With this issue, RE$EARCH MONEY completes 20 years of publication. From the first issue on January 21, 1987 to today, we have observed, reported on and attempted to analyze the twists and turns of a remarkable transformation in Canadian research and development.

Three years after the fall of the Parti Quebecois government, research and innovation has finally re-appeared on the province’s political radar screen. The Liberal government of Jean Charest has unveiled an ambitious strategy that is receiving ringing endorsements throughout the S&T community (see lead story).

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.

The Harper government is to be applauded for its politically risky decision to pull the plug on income trusts. As Canada faces increasing competition in the global marketplace, competitiveness and productivity are seen as the great differentiators.

Since his appointment in 2004, Dr Arthur Carty, Canada’s national science advisor, has kept a relatively low profile. While working behind the scenes is part and parcel of providing advice, it nevertheless raised questions about Carty’s impact on S&T policy.

Only a fool would deny that the accelerating pace of technological change presents both huge challenges and opportunities for a country like Canada. To take advantage, globalization in all its manifestations and complexity must be properly understood.

With the inaugural report of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), our understanding of Canada’s S&T strengths has taken a major step forward. Not only does the report take a fresh, multi-faceted approach to the subject, it assembles in one place a wealth of information and informed opinion that provides Industry Canada (its sponsor) with a powerful baseline of information that will be used to formulate a new federal S&T strategy.

Ontario is choosing its targets carefully as it continues to unveil its strategy for increasing the return on research investment. Through the recently created Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), it is launching programs designed to stimulate interaction among the players required to make innovation happen.

Canada is a fortunate nation. Endowed with abundant natural resources, a skilled workforce and geographic proximity to the US, our standard of living is among the world’s highest. We’re also among the most technologically sophisticated on the planet and benefit from a complex yet effective network of collaborative ties with other advanced countries.

The Canadian Council of Academies (CCA) is up and running and armed with its first assignment – an assessment of Canadian S&T within a global context for Industry Canada. The data will feed into the federal government’s formulation of an S&T strategy that has been promised by the end of the year.