Editorial - 22-12

An alarming new report on how successive governments have handled the intellectual property needs of federal laboratories should be a call to arms for major changes in policy or legislation. Sadly, it appears that the Conservative administration is about as likely to affect meaningful change as the Liberals before them. Outdated policies and a reluctance to go the US legislative route mean that the benefits stemming from the work of government scientists is unlikely to be fully realized any time soon.

The one organization dedicated to technology transfer in government — Federal Partners in Technology Transfer — is underfunded and largely unknown outside of a small circle of participants. Indeed, tech transfer across government is starved for funding, uncoordinated and largely left to its own devices.

How did this sorry state of affairs come to pass? It appears to be a byproduct of the general lack of attention and resources paid to government science – long the wobbly third leg of the innovation stool. The neglect is particularly ironic given the current government's emphasis on collaboration across sectors.

The report calls for several changes including a central authority for tech transfer and S&T collaboration, an updating of policy to reflect 21st Century reality and a system of rewards and incentives to encourage scientists and their departments to actively pursue knowledge transfer for economic and social gain.

The report's sponsor — Industry Canada — appears to have accepted the report and shelved it. Government S&T deserves far better.