The Canada Project aims to inform policy for greater competitiveness and sustainability

A major new report using social sciences research is calling for major changes to Canadian public policy to enhance competitiveness and productivity while achieving sustainable growth. The Canada Project argues that policy makers are at risk of being lulled into complacency by the benefits of a surging resource economy when long-term prosperity is dependent upon tackling issues such as the pursuit of excellence, inefficient fiscal and regulatory regimes, emerging superpowers and underinvestment in urban centres.

Subtitled Mission Possible: Sustainable Prosperity for Canada, the four-volume report contains 76 recommendations in three areas: Canadian performance in the global economy, a long-term resources strategy emphasizing mining, agriculture and energy, and the role of cities in a knowledge-based economy. The recommendations are grouped in seven broad strategic thrusts and are fully integrated.

The Canada Project is the culmination of a three-year, $3.4-million project undertaken by the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC), including $900,000 in financial assistance from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). SHHRC funding is primarily devoted to the distribution of the report and communicating its findings. CBoC wrote or commissioned 24 of the 27 studies underpinning the report, while SSHRC research generated the other three studies. It is the first time the two groups have mounted a major collaboration.

"This is the biggest project in our history," says CBoC president and CEO Anne Golden. "We'll also be following on with a project called Can Compete, which will take The Canada Project's seven strategies and look at the obstacles to implementation."

Golden says the reaction to the report has been unprecedented, due to the roll-out strategy of holding three separate launches for the Project's three main volumes (Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary), coupled with her numerous meetings with newspaper boards, government officials and politicians. To date, Golden has met with government DMs at both the federal and provincial levels, and held briefing sessions with members of federal and provincial opposition parties.

For SSHRC, The Canada Project is a major opportunity to provide significant input into the policy realm. Contrary to common perception, many of SSHRC's researchers in the social sciences come from the nation's business and management schools, generating valuable insight into issues of competitiveness, knowledge clusters, cities and management practices. By connecting with the CBoC, SSHRC is hoping to expand its sphere of influence by exploiting a new venue for research dissemination.

"It's kind of an experiment, to use SSHRC's participation as a strategy for connecting the world of research with the world of making better policy," says SSHRC president, Dr Chad Gaffield. "It combines our research expertise and the Conference Board's ability to undertake a public dialogue, mobilizing the research results and getting them into a national discussion."

In addition to SSHRC, 45 companies, associations, organizations and government departments provided support to the project.

For a copy of the report, go to

www.conferenceboard.ca.

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