Mitacs fellowship program aims to train next generation of policy makers

Infusing evidence-based policy-making into the federal bureaucracy is the focus of a new pilot program that will see up to 12 PhD-level researchers embedded with departmental and agency policy makers for a one-year fellowship. Mitacs will support the fellowships in conjunction with the Univ of Ottawa's Institute for Science, Society and Policy (ISSP) and the Government of Canada with the inaugural cohort placed in Ottawa beginning September 2016.

Called the Canadian Science Policy Fellowship program, it looked to the science policy fellowship program run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for inspiration and fleshed out the concept through conversations with several potential federal hosts. Longer term, Mitacs plans to expand the program with other university partners as well as developing provincial versions.

"At Mitacs we've worked before with industry, not-for-profits and international partners but there was a real gap that no one else was doing," said Dr Robert Annan, Mitacs chief research officer. "Right now we're working with ISSP but we look forward to working formally and informally with universities across the country."

Mitacs has budgeted $200,000 annually for the pilot phase and the program is open to any discipline through faculty and postdoctoral streams. Activities include the design, implementation or evaluation of policy, research, stakeholder meetings and/or consultation management. Fellows will be given Parliamentary committee support, senior decision-maker briefings and preparation of briefing or speaking notes. Mitacs is currently negotiating remuneration with ISSP for its participation which includes orientation for fellows, "government 101" training and monthly networking and training events..

"We hope the program gets really big but right now we want to start small and get it right … During a pilot it's really important to get feedback, to get information to develop and evolve its various parts," says Annan, the program's "spiritual head". "We want to make sure we can find hosts that don't just meet basic criteria but understand the overall goals of the program that you can work with them during the pilot stage to iron out the kinks that always come up."

Post-doctoral students will be paid for their internships and participating professors on sabbatical leave will receive their sabbatical pay plus a top-up as well as travel and moving costs.

The next few months will be occupied with processing and screening both host and fellowship applicants so that fellows and departments can be matched.

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