Howard Alper tagged to lead new Science, Technology and Innovation Council

Key commitment in S&T Strategy

The new consolidated national advisory council for science, technology and innovation has been launched with the appointment of Dr Howard Alper as its inaugural chair. The creation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC) fulfills a key policy commitment in the federal government's recent science and technology strategy — Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage — and promises to provide breadth of expertise not seen for decades in a single advisory body.

STIC will pull together a collection of 10-12 representatives from industry, universities and colleges and federal science advisory councils to provide advice on issues it receives from government. While it officially reports to the Industry minister, its scope will likely be government-wide and may have an international component. Requests for advice from other government departments may be made through the revitalized ADM Committee on S&T which would pass them on to Industry Canada.

STIC replaces three existing advisory bodies created in the 1990s under the previous Liberal administration — Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST), Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA) and Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC).

Impressive credentials

The appointment of Alper as chair of STIC does not come as a major surprise since it was well known within officials circles that he was advocating for such a position. Alper brings a wealth of policy know-ledge and advisory expertise to the position. He serves on numerous corporate boards, panels, committees and networks both nationally and internationally, including chair of the board of governors of the Council of Canadian Academies. He also completed a successful nine-year run as VP research at the Univ of Ottawa (1998-2006), helping to dramatically increase the institution's research activity and funding.

"This fits very well with the new S&T agenda and has the potential for significant added value …By consolidating the different advisory bodies and extending across government, it will strengthen the advisory role and have a greater public presence," says Alper, currently visiting executive at the International Development Research Centre and distinguished university professor at the Univ of Ottawa. "The most important initial issue is making excellent appointments (for council members). Right now, we're developing criteria for the necessary skill sets and assets. It should be fully operational by the fall."

alper given high degree of influence

In addition to serving as chair, Alper will participate in the selection process for STIC membership and have significant influence over STIC's mandate, membership composition, modes of operation and whether its advice will actually take the form of concrete recommendations. In addition to the Council itself, STIC may decide to use other mechanisms such as subcommittees, working groups or panels to tackle specific issues. Apparently, the only guiding principles that must be adhered to are the key thrusts of the S&T Strategy itself as well as the government's commitment to accountability and transparency.

"The new advisory body will engage businesses, universities, colleges and government in a dialogue on important S&T issues referred to it by government and share its findings broadly."

--S&T Strategy

It's likely that the terms for the first slate of members will be of varying lengths to ensure consistency of advice as well as regular infusions of new blood. The length of Alper's term also has to be determined.

Alper must also decide how many of the organizations with which he is currently involved he must withdraw from. Some may pose a perceived conflict of interest while others represent a time commitment that is unsustainable with the significant amount of work STIC will require.

Industry minister Maxime Bernier will take an active role along with Alper in establishing the Council and its parameters. STIC will be supported by a small secretariat within Industry Canada and has committed to publishing state-of-the-nation reports that measure Canada's S&T performance against international benchmarks and provide policy advice to the minister as required. While these reports will be issued on an annual basis and made public, it is not known whether ministerial advice will be disseminated outside of government.

future role of nsa uncertain

It remains to be seen whether STIC will supplant or co-exist with the Office of the National Science Advisor (NSA) which also resides within Industry Canada and reports to the minister. The NSA currently holds three advisory mandates for monitoring and assessing international S&T developments, federal S&T infrastructure and science culture. The government has still not made any decisions on the nature of its relationship between STIC and the NSA. Whether STIC decides to move into any of these areas and create areas of potential redundancy will hopefully be determined over the summer.

There's also a possibility that STIC will be able to suggest areas of its own where it would like to provide advice. Such two-way dialogue would inject a dynamic interaction that has been absent in past advisory bodies.

The creation of an advisory council that integrates the functions of its predecessors brings with it obvious benefits and certain risks. On the plus side, STIC will be higher profile and have a far broader mandate than previous bodies, enhancing the potential for impacting government policy decisions and future direction.

On the other hand, combining advice —external and internal to government as well as the role of CBAC — could result in the voices of specific areas of S&T being overlooked or under-emphasized. That makes the selection of STIC's members critical to ensure that the relatively small number of advisors have the collective expertise to cover the S&T waterfront.

The government is expected to move quickly on other elements and commitments made in the S&T Strategy. Beginning later this month, Bernier will be holding a series of roundtables to gauge the response of stakeholder groups to the Strategy's key thrust, with a particular emphasis business. Stakeholder response could have an impact on initiatives stemming from the strategy.

R$