Article Type: Generic

Canada’s use of tax based incentives for supporting business R&D should be expanded and administered by a new agency to manage their delivery, according to a new report from the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA).

Science minister an enthusiastic supporter

The task of building science policy capacity within government has received a major boost with the launch of a pilot fellowship program that will see 11 post-doctoral fellows and faculty embedded in various federal departments and agencies around Ottawa.

Evidence-based decision making

Universities will once again have access to accurate information about faculty members and researchers with the reinstatement of a key indicator after a four-year absence.

Joint federal-provincial initiative

The federal government and provincial governments have launched an Atlantic Growth Strategy to spur research, innovation and entrepreneurship as well as tackling persistently high unemployment rates.

Prince Edward Island’s bioscience sector is expanding, placing strain on existing lab and incubation capacity, prompting the province’s bio-industry association to request federal funding for a new facility.

Large-scale capacity building

Canada’s drive to gain global competitive advantage in key areas of the economy are getting a massive boost with the awarding of $900 million to 13 large-scale research projects in areas ranging from energy and oceans resources to big data and neuroscience.

End of an era

A global shortage of medical isotopes used for diagnostic imaging could occur later this year when Canada stops production next month. The looming shortfall of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) and technetium-99m (Tc-99m) has prompted discussions between the US government and global suppliers to ensure that supply meets demand until other sources of isotopes come on stream.

Joint Genome Canada-CIHR competition

Researchers required to handle increasingly massive volumes digital information will gain powerful new tools following the completion of 16 new research projects designed to help analyze, interpret and apply biological data.

The federal government must be willing to make substantive policy changes and investments if it wants the forthcoming Innovation Agenda to succeed, concludes the first in a series of papers being issued by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC).

Perennial issue won’t go away

The ability of some of the country’s most successful research networks to extend their impact on Canadian innovation and competitiveness is being severely limited due to an ironclad sunset clause in the program that funds them.