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Category Archives: R&D Policy
Shiny, happy, oblivious science
by Dr. Jim R. Woodgett The government of Canada released a budget on April 19th, 2021, the first for two years. It was, as anticipated, a high spending, deficit projecting budget that clears the ground for pandemic recovery with its centre … Continue reading
NSERC has lost its bearings … again
The last time I used this title was in 2012. Canada’s Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) had grown embarrassed by the dwindling success rate in its postdoctoral fellowship program, the latest having clocked in at 7.8%. So, Suzanne Fortier, … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged cihr, EDI, NSERC, postdoctoral fellowships, Tri-council
3 Comments
A research community at the mercy of a leaderless NSERC
The bureaucrats of a leaderless NSERC have extended the 5-year grants of three research institutes by two years. This amounts to assigning awards exceeding $7,500,000. They have done so without peer review and against the wishes of one of their … Continue reading
Academic publishing in the time of sanctions and boycotts
On December 7th, the academic publisher Taylor & Francis informed two authors that they are unable to publish their mathematical research paper, even though it had been accepted by the editorial board of one of its journals two years after submission … Continue reading
When the Walls of Governance Come Crumbling Down
“We are deeply disappointed that Janis Sarra has had to step down as Director of the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies … Like her, we will all work to secure the academic independence of the Institute and its programs, … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, R&D Policy
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Accountability and Governance at UBC: Budget
By Professor Mark Thomson Mac Lean Over the past months I have become increasingly concerned about the disparity between UBC’s growing tuition revenues and enormous budget surpluses, and the struggles that many academic departments face in meeting their teaching and … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Budget model failures, Faculty’s enrolments, Governance, UBC, University Act
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NSERC corrects a mistake, but many remain unaddressed
No, I am not talking about the sudden and probably more consequential recent change in NSERC’s leadership, but about an accounting mistake. Yes, it looks minor, but it speaks volume. As I mentioned in a previous post, I resigned last … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy, Uncategorized
Tagged AARMS, BIRS, CRM, CTRMS, EG, Fields, LRP, Mathematics, MSLC, NSERC Discovery, PIMS, research, science, Statistics
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Is the BIRS programme multiple disciplinary enough for NSERC?
The programs of the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) in Banff and Oaxaca are supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Canada’s Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Mexico’s Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT), and the … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy
Tagged Alberta, Conacyt, CRCC, NSERC, NSF, Oberwolfach, research, Tom Brzustowski
1 Comment
Reboot NSERC by engaging and empowering the researchers it serves
I described in a previous post some of the impediments to NSERC’s ability to optimize government’s investments in support of scientific research and innovation. Namely, how its rigid and insular operational structure hinders its capabilities to partner internationally; to coordinate … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
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Overhauling NSERC is a long overdue national priority (I)
With an annual budget of $1.1 billion, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the agency through which the federal government funds advanced post-secondary research in science and engineering. Thousands of Canadian researchers rely on it, … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged AARMS, BIRS, CANSSI, CRM, Fields, Innovation, Mathematics, Mexico, NSERC, NSF, Oaxaca, PIMS, research, science, Statistics
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Fettering unfettered research funding: The NSERC ways
Last week, I resigned from a committee that is supposed to liaise between NSERC and Canada’s Mathematics and Statistics communities. The reason? An unsettling lack of transparency, shoddy consultation, and poor decision-making by NSERC’s management in handling recent government budget … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Harper-Goodyear, Mario Pinto, Mathematics, Naylor report, NSERC, research, Trudeau, Unfettered Research Funding
