Editorial - 15-14

The National Research Council’s (NRC) successful completion of financing for its new nanotechnology institute marks a dramatic move forward for Canada’s largest research organization. By deftly addressing the political objectives of three levels of government and forging a collaborative agreement with one of Canada’s largest universities, it has secured a level of funding that would have been far more difficult — if not impossible — to attain from federal sources only.

So it’s not surprising to hear that the NRC is most interested in exploring how such a cost sharing arrangement can be extended to its other institutes. If provincial governments can be sold on the merits of contributing to the funding of national research infrastructure and programs, the NRC has a far better chance of achieving its strategic vision and objectives.

While cost-sharing of national institutes between different levels of government may raise issues of jurisdiction and accountability, it’s hard to blame the NRC for seeking a new funding model. Through the latter half of the 1990s, the federal government has ignored compelling arguments for raising the base funding of the NRC. Ottawa was willing to fund projects that met its political objectives in Quebec or Atlantic Canada, but it refused to provide sufficient money to keep the NRC research engines properly fuelled.

In the face of such political intransigence, the NRC is demonstrating the kind of entrepreneurial acumen that has helped to transform the once staid research organization into a vibrant component of the national system of innovation. Bravo.