President's Insight

An S&T Strategy For Canada's Future

by NRC President, Pierre Coulombe

In May 2007, the Government of Canada announced a new federal S&T Strategy – Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage. This far reaching Strategy defines a 10-year national agenda for Canadian S&T across all sectors. It aims to increase our nation's entrepreneurial, knowledge and people advantages as keys to our future economic growth and success. 

Its major commitments include building a dynamic and competitive business environment, strategically focusing research in areas of national interest, and growing Canada's base of knowledge workers. These are critical to making Canada an S&T world leader and realizing the promise of S&T for industry and communities.  

As the federal government's primary R&D and innovation resource, the National Research Council (NRC) is committed to this Strategy. We will devote our people, programs, S&T infrastructure and other assets to its success both directly and in partnership with other key players from the private, academic and public sectors. 

The Strategy itself mentions how some of NRC's capacities will add value in the coming years. For example, it notes NRC's strategic commitment to cutting-edge research aimed at national challenges in health, the environment, clean energy and other fields. It highlights how NRC's industrial research assistance supports the diffusion of S&T to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) nationwide. And it touches on the role of NRC technology clusters in building vital R&D partnerships with all sectors. Such efforts help accelerate the commercialization of new technologies produced by SMEs and nurture the growth of regional S&T capacity in key sectors and industries across Canada.

The NRC business strategy we developed last summer outlines several other ways NRC can support the new federal S&T Strategy. They build on our role to provide integrated S&T solutions in areas of critical importance to this country and to Canadian industry. In delivering these solutions, we will contribute to the economic viability of communities and to the global competitiveness of industry in key sectors. And we will strengthen Canada's innovation system and help meet national priorities in health and wellness, sustainable energy and the environment. 

Over the past year alone, NRC has launched a national R&D initiative in bioproducts and started the ground work for a second initiative in fuel cells and hydrogen R&D to be launched in 2008. We have also moved forward on creating targeted R&D and innovation support strategies for Canadian industries in the aerospace, agriculture, chemicals, automotive, bio-pharma, information & communications, electronic instrumentation, manufacturing and advanced materials sectors.

To deliver on these strategic commitments to industry and to Canada, NRC is drawing on its many strengths - its talented and dedicated people; national R&D infrastructure; research institutes; industry partnership facilities; Canada's largest scientific and technical information collection; its industrial research assistance strengths; and its regional, national and international partnerships and networks.

The new federal S&T Strategy provides a renewed focus on science and innovation as cornerstones of Canadian prosperity and social well-being. As NRC enters its tenth decade, its original mandate - to undertake, assist and promote scientific and industrial research in different fields of importance to Canada – remains an important, relevant and vital asset to the future of Canadian S&T. 

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