One of the most tumultuous years in recent memory for Canadian S&T is nearly over. What began as a year of great promise and the prospect of a new, coordinated S&T strategy ended in near disarray, as forces both within and beyond the control of government, industry and academia wreaked havoc on even the best laid plans.

The Liberal government’s first full Budget in 19 months will be tabled in a matter of days and it should be a watershed event for those seeking evidence that the promise of an innovation strategy is more than just hot air.

Knowing when and where to begin is perhaps the most challenging aspect of confronting the goal of moving from 15th to 5th in global R&D spending. We’ve spent years diagnosing Canada’s weak spots — gaps in our emerging national system of innovation that require focus and funding.

There’s no doubting that the atmosphere surrounding this year’s run-up to the next Budget is different. There’s a greater sense of urgency than at any time since the dark days of Program Review as Canada rapidly descends from an extended period of prosperity into one of uncertainty with a dizzying array of variables.

The recent meeting of federal and provincial S&T ministers is a milestone of sorts, and not only because it’s the first time they’ve managed to get together since 1992. The real breakthough is the apparent agreement by the federal government to properly consult with the provinces before introducing new S&T programs for which matching provincial support is required.

The aftershocks of the brazen attacks on the United States have yet to be fully felt as that nation’s government and its allies prepare their response to these deplorable acts of terrorism. While time will eventually apply its healing balm to our collective wounds, the scale of the tragic loss of human life still defies complete comprehension.

The National Research Council’s (NRC) successful completion of financing for its new nanotechnology institute marks a dramatic move forward for Canada’s largest research organization. By deftly addressing the political objectives of three levels of government and forging a collaborative agreement with one of Canada’s largest universities, it has secured a level of funding that would have been far more difficult — if not impossible — to attain from federal sources only.

While it’s not official, it seems all but certain that the Innovation White Paper has been split into two so-called agenda documents dealing separately with innovation and skills. The failure of Industry Canada and Human Resources Development Canada to produce a joint work encompassing the economic and social aspects of innovation may seem discouraging, but in the short run it’s good news.

Call it an invasion from the periphery or trickle-down awareness, but there’s growing evidence that the innovation agenda is spreading. Several articles in this issue focus on the attempts, and success, of researchers and businesses outside of the traditional hard-science or central Canadian focus of S&T to obtain funding to accelerate their participation in the knowledge-base economy.

What is the S&T community to make of the strange and convoluted process behind the Innovation White Paper? For a document that’s so important to laying out a strategy for the nation’s economic future, its visibility or lack thereof, is intriguing to say the least.