Editorial - 27-9

The government's re-engineering of the federal research enterprise is finally bearing fruit. First the National Research Council (NRC) and now Genome Canada are rolling out new programs that reflect the new emphasis on industry-relevant R&D (see pages 1 and 3). The quest to create new jobs, boost economic growth and incent industry to conduct more R&D are the aims of the new thinking, which will hopefully be reflected in the updated S&T strategy now under development.

The transition has not been an easy one. Entrenched attitudes and the unproven nature of many of the new initiatives, combined with the government's obsession with secrecy, budget cuts and the low esteem in which it holds environmental research, have combined to create an unprecedented backlash. A "Death of Evidence" protest, on-line campaigns and a general sense of unease within the S&T community are not exactly harbingers of smooth sailing ahead.

The latest State of the Nation report from the Science,Technology and Innovation Council shows that weak business R&D is now accompanied by serious slippage in Canada's vaunted spending on R&D in higher education. And a forthcoming report on business innovation from the Council of Canadian Academies will likely contain more sobering news.

But will the new programs be effective? Only time will tell as the NRC, Genome Canada, the granting councils and other S&T entities roll out their re-engineered offerings. Given the uncertain future of the oil sands as a generator of future wealth, there's a lot riding on these new innovation policies.