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Statistical science is everywhere
By Professor Nancy Reid, OC, FRSC On Saturday, April 7, The Globe and Mail published a long article on advances in counselling and therapy around mental health—“Rethinking therapy: how 45 questions can revolutionize mental health”. The punch line? A new … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Alan Turing, Data Science, Globe and Mail, Statistical Science, University of Toronto
1 Comment
The Problem with Naylor’s Panel Report
The report of Naylor’s panel reviewing Canadian Science is out. It is an incredibly eloquent “plaidoyer” for basic research both in terms of its role, past and present, in the advancement of society. It is of course music to the ears … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged CERC, CFERF, CFI, CRC, Kirsty Duncan, Naylor, research, science, SIF, Tri-councils
3 Comments
Budget 2017, Naylor’s review, and the Mathematical Sciences in Canada
James Colliander, Director of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) Nassif Ghoussoub, Director of the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) Ian Hambleton, Director of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences (Fields) Luc Vinet, Directeur du Centre de Recherches Mathématiques (CRM) The … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged CANSSI, CRM, Fields, Fields medal, Maurice Lamontagne, MSRI, Naylor, NRC, NSERC, science, Trudeau
3 Comments
Canada has two ministers of Science, yet Budget 2017 barely mentions Science
University researchers across Canada are stunned and puzzled. What happened to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promises to undo the damage that the Harper years inflicted on the nation’s research capacity? The Liberals campaigned to end the “war on Science,” yet they … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged BIRS, CANSSI, CIFAR, cihr, CRM, Fields PIMS, Harper, Morneau, Naylor report, NIH, NSERC, research, science, Trudeau
2 Comments
Interview with a mathematician: Nassif Ghoussoub
Originally posted on The Intrepid Mathematician:
Nassif Ghoussoub is the founder and current director of the Banff International Research Station, the founding director of the Pacific Institute of Mathematics, and the co-founder of MITACS NCE. On top of all that,…
Posted in Banff International Research Station, Honouring friends, R&D Policy
Tagged Arvind Gupta, Beit Chebab, BIRS, CFREF, CMO, Conacyt, Mathematics, Mitacs, Nigel Lloyd, NSERC, NSF, Oaxaca, Ono, Order of Canada, PIMS, Riemann Hypothesis, science, Tom Brzustowski, UBC
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About Naylor’s panel roundtable regarding Big Science in a Canadian Context
For those not paying attention, David Naylor is leading “Canada’s Fundamental Science Review Panel” which is looking at the state of fundamental science in Canada. Last week, I had a chance to participate at a roundtable of experts in Calgary, … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy
Tagged Art Carty, Art MacDonald, BIRS, Canadian Light Source, CERC, CFI, CFREF, Chief Science Advisor, Compute Canada, Jenkins, NRC, SNOLAB, Triumf
1 Comment
The Submission of BIRS and Canada’s Mathematical Sciences Institutes to Canada’s Fundamental Science Review
The Mathematical Sciences are the foundation of any advanced research ecosystem, and Canada’s mathematical sciences institutes have been instrumental in supporting this ecosystem. They do so by providing scientific leadership, by developing coherent national strategies for mathematical and statistical discovery … Continue reading
Posted in Banff International Research Station, R&D Policy
Tagged AARMS, BIRS, CANSSI, CRM, Fields, Mathematical Sciences Institutes, Naylor Panel, PIMS
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Some unedited thoughts for Canada’s fundamental science review panel
The Government bureaucracy seems to be buckling under the sheer number of reviews that the liberal government is currently conducting. One of them is focused on “determining the strengths of our current arrangements and pinpointing gaps and bottlenecks in Canada’s … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged Birgenneau, CERC, CFI, CFREF, CIFAR, CIHR (Tri-council), CRC, Genome Canada, IDCR, IQC, McDonald, Mitacs, Naylor, NCE, NSERC, Perimeter Institute, sshrc, Triumf
3 Comments
Reform(atting) the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – a living autopsy
Last year, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), which is the primary federal funding agency of health research in Canada, embarked on a bold and wide-ranging series of reforms that change virtually every aspect of how health research funding … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged cihr, Early Career Investigator, F-Scheme, P-Scheme, Virtual review
46 Comments
Piece of Mind 