Review of federally supported fundamental science

The Office of Research Services has received the following information which we are forwarding to our e-mail list members:

As many of you are aware the Government of Canada initiated a complete review of federally supported fundamental science last summer. The review assessed the program machinery that is currently in place to support science and scientists in Canada. The scope of the review included the three granting councils along with certain federally funded organizations such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The chair of this committee was Dr. David Naylor, former president of the University of Toronto.

This morning the review was released and you can read it in its entirety here: http://www.sciencereview.ca/eic/site/059.nsf/eng/home

Some of the recommendations from the report include:

· Legislation to create an independent National Advisory Council on Research and Innovation

· Wide-ranging improvement to oversight and governance of the four agencies, including the appointment of a coordinating board chaired by the Chief Science Advisor

· Significant reinvestment (cumulative base increase from $3.5 billion to $4.8 billion):

o Investigator-led research operating grants (the highest priority)

o Enhanced personnel supports for researchers and trainees at different career stages

o Targeted spending on infrastructure-related operating costs for small equipment and Big Science facilities; and

o Enhancement of the environment for science and scholarship by improved coverage of the institutional costs of research

Research Grants Assistant | Office of Research Services (ORS)
Simon Fraser University | Discovery 2, Room 230
8888 University Dr., Burnaby, B.C. V5A1G6
Mike. 778.854.6784 | Kristina. 778.123.4567 | sfu.ca/ors