Determining the centre of decision-making power for science and technology initiatives spurs growing debate in Ottawa

Demand for new innovation-related spending is sparking debate over the central role apparently assumed by the Finance department in the process of selecting and promoting new science and technology (S&T) initiatives. Some officials and observers contend that a shift in policy-making authority towards Finance is more illusory than real, while others insist that such a shift is indeed a reality, with Martin and DM Kevin Lynch leading the charge. Yet another camp argues that Finance has maintained a firm grasp on S&T policy since the mid-1990s and the days of Program Review, when the emphasis on fiscal control and use of the Budget process to coordinate S&T strategy helped to consolidate the power of the department.

Enriching the environment of speculation is the change in ministers at the Industry department - the place where many contend the push for a comprehensive innovation strategy first emerged. With John Manley now charged with overseeing foreign affairs and international trade issues, Industry is now regrouping under Brian Tobin, whose reputation has been built largely on his championing of Atlantic Canada.

The diffusion of innovation policy throughout the federal government over the past three years has been nothing short of remarkable. Starting slowly with the announcement of radically new and targeted programs like the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the pace with which it has spread has accelerated in recent months, climaxing in the recent series of speeches and economic statements by Finance minister Paul Martin.

New arms-length agencies, increased spending through the granting councils and big science infrastructure projects such as the Canadian Light Source have helped entrench a strategy and mindset positioning innovation systems as key pillars upon which the future of Canadian prosperity and stability depend.

POLICY SHIFT QUESTIONED

But how influential has the Finance department been in setting the new course upon which Canada is steering? Three distinct schools of thought appear to have emerged on the subject. Those who don't buy the policy shift theory say that Finance has always been one of several stops in Ottawa where any serious proposal must visit if it wants to penetrate and affect the decision-making process. They say that one of Finance's primary roles is to provide a challenge function to the proposal's backer before it can move towards full development, costing and Cabinet consideration.

As for Finance's heightened profile in the push for a Canadian innovation system, the same group contends that the vocabulary of innovation first heard at Industry Canada has merely spread to Finance, with Martin, Lynch (formerly DM with Industry Canada) and the department's small policy shop working as the change agents behind the heightened visibility.

POWER STRUGGLE CITED

A second school of thought argues that Finance has played a central policy-making role since the days of budget constraints stemming from Program Review. Before then, the Privy Council Office (PCO) exercised a greater degree of influence than is evident today, although the pendulum appears to be swinging back. It's this group that sees a real battle for control of S&T and innovation policy that has taken on some urgency now that the normal Budget process has been abandoned this year.

The government has made commitments to increase spending on science, research and development both before and after the recent election, and must now work to ensure that they are developed and implemented. As ministers for the various science-based departments bring forward proposals, they will be dealt with and likely funded before the next Budget, signaling an opportunity for PCO and Industry Canada to reassert their former decision-making clout.

Adding fuel to this line of argument is the arrival of Tobin at the Industry department. Backed with the support of the Prime Minister - who's also bought into the innovation strategy - many are expecting the former Newfoundland premier to embrace innovation and the spending authority that goes with it. Much more will be known about Tobin's strategy at Industry Canada once he settles into the portfolio, and when the department's White Paper on innovation is released later this spring.

But reclaiming lost influence at the Industry department may prove difficult, given the historical distrust among the line S&T departments over the influence over policy approval Industry once wielded, and still does to a certain extent. That resentment ultimately benefitted the emergence of Finance as the new power broker under the leadership of Martin and Lynch, as departments placed more emphasis on bending the ears of Finance officials than in the past.

DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION ACCELERATING

The third line of thinking on the shifting sands of innovation policy accepts many of the conclusions of the other two camps, but emphasizes the dramatic changes it has already wrought on government. Approaching the subject from a longer-term perspective, its backers see the increasing influence of innovation policy everywhere in government, likening the change to a revolution in which government has emerged as one of several key players.

From this perspective, the issue of a power struggle is less relevant than the importance of having a wider buy-in to innovation policy, and a micro-economic approach to building a knowledge-based economy. Having two of the most powerful government departments on the same side can only foster increased innovation in Canada, provided the appropriate measures are brought forward and adopted.

"It's a revolution and there's a whole new set of tools being used," asserts one observer. "There's been a change from a plumber's model to a collaborative or partnership model. People throughout government are beginning to act as change agents."

The meetings currently underway at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland may provide more fuel to the debate. Both Brian Tobin and Paul Martin are scheduled to give presentations emphasizing the importance of innovation and Canada's emerging cluster strategy, which may help to encourage the kind of horizontal coordination considered essential to implement an effective and workable innovation strategy.

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