Management

The GHI represents a new way of managing research at the NRC, a new way of funding and conducting research, and a new way of selecting and ensuring accountability for research programs at the NRC. This section provides information on how the GHI is managed, including the goals and management system, the program proposal review and selection process, information on GHI program budgets and research outputs, information on GHI research collaborators, and information on GHI annual general meetings.

The NRC Genomics and Health Initiative is managed through a Co-ordination Office, comprised of a manager, a project management specialist and an administrative assistant. The manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the GHI and the position reports to the NRC Biotechnology Forum. The Forum is a committee comprised of the Director Generals of all NRC Institutes with activities related to Biotechnology. An effective accounting procedure has been established based upon the SAP – Sigma Project Systems Module at NRC.

Co-ordination of the research program is facilitated through a GHI Steering Committee comprised of the GHI Program Drivers and scientific representatives from each Institute. One of the many roles of this committee is the organization of an Annual General Meeting that includes the participation of the external scientific community. The 2001 AGM in Winnipeg and the 2002 AGM in Ottawa attracted in excess of 200 attendees from the NRC, industry, other federal government departments, and universities.