to talent and global markets, organizations in Canada face significant challenges when it comes to turning promising ideas into real results. At Mitacs, we help organizations of all sizes overcome obstacles like these to realize their innovation goals. But there’s another, less acknowledged barrier I’ve noticed while working with businesses: what counts as innovation is often unclear. 

So, what do we mean when we say “innovation”? 

It’s not always a major breakthrough or market-disrupting product. Innovation in an organizational sense is any deliberate act that creates meaningful value for that organization and its stakeholders. That could be in the context of product or service development. But it could also be a process improvement that helps the organization do what it does more efficiently or effectively, a new marketing approach or business strategy, or the application of an emerging technology that offers a better experience to staff, customers, or clients. 

This matters because a narrow definition of innovation gives the concept a mystique that makes it seem inaccessible. In contrast, thinking of innovation in broader terms empowers companies to pursue it more intentionally and to better recognize the value of innovative activities.

Innovating without realizing it 

In a 2026 study by Conseil de l’innovation du Québec on the state of innovation in Quebec, about half of the businesses surveyed said they don’t innovate. Of those in this group, half said it was because they don’t need to, while others pointed to barriers like a lack of funding and workforce limitations. The companies that said they do innovate anticipated benefits like higher revenue, more productivity, and a greater proportion of exports as part of their revenue. 

These survey results are interesting but might not tell the whole story. It’s not necessarily true that a full half of the companies surveyed don’t innovate or see the need to; it could be a lack of clarity on what counts as innovation. I’ve seen this myself when helping organizations define and structure their R&D projects. Someone would say innovation isn’t what the company does, but when I asked about their current activities, they’d go on to describe projects that are innovative. 

They were already innovating. They just didn’t realize it. 

A 2024 Statistics Canada report suggests that pursuing innovation deliberately, with the right model of support, can reap returns. The report compared the performance of organizations that leveraged Mitacs’ co-funded, talent-first model of innovation support between 2009 and 2018 to those that did not. Those that did saw significant benefits: 16% more sales, 9% greater revenue, and 11% higher productivity over seven years compared to their non-partnered peers. These organizations also spent 37% more on R&D and increased headcount by 18% more during the same period.

Broadening the definition of business innovation

Recognizing the full spectrum of enterprise innovation is, in a sense, taking the concept of innovation off a pedestal and bringing it into the world of the practical. Innovation doesn’t have to be earth-shaking or rocket science. Often innovation is slow, and its returns are incremental. It’s better seen as an investment rather than an expense, because it’s often innovation that can help an organization stay competitive in the long run. Those that don’t innovate will fall behind because others will — for example, by adopting technologies like AI that make it possible to reach new levels of productivity, optimize operations, and so on. 

In cases where a perception shift would help, it should happen from the top. This is because an organization’s relationship to innovation, and capacity for it, is largely shaped by its culture. If a company’s leaders aren’t on board, staff may find it more difficult to pursue the kinds of activities that create meaningful value for the organization and its stakeholders. Other shifts might also help, such as developing a higher tolerance for uncertainty, which is essential for innovation since you can never know for sure what the results will be.  

With a clearer picture of enterprise innovation, an organization can better define how innovation is pursued and connect with the talent and funding required to translate ideas into value. But the key thing is to start somewhere: identify a small, tactical problem and solve it, then grow your innovation capacity from there. 

Turning ideas into impact 

None of this is to say that a narrow definition of innovation is the only barrier to innovation in Canada or the most significant. Obstacles like access to talent and capital are specifically cited in the Conseil de l’innovation du Québec survey results and also feature in Mitacs’ national analysis of enterprise innovation barriers. 

There are avenues of support for these more substantial challenges — and Mitacs is a great place to start. We help companies of all sizes and in every sector advance projects in any discipline with access to talent and funding support, as well as practical guidance based on more than 25 years as a key player in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. Our unique, talent-first approach gives companies access to top talent from post-secondary institutions across Canada, who can help turn novel ideas into real-world impact through co-funded internships. We work with more than 200 post-secondary institutions across the country; there’s a great chance that one has the expertise your company needs to move your project forward. 

Visit our programs page to learn more about Mitacs and the support we offer. And if you have a project in mind that could use our help, we’d be happy to hear from you.

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