NRC realigns resources as part of new strategy

The National Research Council has quietly announced layoffs of 105 personnel at 11 of its institutes across the country as part of its new business plan to focus on key sectors and technologies where it can have the greatest impact. The realignment of human resources will free up $9 million that will be used to invest in new priority areas such as bioproducts — the first of several planned national programs to be rolled out in the coming years.

"We've been looking at all programs to see how well they are aligned with the new strategy. Low priority programs or projects are being eliminated," says Marielle Piché, NRC's secretary general. "We will reinvest in key sectors and technology platforms that our clients have told us are important, particularly industry."

The biggest changes are being felt at the Institute for Marine Biosciences (IMB) in Halifax, the Biotechnology Research Institute in Montreal and the Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute (IMTI) in Hamilton where a total of 56 personnel will be lost. The IMTI will lose its institute status and become a satellite to the Industrial Materials Institute in Boucherville and the Institute for Research in Construction in Ottawa.

IMB cuts spark criticism

At Halifax's IMB, the cuts are the second round in two years, sparking criticism from the aquaculture community. The decision to eliminate research programs on fish diseases and shellfish reflects the NRC's decision to refocus resources on human health. It is expected that some of this new activity will be based at IMB.

In total, 38 of the layoffs were at institutes based in the Ottawa region, with the remainder spread across the country.

Piché says realignment at the NRC occurs on an annual basis, although she acknowledges that the latest round of layoffs are the largest since the federal Program Review in 1995.

"We have to keep asking the questions relating to relevance and leadership position," she says. "We hope this realignment is a one-shot deal but you can't predict what's coming down the pipe. We hope this will last for the next three years but science changes and we need to be adaptable."

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