Editorial - 22-6

It's just $1.5 million — less than the amount it takes to keep our fighting men and women in Afghanistan fuelled with Tim Horton's coffee. But that shortfall in the budget of the S&T division at Statistics Canada could jeopardize our understanding of how innovation works and what can be done to improve this country's performance.

Behind all good policy is a sound statistical underpinning of relevant data — in this case constantly refreshed indicators for S&T and innovation (STI) — that gauge the inputs and outputs of the innovation process. Canada has been a world leader in developing these indicators but gaps are beginning to emerge due to sunsetting funding that support specific work.

The fractured nature of STI funding speaks volumes about the regard in which these statistics are held at the bureaucratic and political levels. Yet without hard, concrete data, how are policy makers supposed to react to the rapidly evolving world in which we live?

The most obvious gap in the current suite of STI indicators is biotechnology development and usage. This survey has been suspended until further notice due to the closure of a secretariat within Industry Canada.

Which begs the obvious question. Why aren't STI indicators part of StatsCan's base budget and why hasn't Treasury Board seen fit to authorize the necessary funding? Canada leadership in this area is recognized internationally. It's time to ensure that governments, industry and citizens are better equipped statistically to secure their place in the vanguard of the emerging global knowledge economy.