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- Will BIRS bring CIFAR and the mathematical sciences together?
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Category Archives: R&D Policy
The not-so-secret war between the universities and community colleges
The folks of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) may have entered the budget lockup in a sunny mood, but they can’t be now, in spite of their rosy post-budget announcements. The colleges on the other hand … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged ACCC, AUCC, CFI, Chakma report, David Naylor, Leo Charbonneau, NSERC, PolytechnicsCanada
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NSERC: Time to press the “reset” button on its relations with government and the scientific community
There is no doubt that Suzanne Fortier bears a big responsibility for the unprecedented changes to the landscape of government support to university sponsored research and innovation. But it is hard to believe that she is solely responsible for this major … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
2 Comments
NSERC: Time to press the “reset” button on the mandate
Cathleen Crudden, President of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) has already hinted at it in her blog post on the occasion of Suzanne Fortier’s exit from NSERC. “Choosing her successor will be a critical task. With academic and industrial researchers calling for more funding … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Basic research, CREATE, discovery grants, Engage, McGill, NSERC, postdoctoral fellowships, suzanne fortier
3 Comments
Suzanne Fortier’s last salvo
You all heard the news by now, and I got more than my share of phone calls, emails and tweets informing me about it. Suzanne Fortier is to become the 17th Principal and Vice-Chancellor (President) of McGill University, effective early September, … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged EPSRC, McGill University, NSERC, Science and Engineering, suzanne fortier
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“Mathematics is alive and well, but living under different names”
That was the assessment of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) back in 1996. “This comment is still apropos,” they wrote in their latest report of 2012. “Although the mathematical sciences are pervasive, they are often invoked without an explicit awareness … Continue reading
Will BIRS bring CIFAR and the mathematical sciences together?
My inbox started filling up at an unusual speed. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) had just announced a partnership with The Banff Centre (TBC). “The two institutions are teaming up to create a physical home for CIFAR, with the … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy
Tagged Alan Bernstein, BIRS, CalgaryHerald, CIFAR, Darwin, Mathematics, TBC
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Re-allocation among disciplines at NSERC: Bibliometrics or a deliberative process?
Five years ago, NSERC’s officials rightly challenged the status quo by upholding, “that the level of a grant should be commensurate with merit, regardless of the applicant’s granting history with NSERC.” They don’t however seem to be in a hurry to tackle the equally … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
2 Comments
The “Canada Excellence Research Chairs” program is a bad idea
“Perhaps some of the new boutique programs or politicized one-offs so beloved by governments will enable importation of a current or soon-to-be Nobel laureate. One can dimly imagine the cacophony of misguided self-congratulation that would accompany that ersatz milestone. In reality, the generation of a succession of … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged Canada Research Chairs, Canadian universities, CERC, Jim Flaherty, R&D policy
6 Comments
NSERC, Math, Stats, Innovation and all that jazz
Last weekend, representatives of Canada’s mathematical and statistical sciences community presented NSERC’s President, Suzanne Fortier, with a “Long Range Plan.” Entitled Solutions for a Complex Age, the report – commissioned by NSERC – is the result of two years of consultations and deliberations under … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy
Tagged BIRS, CRM, discovery grants, Fields, Long Range Plan, Mitacs, Mprime, Nancy Reid, NSERC, PIMS
4 Comments
After the students’ riots: “Nous, chercheurs et techniciens québécois …”
What do you expect the mood to be when you are sharing a banquet table with the Rector of UQAM, the President of Bishop, the former Rector of U. Montréal, a director of the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQNT), and the President … Continue reading
“Embedded” in Ottawa
I am getting to understand the risks (and rewards) of “embedded journalism.” Less than 24 hours into my trip to Ottawa, I started to feel uncharacteristically mollified, dangerously neutralized, and ridiculously guilty. Ever since I met with Gary Goodyear, Minister … Continue reading
“We, the researchers in Europe … “
41,432 European researchers have already signed the following petition for the attention of the EU heads of state or government –1616 of them in the last hour alone. This follows the open letter of 42 European Nobel Laureates and 5 Fields … Continue reading
NSERC president explains recent program decisions and agency’s evolution
We are grateful to “RE$EARCH MONEY” for granting “Piece of Mind” the permission to post the following exclusive interview they have recently conducted with the President of NSERC, Suzanne Fortier. The original article is accessible to “RE$EARCH MONEY” subscribers on the … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
1 Comment
Canada’s young scholars to contend with NSERC’s new dirigisme
NSERC has finally responded to the multiple articles, blogs and editorials criticizing the declining success rate in its postdoctoral fellowship program. It is unfortunate that they chose to do so through a media outlet that is sitting behind a pay … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged CREATE, Dirigisme, discovery grants, NSERC, postdoctoral fellowships
3 Comments
Quite unusual for an Ottawa Monday morning dump
As always, politicians were crowding the Monday morning issue of the Hill Times newspaper. But today’s was different from any other day. No less than four politicians were either making “major” statements about federal plans for funding R&D, or taking … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Christian Paradis, Elizabeth May, Gary Goodyear, Hill Times, Kennedy Stewart, Life sciences, NSERC
1 Comment
The puck stops where?
“NSERC makes decisions on how to best utilize the resources allocated to them by the government.” That was Gary Goodyear, the federal minister responsible for science and technology. He was not responding to our post of last week in which … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
6 Comments
NSERC has lost its bearings, but who is responsible?
Canada’s “Natural Science and Engineering Research Council” has grown uncomfortable with the rapidly dwindling success rate in its postdoctoral fellowship programme, the latest having clocked in at 7.8%. So, it has decided to artificially inflate these rates by limiting the number of times young Canadian scholars … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged AUCC, David Naylor, Gary Goodyear, NSERC, postdoctoral fellowships, Research capacity, Success rates
15 Comments
R&D front: Signs that government may be starting to get it
And no, I am not sending out a public bouquet to government à la Naylor-Toope. I am talking about a government that is starting to realize that it’s more important to tune into the dreams and aspirations of Canada’s research community than to … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Budget 2012, cihr, Death of evidence, Gary Goodyear, NSERC, research
5 Comments
Goodyear: “This is a moratorium for one year as we seek counsel from the scientific community”
I talked to Dr. Ted Hsu, listened to Minister Goodyear, and missed Madame Hélène LeBlanc who has been “promoted” to Industry. I liked what I heard, which reminded me of my long-held view, that it is often more rewarding to deal directly … Continue reading
Finally, media and Parliament pick up on research funding crisis
“Dr. Hsu has been made aware of your blog and is interested in knowing your thoughts on the federal government’s science and technology policy.” I Googled Dr. Ted Hsu, who turned out to be the MP for Kingston and the Islands, … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged 2012 federal budget, AUCC, Elizabeth May, EPSRC, Gary Goodyear, NSERC, Ted Hsu
1 Comment
