Editorial - 22-2

These are tense days for the backers of the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP). Despite enthusiastic support for this powerful collaborative research model, there's been little movement on the organizational and funding fronts, threatening to derail the collective efforts of hundreds of Canadians and Californians (see lead story).

Opinions vary on the extent to which the federal government should support the initiative, but it's becoming increasingly evident that without high-level champions, CCSIP could fall by the wayside like so many other promising S&T ventures.

Optimism for CCSIP hit a high last year when the concept was prominently featured in the new S&T Strategy and Ontario provided significant funding for bilateral collaboration on cancer stem cell research (R$, June 18/07). Since then, however, the government has been silent, raising concerns that valuable momentum is being squandered.

CCSIP is by no means dead. A proposal to engage ISTPCanada to deliver the program on the Canadian side is actively being pursued. ISTPCanada has the expertise to drive bilateral collaboration and has a strong industry focus. If CCSIP's California leadership accepts the proposal, things could move quickly.

But federal attention and resources are urgently required to move CCSIP from concept to reality — a scenario made all the more challenging in the current federal political climate. Canada has a wealth of world-class research expertise to bring to the collaboration and much to gain by teaming with California's formidable innovation system. Let's not blow it.