Former universities minister Michelle Donelan is appointed head of newly-created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in mini-reshuffle. The United Kingdom has a new government department dedicated to science and technology. On 7 February, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak split the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) into three new departments, creating the Department […]
policy
In Canada, scientists are struggling with stagnant funding
Lackluster growth in federal spending squeezes research community Earlier this month, researchers attending Canada’s major annual science policy conference here got some seemingly good news when science minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government would be awarding CA$1 billion to research projects. But disappointment soon set in. The $1 billion, scientists realized, was existing, not new, […]
Catching up with Canada’s chief science adviser
As she begins her second term, Mona Nemer weighs in on shaping the pandemic response, the battle against misinformation, and the push for open science. Molecular cardiologist Mona Nemer was first appointed Canada’s chief science adviser in 2017, to provide advice to the federal government on scientific issues and science-based policy. Recently reappointed for two […]
What’s happening with Canada’s superclusters?
After four years, the federal government’s billion-dollar superclusters are finding their feet, but they need more time. Canada has a long history of underperforming on measures of private-sector spending on research and development, and failing to capitalize on the commercial potential of scientific discoveries made in the country. And it has almost as long a […]
Huawei ban adds to concerns of a chill effect in research over national security rules
‘We punch above our weight in Canada because we collaborate,’ says one computer science professor, ‘and this has the potential to erode those collaborations.’ The federal government’s recent decision to ban Chinese electronics companies from Canadian 5G networks has highlighted concerns that tightening national security rules are having a chilling effect on research in Canada. Read […]
Canada announces new innovation agency — and it’s not modelled on DARPA
The unit will instead mimic Finnish and Israeli agencies. But some researchers worry Canada might be too big and regionalized for the scheme to succeed. The Canadian government has announced that it will invest Can$1 billion (about US$780 million) over the next five years to create a funding agency focused on innovation in science and […]
Taking stock of the Naylor report, 5 years on
Some say there’s been too little progress toward supporting Canadian research in fundamental science. In 2016, then science minister Kirsty Duncan convened a panel of experts to conduct a comprehensive review of Canada’s academic science and research ecosystem. Led by David Naylor, former president of the University of Toronto, it was the first such exercise […]
Canada’s researchers call for a return to stated science ambitions
The buzz created by a 2017 national science review has faded, prompting calls for a renewed focus on innovation. With Canada’s relatively small population of 38 million people spread across a vast land area of some 9.88 million square kilometres, the nation’s researchers have access to expansive natural resources. Varied landscapes, such as the Canadian […]
Emergency COVID-19 grants need careful follow-up
Building on the research that was done may help prepare for future pandemics. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research and its partners have so far handed out more than 550 grants worth over $250 million for research related to COVID-19. Some will undoubtedly lead to significant breakthroughs that will help us deal with this pandemic […]
Was COVID-19 research funding well spent?
Some academics argue it should have been part of regular funding programs, or more focused. A full month before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research launched a $55 million emergency funding competition to help the scientific community learn all it could about the […]