Editorial - 25-9

From the perspective of research and S&T, the Conservative government's Speech from the Throne and re-introduced Budget represents a lost opportunity. The failure to boost S&T as a priority and revisit the S&T provisions of the March 22 Budget indicate that innovation policy and its implementation will continue to trail those of our competitors.

It didn't have to be this way. The handful of seemingly unrelated research and innovation measures in the March 22 Budget (R$, March 31/11) received a decidedly unenthusiastic response from key stakeholders, many of whom questioned the government's desire to enact the kind of policies and legislation that would highlight and enhance the transitioning to a knowledge-based economy.

In the weeks since its successful return to power with a majority, the government could have heeded those concerns and articulated a fresh vision for innovation in the throne speech rather than inserting a small section that served as little more than passing reference. That could easily been followed by a Budget that boosted the level of S&T investment, or at the very least explained the rationale for the provisions it did contain.

Instead we remain in waiting mode — waiting for the highly anticipated Digital Economy Strategy, the R&D review and the next iteration of the State of the Nation report. Perhaps the government doesn't appreciate the pace of change occurring globally and the superior efforts of our competitors in stimulating innovation.

The holding pattern and the absence of concrete policies and actions is starting to look like a stalling tactic.