Gary Corbett

Government undermining its own S&T Strategy

By Gary Corbett

One of the goals of the federal government's science and technology strategy — Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage — is to foster government scientific excellence and attract top young scientists to the federal public service. But the pattern of events following the May 2007 release of the federal S&T strategy has done little to instill confidence in this government's commitment to federal science.

In August 2007, the Globe and Mail reported that management in federal departments and agencies such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency would be expected to reallocate 5% of expenditures from "lowest priority or lowest performing" projects.

In September 2007, the National Research Council (NRC) announced layoffs for 105 employees at 14 of its institutions. In December 2007, a panel of experts hastily reviewed a government proposal to transfer non-regulatory federal laboratories to universities and perhaps the private sector. Next, the government abolished the Office of the National Science Advisor, and replaced the position with an industry- and university-dominated Science, Technology and Innovation Council. In February 2008, Environment Canada scientists were effectively muzzled by senior management.

Taken together, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada believes there is reason to question this government's dedication to public science conducted in federal science-based departments and agencies. PIPSC feels this weak commitment is shortsighted and will undermine the general scientific and economic objectives set out in the government's own strategy.

Questions hanging over the support for and independence of public science come at a time when Canada faces serious challenges. Global warming, economic globalization and diverse threats to public health and safety are magnifying the importance of science to the government's ability to respond to the needs of Canadians.

Long-term research and monitoring capacity are needed to respond to these challenges and public science is essential to large-scale and long-term research to support scientific monitoring, prediction, and reporting. Universities and the private sector lack the mandate for, and are not equipped to provide, sustained and secure support for this research. Government science also serves as an independent yardstick, establishing a standard of unbiased and authoritative advice to government policy-makers against which competing claims may be measured. Compared to private-sector research, government facilities routinely perform research at a lower cost and with higher professional standards than private consultants. Similarly, universities are ultimately constrained by teaching requirements, and are not equipped to conduct the core research work of government laboratories, research departments and agencies.

Despite the singularity of government science, federally funded and performed gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) has been declining since 2002. Government performed GERD has fallen from a high of 18.7% of GERD in 1991 to 8.7% in 2005, while business and university have increased their shares. Given the de facto starvation of government-performed science relative to the other pillars of scientific research in Canada, PIPSC is concerned about the future of federal science in Canada's S&T strategy.

As Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage acknowledges, government-led science is responsible for authoring one-third to one-half of all Canadian publications in research areas such as agriculture and food science, oceanography, meteorology and the environment. This is one of the reasons why Canada ranks 6th in the OECD in science publications per capita, and 5th in the quality of publications.# Many are co-authored with university-based researchers — evidence of the extensive and fruitful collaboration that exists between university and government researchers.

As R&D performers, federal labs are engaged in technology transfer in the interests of public dissemination and advancing knowledge, as well as in support of public policy and regulatory capacity.# Government researchers also work closely with the private sector, leading to results in peer-reviewed publications, patents, transformation and commercialization.

They undertake technology transfer with other public and private R&D organizations in the process of sharing information and conducting joint research. They also partner with industry, generating product and/or process improvements, licensing technology to introduce new products and services, and creating spin-offs. The NRC's Industrial Research Assistance Program is a prominent example of this productive collaboration.

Additionally, government researchers commonly serve simultaneously as adjunct professors, working closely with their university counterparts and co-authoring presentations and research publications. The transfer of federal labs to the university and/or private sector risks undermining this collaboration by generating uncertainty and anxiety over funding, staffing and lines of managerial authority and accountability. The S&T Strategy stresses the urgency of breaking down the barriers that divide areas of S&T research. But far from working in isolation from their non-governmental colleagues, government researchers collaborate extensively and want the freedom to attend scholarly conferences and compete for federal research funds to deepen their integration with university-based research networks.

As a percentage of GDP, Canada's overall gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) is below the OECD average and well below that of the United States. Weaknesses in Canada's system of innovation can be traced to diffusion – the adoption of existing cutting-edge products and processes – and not solely to their invention. The comparative weakness of private-sector R&D investment in Canada and related indicators of S&T performance have historically only added to the importance of public science and innovation in Canada. Diminishing government research will further impoverish Canada's innovation effort.

For excellent reasons, the Government's S&T strategy document emphasizes the scientific and innovation benefits from collaboration between scientists and researchers working in government, private industry and academia. Collaboration lies at the foundation of the process of sharing evidence and critical engagement. Essential to collaboration, however, is the freedom to share ideas, scientific hypotheses, and research findings in an open and unconstrained manner.

S&T excellence depends on free and full exchange of ideas between all members of the scientific community regardless of where they work. Universities recognize the value of free scientific inquiry and protect it through the tenure process. New graduates considering a professional career in universities over the federal public service seek in part this promise of scholarly integrity and professional autonomy. PIPSC calls on the government to uphold scientific independence in a similar manner by safeguarding freedom of inquiry and extending security of employment to government scientists.

Others have called for more prominent representation of science at the federal level, including the creation of a unique federal department of Science and Technology with cabinet representation, and the creation of an Office of Scientist General reporting to Parliament.# PIPSC agrees that better Cabinet-level and parliamentary representation for S&T is critically important if Canada is to integrate the design and delivery of science policy in Canada.

Other PIPSC recommendations include:

* the reinstatement of the Office of National Science Advisor or the creation of an Auditor General for Science within the Office of the Auditor General of Canada;

* a National Foresight Program, led by senior decision-makers from the science-based departments, agencies, and research councils, with the responsibility of identifying emerging S&T opportunities and focusing scientific research in the service of government policy and strategy;

* a strong and sustained commitment to A-base funding for government regulatory and non-regulatory science in Canada;

* improved salaries to aid in the recruitment and retention of federal scientists; and

* support for federal scientists' professional development, including their ability to participate in the communication of scientific knowledge through scientific conferences and symposia.

Gary Corbett is a VP at the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada with responsibility for science in the federal g. This article is an abridged version of a presentation he made to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on ---- 2008.