Editorial - 20-20

With this issue, RE$EARCH MONEY completes 20 years of publication. From the first issue on January 21, 1987 to today, we have observed, reported on and attempted to analyze the twists and turns of a remarkable transformation in Canadian research and development. It's been quite a ride.

In the intervening years, Canada has shaken off its reputation as an international laggard and is emerging as a powerhouse of university-based research. Private sector R&D has produced some stunning successes, such as Nortel Networks Corp (then known as Bell Northern Research and Northern Telecom), Research in Motion and BioChem Pharma. And it's somehow appropriate that the first and the current issues both featured articles on Pratt & Whitney Canada, a venerable R&D performer that optimizes the importance of industrial R&D.

From the attempts of the Mulroney government to expand the nation's R&D activity through the build-up of the academic research base under Jean Chrétien, governments have introduced an array of programs and mechanisms to stimulate R&D performance. Statistics show that the efforts have not been overly successful.

The euphoria of the dot com bubble and telecom explosion have given way to the realization that innovation and the R&D that drives are tough work, brutally competitive and must address market demand and customer needs.

Those forces, and how policy makers and R&D performers react to them, will characterize the years ahead. As always, RE$EARCH MONEY will be there to report on events and trends as they emerge.