Environment Canada (EC) is consolidating its research activities under a newly created science branch and has appointed Dr Brian Gray as its first ADM. Gray comes to the department from Ducks Unlimited Canada under an executive interchange agreement between the two organizations and will assume his new duties August 15, the next scheduled meeting of senior management.

“The reorganization is big news. We’ve never had a science branch in Environment Canada’s 30-year history,” says Philip Enros, EC’s director of science policy. “It represents a more integrated approach and will create more synergy out of the research capacity in the department and position that research capacity to better deliver on the new framework. It’s quite a radical change in terms of how science is managed within Environment Canada or any other department.”

Gray’s initial task will be to define the structure of the new branch along with his executive management council and help determine which activities will officially fall under the branch’s authority. The new science branch will control about $200 million in research activity and likely include all of the department’s major research institutes, technology centres, meteorological research, smaller regional laboratories and the science policy branch (see chart).

Gray has a PhD in wildlife ecology from Mississippi State Univ and a MSc in wildlife management from the Univ of Missouri. He moved to Canada in 1992 to work for Golder Associates in Calgary before joining the Institute for Wetlands and Waterfowl Research (a Duck Unlimited subsidiary) in 1996, holding a number of senior positions including chief biologist, director of information systems and director. He joined Ducks Unlimited Canada in 1999 as chief of conservation programs.

SAMY WATSON LEADS THE CHARGE

The decision to establish a branch solely devoted to research was spearheaded by EC DM Samy Watson, who previously led a reorganization of the science branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Watson was transferred to EC in May 04 and created a working group to establish departmental priorities. The group morphed into the Competitiveness and Environmental Sustainability Framework which set out priorities based on five themes, one of which is S&T.

With the creation of a science branch at EC, there are now two competing models within the science-based departments. EC joins AAFC and Department of Fisheries and Oceans with a centralized model, while Natural Resources Canada, Health Canada and others distribute S&T activities throughout their respective departments.

DRDC NEXT

Next in line for reorganization is Defence R&D Canada, the R&D branch of the Department of National Defence (DND). The process is not yet complete, but the repositioning will contain three elements — a re-vamping of mission critical science along core competencies, the introduction of more focused S&T support for the Canadian forces and a new outreach and communications strategy.

“The broad theme in government these days is to make sure R&D investments translate into results. That means moving the R&D base into an S&T base for a more effective translation of results,” says Dr Robert Walker, DND’s acting ADM S&T. “We want to become a more full service S&T organization to make sure the knowledge base through R&D is effectively exploited.

DRDC’s reorganization should be complete by the end of the year.

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