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The Quebec government is planning to create a series of new mechanisms designed to maximize the impact of initiatives contained in its new science and innovation policy, which was released earlier this year (R$, February 21/01).

Inconsistencies and problems remain

A three-year effort to improve the delivery and consistency of Canada’s flagship R&D tax incentive program appears to be bearing fruit, according to a recent survey conducted by CATA Alliance.

RFI going ahead anyway

The lease on Canada’s primary research network expires next July, yet CANARIE Inc has still received no commitment from the federal government on funding to replace the university-based intranet.

The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) is seeking significant new funding to parlay its new objective of becoming a national facilitator of technological innovation for small business into reality.

Lobbying to intensify later this summer

The drive to create an independent national science organization in Canada has cleared another major hurdle with the pending release of a draft document outlining its proposed structure, mission and key characteristics.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has unveiled a host of bold and controversial changes to the way it supports research with the release of details on how it plans to spend $100 million over five years on Initiatives on the New Economy (INE).

CANARIE Inc hopes to convince the federal government to contribute about $10 million in annual funding to kick start the creation of a new kind of R&D program – one that could become a new model for financing Canadian television content in an interactive and broadband world.

The $300-million Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) is finally accepting proposals one year after it was announced with great fanfare as a key component of the $700-million Atlantic Investment Partnership program.

Genome Canada has signed its first international agreement with the Swedish Karolinska Institutet Center for Gen-omics and Bioinformatitcs, capitalizing on strong existing ties and previous efforts to strengthen interaction in genomics research between the two countries.

A report on Canadian innovation by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (S&T) calls for unspecified increases to several key federal S&T support programs and agencies, revives the call for a minister of science and levels criticism at the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).