U.K., Jan. 3 -- Drawing a close on 2020, businesses across Canada will be counting the cost of the pandemic and all the obstacles it has thrown in their path.

Many companies will have put hiring on hold, laid off staff, postponed new products and put innovation on ice.

Others will have done the opposite, and used the pandemic as an opportunity to innovate more than usual.

Whatever the case, as the world emerges from the crisis next year, many business leaders won't realise they can make faster progress than they think by taking advantage of an often overlooked government incentive for research & development to generate more value from work they have already done.

In Canada, one of the most important tax incentives is the Scientific R...