Canadian Science: Strength through Integration and Collaboration

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Canadian Science Strength through Integration
and Collaboration
Arthur J. Carty National Science Advisor to the
Prime Minister
Canadian Water Network Researcher Retreat 23
November 2005
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Socio-economic policy drivers for Canada in the
21st Century

• Our economic future productivity, trade and
  innovation
• Canada is a small market, highly trade-dependent
  nation
• Our new partners and competitors emergence of
  new economic powers China, India
• Moving quickly from low-cost manufacturer to
  knowledge-based competition
• Our natural resources
• Need to gain sustainable competitive edge through
  innovations in extraction and production to
  harness value-added benefits
• Our environment Global warming fundamental
  implications for our economy, ecology and society
  
• North and coastal regions are particularly
  vulnerable to climate change
• Our health and security
• Aging populations
• Increasing virulence and rapidity of infectious
  diseases

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International RD Trends - GERD
Source OECD, MSTI, 2005.
1. Pre-1989 Germany statistics are for West
Germany. 2. GERD Gross Expenditure on Research
and Development
Office of the
Bureau du National Science Advisor
Conseiller national
des sciences
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International RD Trends - HERD
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Canadian RD Overview

• In 2004-2005, total Canadian RD expenditures
  are expected to reach 24.5 billion
• Total Canadian federal ST expenditures in 04-05
  are projected to be 9.2 billion of which 63
  (5.8B) will be for RD
• RD spending per capita in universities and
  research institutes is the highest in the G-8
• 13 billion in incremental investments committed
  to research from 1997-98 to 2003-04
• Almost 70 of this has been allocated in the last
  4 years
• Research environment has improved significantly
  in the academic sector

Federal direct and indirect expenditures on RD,
by performing sector (1992/93-2003/04)
Projected
Source Statistics Canada Cat No. F88-0006XIE and
Finance Canada
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Some Major Impacts of Recent Investments in
University Research
1. Research Funding and Infrastructure

• More than doubling of Research Council Budgets
  (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC)
• Infrastructure and Equipment for Research
  Competitive with Best in World (CFI, GC,
  Councils)
• Co-funding from provinces, partners has
  significantly enhanced investments
• Networks of Centres of Excellence (now 21 NCEs)
  and 52 Community Research Alliances (SSHRC) have
  fostered collaboration and are models being
  followed around world
• Canada is drawing international attention as a
  hot spot and significant player in research
  internationally

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Some Major Impacts of Recent Investments in
University Research
2. Attracting and Retaining Research Talent

• Canada Research Chairs Program and CFI funding
  have attracted outstanding young and established
  scholars from other countries
• Rising Canadian stars have been retained
• Faculty renewal occurring at a critical time.
  Over 3000 new faculty recruited at universities
  in 03-04 (incl. 700 from USA and 500 from other
  countries)
• Significant growth in graduate student enrolment
  and post-doctoral community
• 4000 new graduate fellowships
• Overall employment in RD community has risen

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Canadas ST and Innovation Challenges

• Maintain leading G8 position for HERD/GDP and
  build on strong research base
• Harvest economic and social benefit to Canadians
  of RD investments through knowledge transfer and
  commercialization
• Stimulate industrial RD expansion and
  collaboration
• Increase global linkages across the innovation
  spectrum
• Revitalize government science to respond to the
  priority policy challenges facing Canadians
• Develop national strategies in emerging areas
  e.g. nanotechnologies, quantum information
  technology, biotechnology, sustainable energy,
  photonics, high performance computing,
  environmental technologies northern science

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The Scientific Impact of Nations 1993-2002
David A. King (2004)
Rank Order of Nations Based on Share of Top 1
Highly Cited Publications (1997-2001)
NOTE Top 8 countries produced 85 of top 1
most cited papers
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Canadas Research Input-output Footprint in the G8
PUBERD Public expenditure on RD HERD Higher
Education expenditure on RD
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Canadian Scientific Productivity and Impact

• Canadas scientific productivity in geosciences
  rates 4th in the world (96 countries)
• Canada has outstanding citation per paper ratings
  in ecology/environmental, space sciences as well
  as clinical medicine, pharmacology, and chemistry.

Source ISI Essential Science Indicators, 2005
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Beyond the Horizon Workshop A view on ST and
National Challenges
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Beyond the Horizon Workshop A view on ST
Integration for the Future
Scientist input
Cross cutting collaborative federal ST
ST INTEGRATION
Government policy development, future-proofing
regulation
University ST and social sciences network
Other inputs
Manufacturing, service resource industries
Cultural sector
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Trends in ST International linkages

• Mobilize Canadas ST assets in support of
  foreign policy goals especially with respect to
  international development
• Prime Ministers challenge to devote 5 of
  federal RD investments to developing world
  issues
• 20M in Budget 2005 for new international ST
  agreements India, China and Israel
• Big step forward in broadening Canadas
  participation in international ST
• ST embedded in International
• Policy Statement as an essential driver
• of trade, investment, development
• and diplomacy

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Trends in ST International Scientific
Collaboration
Evolution of the share () of Canadian papers in
collaboration with developing and high income
countries, 1992-2003.

