Person: Kirsty Duncan

Dr Ingrid J. Pickering

Science minister Kirsty Duncan has announced the appointment of the first woman chair of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), a federal agency funding and supporting advanced research infrastructure. Dr Ingrid J. Pickering will lead the CFI board of directors for a term of three years effective immediately. She replaces Dr Kevin Smith, who served…

NRC president Stewart reappointed for another term

Iain Stewart, the current president of the National Research Council (NRC), has been reappointed for a term of five years. The reappointment – announced by Navdeep Bains, minister for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on June 20 — will allow Stewart to continue to work on the federal agency’s transformation, called the NRC Dialogue,…

Science minister Duncan meets with CRCC for updates

Science minister Kirsty Duncan met with members of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) this June to outline her expectations for the committee created in fall 2017 to harmonize research initiatives among federal granting agencies. Duncan’s office said the meeting was held in Ottawa where she made clear her expectations of the CRCC, how it…

G7 scholars submit recommendations to G7 leaders for policy direction

Scientists and scholars have submitted recommendations to G7 leaders for consideration when they meet June 8-9 for their annual summit in Charlevoix QC. The recommendations are contained in two statements on the “most pressing issues of our times” – the digital future and the global Arctic.

CRCC outlines plans to develop programs for priorities

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) is working to prepare to roll out an initial slate of programs to fulfill their mandate of harmonizing and coordinating research funding disbursed by the three federal research granting councils.

CCA report fuses research and industrial R&D data to expose weak linkages between home-grown S&T and wealth creation

Canadian science and technology and industrial R&D are faced with a growing risk of becoming branch plants of research, innovation and competitiveness for other countries. While not new, this conclusion reached by an expert panel tasked to examine the issue that says the severity and urgency of the situation are increasing due to rapidly evolving global trends, the “start and sell” mentality of many tech entrepreneurs and the ecosystem damage inflicted between 2006 and 2015.

CRCC releases work plan of priorities

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC), a group created last fall by Science minister Kirsty Duncan to harmonize and coordinate the programs and policies of the major granting agencies, has released a work plan that will guide it through its mandate. The committee includes as members the three granting councils — the Social Sciences and…