Two NCEs with social sciences themes cut from New Initiatives pilot program

EDGE and CDRN vow to continue

Two more Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) focused on the social sciences are being axed amidst speculation that a pilot program designed to ease access of social sciences research to NCE funding will not be renewed. The decision to cancel the two pilot networks — the Canadian Design Research Network (CDRN) and the Emerging Dynamic Global Economies (EDGE) Network — preceded the decision to end funding for the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network (CLLRNet), the only social sciences-themed NCE within the main NCE program (R$, November 12/07).

The two networks failed to pass their two-year mid-term review and will no longer receive NCE funding as of March 31/08. The review panel that examined the five New Initiatives NCEs (NI-NCE) relayed its recommendations to the NCE in August but the results have still not been made public.

The three NI-NCEs that passed the review process and qualify for another two years of funding are the Canadian Obesity Network, the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE) and Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network (PREVNet).

"We were shocked and disappointed. We thought the decision was very short-sighted," says EDGE director Dr Debra Steger. "But how do we fight this thing. There's no appeals process, nothing."

When the NI-NCE program was launched in 2005 as a pilot initiative, one of its major policy objectives was to encourage participation in the NCE program by the social sciences. Its aim was to provide seed funding for researchers to develop networking relationships and secure collaborative partners before applying to become a full-fledged NCE. The five successful NI-NCEs received with $400,000 a year in funding with the potential for four years if they passed a mid-term review. The review technically occurred after two years.

little time to develop network

But officials at both EDGE and CDRN say that the period under scrutiny was actually much shorter due to the time it took to officially announce the Networks and negotiate the release of funds. They also question the criteria used to review Networks, arguing that the social sciences have different outputs than those in the areas of the natural sciences or health and therefore require different metrics to gauge performance.

"To expect social sciences networks to be up and running with paying partners and functioning training programs in 15 months is ridiculous and self-defeating," says Steger. "It takes time to foster a new culture of collaboration and we were doing it. In the social sciences, things work differently. We need to develop collaborative cultures."

Dr Douglas MacLeod, CDRN's co-network director and executive officer agrees, adding that the NCE needs to do more work on how the NI program is managed.

"The new networks are being driven by agendas that the NCE program was not set up to do, like commercialization," he says.

Steger says precious time was also allocated to applying for another NCE pilot — the International Partnerships Initiative. EDGE was unsuccessful.

Both EDGE and CDRN are fresh start-ups with no pre-existing networking functions to build upon. They focused on relatively new areas of research that are considered to be critical to Canada's future economic competitiveness.

In spite of the disappointment with the mid-term review decision, both Networks are supportive of the NI-NCE pilot. CDRN and EDGE assembled an extensive group of collaborators who officials say are pleased with the progress to date and willing to continue under new arrangements. Officials from both Networks say they plan to seek new sources of funding and collaboration to continue their research although no final decisions have been made.

"The NI program has a lot of value. It's the training wheels for the main networks," says MacLeod. "There's still clearly a need for design and design research in Canada. Our membership was very happy with the Network ... Our board agrees we should seek other funding. We have a lot of irons in the fire."

"We have five projects that have legs. The network will continue and the NCE funding helped a great deal to get things going," says Steger. "We're working with key institutional partners. It's early days but we may have found an institutional home for the network … Private sector think tanks understand the issues – the federal government less so. Its participation has been less forthcoming than we had hoped."

Leading-edge research

The decision to end funding for CDRN and EDGE calls into question Canada's ability to build critical mass in two areas of research considered critical to future prosperity and competitiveness.

Based at the Univ of Ottawa, EDGE was launched in 2005 to examine the rapidly evolving global business environment with an emphasis on emerging economies such as India, China, Russia and Brazil. The Network is multidisciplinary and designed to generate research for use in the policy environment while raising the awareness of key issues that must be addressed from a Canadian perspective.

"There aren't many research institutes or think tanks looking at new and emerging economies," says Steger. "This Network clearly deals with issues of great significance to Canada."

EDGE counts 21 universities, 11 industries and 37 government departments, agencies and other entities as partners. Research is conducted around the themes of Energy/Environment, Human Rights/Rule of Law, Information Technologies/Intellectual Property and Trade and Investment/Competitiveness. Last week, EDGE teamed with the AUTO 21 NCE to stage a seminar on China, India and the Canadian auto industry.

CDRN has an equally ambitious research mandate to examine the role design plays in the development of new tools for visualization and fabrication, its contribution to environmental sustainability and improvements in building and construction techniques. The Network includes 16 universities, 12 industries and 17 government departments, agencies and other institutions.

Other research areas being pursued by CDRN's multidisciplinary research teams include advanced design technologies, interactive technologies and visual analytics.

Last month, a report co-authored by MacLeod called for Canada to develop a national design strategy to assist in improving productivity, innovation and sustainability.

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