• Source Data compiled by Science-Metrix from data
  prepared by OST from SCI (Thomson-ISI)

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Federal ST Agreement with India

• PMs visit to India in January 2005 Joint
  Declaration
• Canada Trade Mission and ST visit to Delhi and
  visit of Indias science adviser to the PM
  April-May 2005
• 11th Technology Summit in Delhi - September 2005
• Biotechnology, Health Research and Medical
  Devices
• Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The New
  Revolution
• Sustainable and Alternate Energy and
  Environmental Technologies
• Next Generation ICT Infotainment, Wireless,
  Rural Connectivity
• Earth Sciences and Disaster Mitigation
  Technologies
• 6.75M / 5 years from both Canada and India to
  support ST agreement
• Signed November 18, 2005

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E-Science Science Meets The Information Commons
Trends in ST Open Access
Transforming the way scientific community works
and shares its intellectual, analytical and
investigative output

• Convergence of scientific disciplines
• Distributed knowledge networks and databases
• Virtual collaborative environments
• New forms of communication (e.g.open publishing)
• Manipulation and sharing of vast data sets

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The Canadian Research Data System -- 2015
Building A Vision in Open Access

• Research data are widely recognized as a national
  resource (with social and economic benefits)
• All PFR institutions and labs have comprehensive
  scientific data capture, archiving and access
  capabilities
• All historic scientific data of national
  importance are preserved
• Canadian data archiving companies are market
  leaders
• Canada is a global leader in scientific data
  management
• Canadas research community is a global leader in
  interdisciplinary international research
  collaboration

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NSF Biocomplexity Studies
Trends in ST Complex, Integrated Major Science
Initiatives

• Researchers integrating international data to
• study relationship between human environmental
  factors
• Databanks used to understand
• cholera outbreaks
• Epidemiology
• NASA remote sensing
• Marine biology
• Microbiology
• Genomic
• Social science

MIT
NSF
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International Polar Year 2007-08

• September 2005 announcement of 150M over 6 years
• Milestone for delivering on a Northern Science
  Strategy for Canada
• To be managed horizontally across departments,
  agencies

• A major, exciting opportunity to show national
  and international leadership for Canada
• Focus on human dimensions will provide a unique
  opportunity to link social and natural sciences
• Critically important issue given arctic
  vulnerabilities to climate change

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Trends in ST High Performance Computing and
Modelling
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Canadian Strengths in Water Research

• Canada is home to 20 of the worlds fresh water
• Canadian Water Network (NCE)
• National Water Research Institute (NWRI)
• Strong university research programs
• UN University International Network on Water,
  Environment and Health

Photo NWRI, 2005
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Water Research and Nanotechnology New
Opportunities

• A 2004 study by UoTs Joint Centre for Bioethics
  lists water treatment and remediation as the
  third top application of nanotechnology with the
  greatest potential to assist the developing world
• Potential for more effective, less expensive
  filtration and sensing abilities
• Domestic and global applications
• Recent Aboriginal drinking water crisis at
  Kashechewan
• Tsunami relief effort Arsenic poisoning in
  Bangladesh
• Opportunity for collaboration between traditional
  water researchers and researchers in
  nanomaterials and microfluidics among others

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Nanotechnology and the Environment New
Opportunities

• A tool for sustainable development rather than
  an environmental liability

• Enabling technologies to meet many needs
• water, wastewater
• hazardous waste
• resource recovery
• pollution prevention
• Environmental consequences of new technologies
• focus on transport, transformation, and fate of
  nanostructures
• proactive approach early in the process

Water treatment plant
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The Canadian Academies of Science

• Federally -incorporated, not-for-profit
  organization which joins together Canada's three
  internationally recognized national academies
• Budget 2005 announced 30M
• Carry out government requests for independent
  expert assessments on the state of scientific
  knowledge underpinning policy issues facing
  Canadians
• Ensure that Canada is represented effectively in
  international fora where important questions of
  scientific methods and findings are being
  discussed
• Proposed Topics
• Water A Key Canadian Resource
• The Effects of a Changing Climate on Air Quality
  in Canada
• Nanomaterials Environmental and Health Risk
  Assessment

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CAS Topic Shared North American Watersheds

• Quantification of water resources in the context
  of a supply and demand scenario. Issues
• Competing demand conflicts
• ecosystem support
• urban development
• agriculture, and industry,
• Managing demand
• The continental scale of the issue will dictate
  diplomatic negotiations and agreements.
• Canadas water reserves and their evolution and
  vulnerabilities are not well known, especially
  groundwater.

Source Kierans 2001 Laserre, 2005
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Conclusions

• Canada has a strong base in ST which we can
  build upon through continued, sustainable
  investment in all sectors government,
  university, and industry - to reach Canadas
  social and economic goals
• Science is changing through the
  internationalization of science, the open access
  movement, the development of ITC tools such as
  high performance computing, and the rise of
  complex, integrated major science initiatives in
  all scientific disciplines
• Canada and its research base must take a lead in
  the new scientific environment by crossing
  traditional discipline, institutional, and
  geographic barriers
• Canada needs to foster collaboration and
  integration in key national challenges such as
  water and water management

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Federal Science A Vision to 2010
The Government of Canada will be recognized
nationally and internationally for the quality
and productivity of its science in support of the
public good, that would have

• Focused ST programs aligned with mission
  critical goals
• A talented and committed workforce dedicated to
  government science
• State-of-the-art equipment and clusters of core
  infrastructure
• Commitment to partnerships and networks with
  others to lever resources and research capacity
• An enabling administrative and fiscal environment

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Trends in ST High Performance Computing and
Modelling Tools
Assessing alternative futures in land and water
use through integrated modelling
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Trends in ST Science to Achieve the UN
Millennium Declaration
Millennium Development Goals (2000)

• Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIVAIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development