The Role of Government S

1
The Role of Government ST in a Knowledge Society

Draft
Kevin Fitzgibbons Office of the National Science
Advisor
Knowledge for Canadians Transforming Public ST
Services Ottawa May 11 2005
Office of the
Bureau du National Science Advisor
Conseiller national
des sciences
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Role and Priorities of National Science Advisor
to the Prime Minister
The National Science Advisor is assisting the
Government to ensure that investments are
strategic, focused and delivering results, and is
working to bring about a fuller integration of
the Governments substantial in-house science and
technology activity. Speech from the Throne,
October 2004

• Position created in April 2004
• Provide sound, independent, non-partisan advice
  on directions and priorities
• Long-term vision for Canadian ST
• Horizontal collaborations between various
  departments, agencies, institutions, and business
• Balance excellence in ST with benefits to
  society and the economy
• International ST and challenges of the
  developing world
• Commercialization and innovation

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Historical Context Growth of Scientific
Knowledge
Slide 3
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Canadian Science, 1981-2001

• Nations like Japan, China and Italy are on
  upswing
• US and Canada are sliding
• But impact of Canadian science is increasing
• Space science papers were 33 above the world
  average for last 5 years Chemistry 28 Clinical
  Medicine 34...
• Moved from below to above average in physical
  sciences over past two decades
• Important to look at quality of research being
  produced

Trends in Publications of Natural Sciences and
Engineering
China
Canada
Spain
Italy
South Korea
Source Science Metrix, 2004
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ST Public Policy Information Value Chain
ST Information Flows
Policy Drivers
Stakeholders and Public
Regulations, Policies, Services
ST knowledge and analysis
RD, monitoring dissemination
Local
Linkages
Global
Slide 5
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Policy Drivers for ST Information

• Stewardship
• Demand for information
• Transparency
• Privacy and confidentiality
• Accountability
• Accuracy
• Timeliness
• Public awareness
• Value for money

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ST Information - Enablers

• Globalization of scientific information flows
• Emergence of new organizations and collaborative
  arrangements networked society
• Increasing complexity of issues social,
  environmental, ethical, economic and legal
  considerations
• High performance computing advances
• Increased interdisciplinary
• International movement for scientific data access

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E-Science Science Meets The Information Commons
Science at a Crossroads
Transforming the way scientific community works
and shares its intellectual, analytical and
investigative output

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

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High Performance Computing
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ST Information Issues and Challenges

• Management of massive data sets
• Data entry, storage, quality control,
  compatibility
• Linkages to policy
• Analysis, interpretation and implementation
• Costs
• The tyranny of Moores Law
• Data security, access and ethics
• Personal privacy, commercial confidentiality,
  data integrity
• Systems integration local, national,
  international

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The public and scientific knowledge
Preferred Source of Information about Scientific
Discoveries
Source Ekos, Rethinking Science and Society,
2004
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Stewardship and public confidence in new
technologies
Confidence in government regulatory system in
biotechnology

Support for biotechnology
Source Canadian Biotechnology Secretariat
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Roles Activities National Metrology Institutes
(NMI)
Examples Metrology the Science of Measurement
Standards

• RD on primary measurement standards, new
  measurement capabilities, and means for their
  dissemination
• International comparisons
• Dissemination of traceability through calibration
  and measurement services
• Leadership in the national measurement system
• Participation in international metrology
  cooperation
• Measurement science outreach and education

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Examples National Measurement Standards and
Trade
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NSF Biocomplexity Studies
Opportunity Challenge

• 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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Example Tsunami and Storm SurgePreparedness
ST
Partners
PSEPC DFO NRCan IC INAC EC
Meteorology Mapping Seismic Modelling
Detection Oceanography
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Tsunami and Storm Surge Preparedness Towards an
integrated global network
Source Nature vol. 434 March 3, 2005
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The Canadian Research Data System -- 2015
Building A Vision

• 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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ST in the knowledge age A systems approach for
public policy

• Insatiable and exponential demand for and supply
  of scientific knowledge in support of public
  policy issues and debates
• The challenge to governments extracting value
  in pursuing policy goals through ST
• Clientele and public are demanding, informed,
  dispersed and well-organized in shaping public
  policy
• Government ST is a crucial component of a
  complex, dynamic and constantly evolving
  information system
• Solutions lie in integration, coordination
  partnerships and strategic policy

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