Arctic science gets top marks but possible storm clouds on the horizon

Operational funding biggest obstacle

By Debbie Lawes

Canada has regained its global leadership in Arctic science following decades of decline but that recovery could be short-lived without stable funding for the country's research icebreaker and a renewed commitment to northern research when the ArcticNet Network of Centres of Excellence ends in 2018. The chair of an expert panel that recently evaluated the CCGS Amundsen warns ArcticNet and the ship are so inextricably linked that it's hard to imagine how one can survive without the other.

"There is a hand-in-glove relationship between the Amundsen—the infrastructure—and ArcticNet as the science program," says Dr Martin Taylor, former VP (research) at the Univ of Victoria and former president/CEO, Ocean Networks Canada. "Where is the lifeblood for the Amundsen-enabled program going to come from when ArcticNet sunsets?"

ArcticNet's scientific director Dr Louis Fortier remains optimistic. By focusing on research that has a direct impact on issues like natural resource development, sovereignty, security, community health and climate change, he says scientists have proven that the work they're doing in the Arctic is "research with a purpose".

"The momentum is still there in Ottawa and increasingly in the provinces" for supporting Arctic research, says Fortier. The challenge, he adds, is turning that momentum into real dollars, particularly on for ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M) of research platforms like the Amundsen. Countries such as Germany, the UK, the US and Japan provide dedicated long-term O&M funding for their research icebreakers.

The expert panel's assessment, called a Platform Outcome Measurement Study (POMS), is one of several evaluation tools used by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to measure the impact of public investments in research infrastructure. Completed in November 2014 and publicly released last month, the POMS is the first comprehensive review of the Amundsen program, which has received $46 million from CFI since 2003 to retrofit and maintain the Canadian Coast Guard vessel.

Overall, the expert panel gives the research platform top marks in 19 categories, describing it as "transformative" in terms of its impact on the quality and quantity of Arctic research.

"The Amundsen research program has had a major impact on the productivity, reach and influence of Canadian Arctic science as shown by the strong publication record and by the seminal papers produced on such topics as sea ice and ecological research in the Beaufort Sea," the panel found. It also cited the platform's focus on cross-discipline, multi-institutional and sector collaboration as "an unusual strength" internationally.

But serious challenges remain, notably a "structural flaw" in the Canadian funding system for O&M costs, including technical staff. The expert panel questioned the absence of statutory government funding for O&M, noting that other sources of potential support "are episodic at best and are likely to be targeted to delivering on specific projects of short(er) term duration". This situation puts the onus on the Amundsen "to be all the more entrepreneurial in order to tap diverse sources which might entail surrendering some level of ownership," the panel notes.

The Amundsen's O&M costs have doubled in the last decade, from $29,000 per day at sea in 2003 to nearly $60,000 in 2014, or about $10.8 million annually. In February, it received $7.6 million under the CFI's Major Sciences Initiative (MSI) Fund—the single largest award under the $25-million competition and the first time the Amundsen has been eligible (R$, February 10/15).

CFI's president and CEO agrees the current funding approach to O&M is "very challenging" for all major science facilities in Canada, not only the Amundsen. In response, Dr Gilles Patry says they looking into using part of the $1.33 billion allocation it received in the recent federal Budget (starting FY17-18) to double the MSI Fund to $400 million over five years.

CFI is also in discussions with the Industry and Finance departments to make its funding model for O&M more flexible. Currently, the MSI Fund supports 40% of costs, leaving facilities to find the balance from other public or private sources.

"It's important for CFI to have the flexibility to provide the necessary support so those installations can continue at the level they need to operate facilities at an optimal way," says Patry.

Life after ArcticNet

Fortier estimates the Amundsen has another 20-25 years of operational life left, and the Coast Guard has committed to build the Amundsen II to replace it. Another scientific icebreaker, the CGS John G Diefenbaker, is expected to join the fleet in 2021-2022. As well, construction began last year on the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in Nunavut.

Fortier is working on several fronts to ensure Canadian researchers are able to make the best use of these platforms once ArcticNet sunsets in 2018.

"We'll need a renewed (funding) commitment. I'm not sure how we'll do that but we're working on it," he says. One idea taking shape is a pan-Canadian Arctic Institute, similar to ones already established in China (which has 4), Russia (2), Japan (1) and Germany (1). Neither Canada nor the US has such an entity.

The plan is to establish six major nodes: Laval Univ, Memorial Univ, Univ of Toronto, Univ of Winnipeg, Univ of Calgary/Univ of Alberta and Univ of British Columbia/ Univ of Victoria. Fortier says they already have provincial backing for a new Northern Research Institute to be based at Laval in Quebec City.

"We would all come together and form, at least for academia, a component of a Canadian Arctic Institute," says Fortier. "It would plug in directly with things like CHARS, the Diefenbaker and the northern colleges and northern research centres."

He estimates the overall investment would cost between $100 million and $200 million, much of it for O&M. "Finding the budget to operate (the institute), that's the most problematic," he says.

Laval and Univ of Manitoba have also applied to the Canada First Research Excellence Fund to support Arctic research. Eligible projects must align with the priorities identified in the government's current science, technology and innovation strategy, which includes responsible development and monitoring of the Arctic and climate change research.

R$