Health Canada becomes first department to create position of chief scientist with appointment of Dr Kevin Keough

Health Canada has taken the lead in implementing a key plank of the 1999 SAGE report with the appointment of Dr Kevin Keough as its chief scientist. Keough, Memorial Univ's VP research and international relations, will take up the newly created post April 2 by taking a three-year executive interchange that could stretch to five years. He will maintain his laboratory at Memorial, but the bulk of his time will be devoted to strengthening the resources and strategic direction of the department's scientific activities to ensure that Health Canada generates and has access to the best science possible.

Keough will also be provided with a $5 -million fund to assist in the implementation of new internal activities and external collaborations, and there's the expectation that the fund will grow substantially over time. He's confident that his appointment, combined with funding to execute new ideas, indicates a major change in the government's attitude to in-house science capacity.

"The government has taken a very significant interest in science and the impact of what they do. This is one model that they might use and it's the first example of it being used in a department," he says. "Restructuring under Program Review and the consequences of that may have made a difference in how they look at this. Most of my work will likely be internal, but it could also involve the creation of networks and partnerships with the provinces, research institutions and universities."

The Science Advice for Government Effectiveness (SAGE) report was produced by a sub-committee of the Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA) chaired by Keough. The report's recommendation for a chief scientist to champion the role of science in the health department was adopted last year by Health Canada's Science Advisory Board, chaired by Dr Roberta Bondar. The SAGE report also led to the publication of the Framework for Science and Technology Advice which accepted the notion of departmental science advisors.

REPORTS TO NEW DM

Keough's appointment comes at a time of great change at Health Canada, with a number of critical issues requiring progressive, coherent science policy, substantial in-house expertise and access to world class, leading-edge science. Keough will report to the department's new DM - Ian Green - and by extension to the minister himself. (Green was formerly a deputy secretary to the Cabinet (operations) at the Privy Council Office, replacing David Dodge effective January 8/01).

Keough will also provide direction to the department's laboratory directors, but he acknowledges that he first has to get up to speed on the recent restructuring that has taken place at Health Canada, and begin to define goals and objectives for his position.

NOT EVERYONE IMPRESSED WITH NEW POSITION

Opinion seems split of whether the creation of a chief scientist's position will have a major impact on the science policy direction of the department. A senior federal science policy official says Keough comes to the job with strong credentials and considerable experience in the area of science policy. He asserts that with a decentralized structure of government decision-making now in place, the creation of such a position reflects the real potential for meaningful change.

"The appointment of Keough certainly gives Health Canada a leg up in terms of implementing the SAGE report and the principles government has accepted. I'm sure he will pursue the job with some vigor," says the official. "This is a chief scientist at the departmental level with access to the highest levels where decisions are taken, so he can have a direct impact and influence."

While Keough is highly respected in science policy circles, others are not convinced that his appointment signals a break from the past in which science policy has often been overlooked or ignored at the federal level. Government has a long history of appointing science advisors, but those positions were largely eliminated during Program Review in the mid-1990s. Several departments - notably Health Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans - have since become entangled in serious problems when the disconnect between policy and regulation spilled over into crises.

"It (Keough's appointment) is an interesting bit of news but science advisors come and go. You still need a mandate, someone asking the questions and access," says Dr John de la Mothe, a professor of science policy at the Univ of Ottawa. "We have so many advisory webs that we don't know what we're advising on any more. This government is very centralized and there's very little diversity across departments on how you define issues. Issues are determined by the PCO (Privy Council Office). In science policy, very often regional interests override national interests."

de la Mothe says that Canada had a long history of creating science policy advisors up until the mid-1990s when nearly all were eliminated by cuts associated with Program Review. He contends that in general, government has little appetite for advice or external evaluation. He adds that while the various advisory bodies now in place give the "illusion of consultation and inclusion", the jury is still out on whether they're actually having a significant impact on policy and regulation.

A biochemist and biophysical chemist, Keough comes to Health Canada after a 28-year-career as a researcher at Memorial Univ. He will continue to maintain a laboratory there with ongoing support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation. His current research interests include molecular organization and function of lung surfactant and membranes, and liposomes as carriers for vaccines.

Keough is confident that Health Canada and the government are serious about improving health science, policy and regulation, and that the chief scientist can make a difference.

"The new position is not full-time, but it is if we want to accomplish what we need to get done," he asserts. "I plan to be a cham-pion of science for the department, and I would like to see new investment in equipment and a renewal and reinvigoration of people. I assume the federal government will reinvest internally as well as externally, and in fact this has already started."

While Health Canada is the first department to create a chief scientist position Keough expects it won't be the last. He says that several other departments are also looking at the model, but he does not anticipate seeing the creation of a similar position on a government-wide level.

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