Communitech, one of Canada’s biggest startup hubs, is poised to beef up its board of directors with a slate of local tech executives, amid criticism that its support of the startup community in its base of Waterloo, Ont., has wavered in recent years.

Adam Belsher, CEO of cybersecurity firm Magnet Forensics, is up for nomination at Communitech’s annual general meeting scheduled for later today, along with Hongwei Liu, CEO and founder of MappedIn, and Ruth Casselman, CEO of the Accelerator Centre. Iain Stewart, who retired from his role as president of the National Research Council of Canada in December, is also nominated for a board seat. 

The new appointees—which Communitech members still need to approve—would increase the representation of tech executives at the organization, which has struggled to serve local entrepreneurs in recent years.

Communitech experienced high employee turnover and a drop in membership after the COVID-19 pandemic, and an increased reliance on government money to operate. CEO Chris Albinson, who took the helm in 2021 after returning to Canada from Silicon Valley, introduced a new strategy to bet on tech winners across the country, including through a $200-million-plus venture capital fund. But the approach alienated some in the community and the fund has fallen short of its financial targets. 

“A lot has changed in all workplaces over the past four years,” said Casselman, a board nominee who works with early stage firms both as head of the Accelerator Centre—another startup support hub in Waterloo—and as chair of the Golden Triangle Angel Network. “I think it’s realistic that the needs of founders would have evolved, and as an ecosystem, we need to continue to evolve to meet those needs,” she said. “That’s probably a good reason why Communitech has expanded some of the voices on its board to ensure that all voices are heard across the ecosystem.” 

Before the latest nominations, almost half of the people on Communitech’s 12-person board were from tech startups and scaleups. The others were from large corporations, including Deloitte, Interac, Manulife and Postmedia. The four incoming directors would bring the board to 16 people, the maximum Communitech is allowed under its bylaw. 

Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council for Canadian Innovators, said he’s encouraged by the board nominees. He said it shows Communitech may be responding to Ontario expert panel recommendations that called on the province’s regional innovation centres to improve their governance to better serve innovative companies. 

“I’ve also heard from leaders in the Kitchener-Waterloo tech community that they hope to see this important institution return to its roots—helping local entrepreneurs commercialize and drive growth,” said Bergen, who recently helped CCI launch Waterloo Inc., a community platform for entrepreneurs in town. “Communitech will benefit from adding expertise of tech CEOs, who are best positioned to understand the operator’s perspective on driving growth in the digital economy,” he said.  

Communitech isn’t alone in facing questions about the value it creates for entrepreneurs and the broader economy out of taxpayer dollars. A recent report from the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Statistics Canada found that startups that participated in accelerators and incubators scarcely earned more revenue than other firms, and any advantage they did have was short-lived. 

That lack of measurable impact is seemingly having an effect on other accelerators and incubators. At MaRS, an accelerator in downtown Toronto, new CEO Alison Nankivell cut about 20 positions in June, including several senior roles, in a bid to reset the business model “toward a more agile and lean organizational structure.” 

Casselman, the only nominee who agreed to speak with The Logic on the record, said she hopes her position on the board can help establish some coordination between Communitech and the Accelerator Centre, so that the organizations aren’t duplicating support or leaving gaps for founders. “My goal across the board is to ensure that the tech ecosystem continues to be very well aligned,” she said, “and very focused on serving the needs of founders.”