First ever conference aims to connect research and policy communities

October 28-30 in Toronto

Canada's weak science policy capacity and the lack of academic input into the policy making process has prompted a Toronto-based researcher to launch the inaugural 2009 Canadian Science Policy Conference. The event aims to lay the foundation for a virtual institute for science policy research, analyze the main science policy universities in Canada and establish an environment of networking for stakeholders.

The two-day event is packed with more than 50 speakers and 13 panel discussions on topics ranging from the governance of emerging technologies and science policy best practices to stakeholder communications.

The conference is the brainchild of Dr Mehrdad Hariri, who holds a PhD in functional genomics and is a postdoctoral fellow at McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health, working on North-South collaboration in health biotechnology. Along with Jeff Sharom, Hariri also launched Science Canada, a popular blog on science during the last federal election (www.sciencecanada. blog-spot.com). Both pursuits have reinforced his contention that Canada needs a strong science policy to strengthen research linkages and their impact on innovation systems.

"For the past two or three years, science policy and advocacy has been my preoccupation. Science policy in Canada is not as strong as in the US or Europe and we need to bring science issues into the mainstream of Canadian media and society," says Hariri. "I would like to use the US model for Canada in which people from different sectors are involved. There's no infrastructure in Canada like the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)."

Supported by a $25,000 grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and more than $150,000 in sponsorships, the conference is envisioned as an annual or bi-annual event. Canada currently has just two universities with academic units offering training in science policy research — Simon Fraser Univ and the Univ of Quebec at Montreal. That, in turn, impacts the depth of science policy expertise in government, resulting in decision-making that is often ad hoc. Despite the work of associations representing university presidents and faculty, Hariri maintains that a lack of coordination results in the true needs of Canadian researchers not being properly heard or responded to.

"The biggest hurdle is the lack of proper channels of communication (between researchers and policy makers)," says Hariri. "Stakeholders need to come together every year. There's no national magazine for the science enterprise and we do not have a science advisor or body to advise the prime minister directly. There are no think tanks devoted to science policy."

industry to participate

Despite the overwhelmingly academic nature of the conference, Hariri says that its focus is meant to encompass both science and technology.

"I like to see it as an S&T conference and hope to have people there from the tech sector," he says. "We see the science enterprise as starting with basic scientific research and after that is the commercialization or knowledge transfer of science into the market. We need proper investment in basic science and technology and commercialization are part of the impact."

Hariri notes that the conference will feature several industry executives including Peter van der Velden, president and CEO of Lumira Capital (formerly MDS Capital Corp), Mark Lievonen, president of Sanofi Pasteur and Éric Archambault, president of Science-Metrix.

"The first time, it's easier to get academics to conferences. We hope to get more industry and government the next time," he says.

Following the conference, a paper describing the proceedings will be released. Hariri adds that conference organizers may also issue a series of recommendations, although no decisions will be made until after the event.

FMI: www.sciencepolicy.ca

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