Federal Science and Tech Agency to Set Up Prairie Office in Winnipeg
Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 3, 2003 – The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) will open an office in Winnipeg in 2004, Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development and regional Minister for Manitoba, announced today.
“Every year NSERC invests more than $700 million in university research across Canada, yet up to now all its staff have been in Ottawa. The Winnipeg office will be involved in helping the Prairie universities build research capacity and in stimulating innovation in the communities of our region,” said Dr. Pagtakhan, who made the announcement on behalf of Allan Rock, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for NSERC.
“Research and the training of researchers are crucial to making Canada a world leader in innovation,” said Minister Rock. “NSERC’s new Winnipeg office will be an asset for the research and business community and will help build a stronger economy in the Prairies.”
“We will also listen better if we're closer,” added Tom Brzustowski, President of NSERC. “And we'll make sure our Winnipeg staff are sufficiently senior to be able to make decisions and take prompt action locally.”
Similar small offices will eventually be established in Atlantic Canada, Québec, Ontario and British Columbia.
Last year, Prairie researchers received more than 2,800 NSERC grants and scholarships worth a total of $88 million. The universities that will be served by the new office include Brandon University, the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, the University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan, Athabasca University, The King's University College, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.
The establishment of local offices is part of a new “vision” for NSERC. Its traditional work of investing in people, discovery and innovation through national competitions will remain the federal agency's major responsibility, but in addition it will:
- find ways to build the capacity of smaller universities to do excellent research;
- set up a program that will allow community colleges to play a greater role in helping small- and medium-sized businesses succeed in stimulating innovation at the local level;
- work with the provinces to improve science education in primary and secondary schools; and
- develop a framework for “big science” projects.
“Not all the details of the Winnipeg office have been worked out at this point. We will be consulting university people, officials of the governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, business people and others to help us design the set-up that will work best for the Prairies,” said Dr. Brzustowski.
Dr. Pagtakhan will be meeting NSERC-supported researchers from all three Manitoba universities at an event at the University of Manitoba Oct. 14.
NSERC is a key federal agency investing in people, discovery and innovation. The Council supports both basic university research through research grants, and project research through partnerships among universities, governments and the private sector, as well as the advanced training of highly qualified people.
For more information, contact:
Daphne Guerrero
Office of Rey Pagtakhan, Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development and regional minister for Manitoba
Tel.: (204) 983-7096
Danielle Ménard
Project Director – Regional Offices
NSERC
Tel.: (613) 944-5801
E-mail: danielle.menard@nserc.ca
At its meeting in June 2003, Council unanimously endorsed a new vision for NSERC that will see us expanding into new fields and improving the delivery of our traditional services. Read “A New Vision for NSERC,” in the current issue of NSERCContact.
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