NSERC’s First Regional Office Officially Open for Business

“By opening this regional office, NSERC is well-placed to achieve its objectives of further strengthening Atlantic Canada’s research capacity and thus helping the region to build a more innovative and sustainable economy,” said Minister Emerson.

“Today’s announcement is excellent news for the people of Atlantic Canada. It marks an important step toward successful research and innovation in this region,” said Minister Scott. “Through this initiative, NSERC will help eliminate obstacles now faced by Atlantic Canada’s research community.”

“NSERC’s strategy of establishing regional offices across the country is right in line with our government’s overall economic plan,” said Minister Bradshaw. “I congratulate NSERC for their foresight.”

“It gives us great pleasure to be opening NSERC’s very first regional office,” added Dr. Tom Brzustowski, President of NSERC. “This new Atlantic Regional Office will help NSERC keep in closer touch with its clients’ needs, build stronger ties with local communities, and facilitate access to NSERC programs. In future, toward this same goal of building closer ties with local communities and institutions of higher learning, we will be opening more regional offices across Canada.”

“One of our objectives will be to promote science and engineering in this region,” said Dr. Yves Gagnon, who heads the new office. “We want to celebrate the successes achieved by researchers and innovators at universities, colleges, and private firms throughout Eastern Canada. And we also want to listen to their concerns and be attentive to their needs.”

Though NSERC invests over $850 million each year in research at universities throughout Canada, until now, all of its employees worked in Ottawa. In Atlantic Canada, NSERC currently supports the work of more than 900 researchers and 600 students at 12 different universities. This represents a total investment of more than $42 million per year.

Mandate of the Atlantic Regional Office

In addition to supporting NSERC’s main responsibilities, which consist in investing in people, discovery, and innovation through national competitions, the Atlantic Regional Office will have the following mandate:

• to maintain an NSERC presence in the region so as to better understand the needs of its research community and to help develop new projects and initiatives;
• to facilitate the participation of researchers from Atlantic Canada in NSERC’s programs and to help establish collaborative relationships and partnerships that will stimulate research and innovation;
• to work together with other stakeholders to promote research, innovation, and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

NSERC’s new Atlantic Regional Office is located at 55 Crowley Farm Road, Moncton, New Brunswick. Dr. Gagnon and his team can be reached at (506) 854-8154.

Science and Engineering Research Canada (also known by its legal name “Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada” as well as the acronym NSERC) is a key federal agency investing in people, discovery and innovation. It supports both basic university research through research grants, and project research through partnerships among postsecondary institutions, government and the private sector, as well as the advanced training of highly qualified people.

For more information, contact:

Martine Perreault
Media and Public Affairs Officer
Communications Division
NSERC
Tel.: (613) 995-8824
E-mail: martine.perreault@nserc.ca

Catherine Vardy
Public Affairs Coordinator
Atlantic Regional Office
NSERC
Tel.: (506) 854-9423
E-mail: catherine.vardy@nserc.ca

Stéphanie Leblanc
Office of the Honourable David L. Emerson
Minister of Industry
Tel.: (613) 995-9001

Andrew Holland
Office of the Honourable Andy Scott
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Tel.: (506) 452-3516