On May 17, the Government of Canada released its new science and technology strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage, to strengthen Canada's economy and improve the quality of life of Canadians. The three agencies that we lead - the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) - are committed to strengthening our efforts to address the knowledge, people, and entrepreneurial advantages identified in the new Strategy.
The S&T Strategy commits the Government of Canada to maintaining Canada's G-7 leadership in public sector R&D performance. Canada already has a high reputation for research excellence in a number of areas. This new Strategy builds on existing strengths, focusing efforts in key areas where Canada can achieve global excellence, to make a real impact on the lives of Canadians and in the marketplace. The government remains committed to supporting excellence in research and in the development of talent in all disciplines. Indeed, the new S&T Strategy underlines the value of peer review as a means of ensuring excellence, transparency and fairness.
The three agencies will work together to continue to build on that excellence so that Canada can secure its position in the world as a leader in research outcomes for the benefit of Canadians. In that context, we have already taken steps to strengthen our governance and accountability mechanisms, and to better integrate our programs and services.
For Canada to be successful, we must excel both in the generation of new knowledge and in capturing the full economic, social, cultural and health benefits of that knowledge for Canadians. In moving forward, our three Agencies will continue to work closely with the research community, governments and industry to look at new and better ways of delivering on the promise of research and the policy commitments in the new S&T Strategy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Alan Bernstein, President, CIHR
Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President, NSERC
Dr. Chad Gaffield, President, SSHRC
