Royal Society developing strategic framework

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has released a draft strategic framework to guide the society between 2012 and 2017 — the first time the 130-year-old organization has undertaken such an exercise. Prepared by Deloitte, the framework will be modified with the input of several task forces now in the field before a final document is submitted at its annual general meeting in Ottawa later this month.

The framework is intended to ensure that the RSC has the organizational structure and resources to execute its mandate, which includes science promotion, advice and recognition of Canadian research excellence. To that end, it will pursue a multi-year funding framework and agreement with the federal government along the lines of national academies in the US, UK and elsewhere, and leverage its existing fellowship and stakeholder base to raise additional funds.

In recent years, RSC has opened regional offices and re-located to new quarters in Ottawa .

"It's good to see the RSC moving ahead. They appear to be gearing up for something more serious," says Paul Dufour, a key player behind the drive to establish the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) and an expert on the history of Canadian science policy. "They're getting more proactive with their profile and in the field of scientific assessments."

One of its key activities is the provision of expert panel assessments on social, economic and environmental issues. RSC currently has three in various states of completion — End-of-Life Decision Making, Early Childhood Development and Sustaining Canada's Marine Biodiversity: Responding to the Challenges Posed by Climate Change, Fisheries, and Aquaculture.

The strategic framework acknowledges that "it will be necessary to strengthen its support and role in the CCA to assist in understanding the key economic, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century".

RSC member academies are unable to access CCA funding which is provided by Industry Canada — a source of some tension between the two organizations — prompting the RSC to seek new sources of revenues and forge its own agreement with the government.

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