The proposed changes to federal S&T funding and management unveiled in last week’s Economic and Fiscal Update have set off a firestorm of debate. The announcement by Finance minister Jim Flaherty is pitting those who contend that the combination of ideas and concepts are revolutionary with others who welcome them but add that they really don’t represent anything new. In essence both views are correct, if incomplete.
The Tory overhaul of S&T marks a major advancement of S&T policy, with measures to install more collaboration between sectors, greater private sector R&D spending and new investments in research equipment and other infrastructure. Some of the more contentious proposals include the transfer of government lab management to universities, tying new granting council funding to business priorities and the creation of business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence.
Taken in isolation, these measures are not technically new. They have certainly been implemented in other countries and have been sporadically attempted in Canada as well. Taken together, however, they represent a major opportunity to transform the S&T landscape, shaking up existing programs, altering long-standing relationships and creating new challenges in all sectors.
But the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. For the changes to have any` impact, they must be executed quickly, efficiently and with sufficient financial backing. Previous attempts have failed, but if the current government can pull it off, it would represent a major departure from the past. That would be revolutionary.
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