Ontario steps up to save the Experimental Lakes Area

This morning the Ontario government announced it will provide financial support to ensure the Environmental lakes Area is sustained for "long term operations".

The Experimental Lakes Area, which had continuous data on 58 protected lakes since the 60s, was one of several research funds cut in the federal budgets of 2012 (previously on this blog). The Area was previously funded through the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The Globe & Mail reports the exact nature of the funding commitment remains unclear.

CBC story is here, quoting Ontario Premier Wynne saying: " I don't believe that either provincially, regionally, or nationally and internationally we can afford to let it go." (Hear hear!)

Learn more about the Experimental Lakes Area  on their site.

Enjoy Rick Mercer's rant about the original cuts here. "In the world of science, they are rock stars! ... [ELA scientists] up there living in tents and shacks, with their big bushy bears, eating mung beans out of mason jars, trying to figure out what different chemicals will do to our drinking water...". :)

Watch Higgs weep during announcement at CERN

The UK telegraph has this lovely video, showing the announcement of the Higgs Boson particle at CERN in Switzerland early today.

Despite the many attempts of UVIC phsyics grad students, I don't fully understand it. But it is always  moving to see such great leaps in scientific understanding, and the enthusiasm of those involved in world class research.

Congrats to everyone involved! And remember today when you think of the importance of research.

The long reach of Budget 2012, and it's impact on Canadian research

Is there an aspect of Canadian research that is not impacted by the 2012 federal budget?

 

As implementation of the 2012 Federal budget begins, researchers across the country are raising the alarm about resulting cuts to a variety of research programs in Canada. Marine research, climate research, archaeology, archives, and the fund for purchasing scientific equipment are all subject to cuts. 

Researchers are calling the cuts a disaster for Canadian Science

Over the past few weeks I have attempted to collect information on cuts to research programs resulting from the 2012 federal budget. What follows is what I have found – please add to the list, if you know of more.

ARCTIC RESEARCH
37 northern research facilities have been cut due to cuts to the federal science research funding agency, NSERC. This article discusses cuts to arctic research, notably Kluane research station.

Ontario’s Experimental Lakes Area, famous work that removed phosphates from cleaners, will also face cuts.

Some scientists say budget cuts are causing dispersal of Canada's ice core library, but the government is contesting this.

[In case you, like me, are unaware of the ice cores, here is a description from the article:
The collection of ice-cores was drilled from ice caps and ice fields throughout the Canadian Arctic. It comprises more than 1,000 metres of ice cylinders documenting thousands of years of climate history. Most of the cores contain ice dating back to the end of the last glaciation, about 12,000 years ago, but some may contain ice up to 80,000 years old. The longest of the cores, extracted from the Agassiz ice cap on Ellesmere Island, is longer than 330 metres.

Cores are important sources of data on past climate change, because they can contain dust, gas bubbles and chemical isotopes that give clues as to atmospheric and temperature conditions when the ice was laid down. The resolution of the information is often sharper than that in other proxies, such as ocean sediments.]

I have heard from faculty that the ice cores are valued world wide, and cost a hefty amount to collect and set up storage -- money that will be wasted if they are indeed lost to budget cuts.

FUNDING FOR EQUIPMENT

I’ve also heard from people in the sciences that the NSERC fund Canadian scientists in universities use to purchase their equipment will end in one year -- meaning that right across the country, all labs will have to make due with whatever they have now and can obtain in the next twelve months.One casualty of this cut is the Neutron Beam Centre at the Chalk River Nuclear Plant and another is Canadian meteor research.

BAMFIELD RESEARCH STATION

Bamfield's world renowned marine research centre (near Tofino) is also facing drastic cuts. The Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Association (PacMARA) blog has attempted to catalogue cuts that will impact marine research, but says they are “surely incomplete”.

ARCHAEOLOGY

Parks Canada cuts are described as “draconian” by the Canadian Archaeological Association because of their on archaeological research. Archaeologist and blogger Tim Rast has catalogued cuts to archaeology here. In many cases, regional labs will see their artefacts transferred to central storage in Ottawa.

ARCHIVES

The sciences are not the only researchers feeling the pinch in this budget.

You may have heard archivists speaking out about cuts to an archival program that ensures support to small community archives, and development of online access to archives. UVIC’s archivist, Lara Wilson, joined an “Ottawa trek” of archivists modeled on Canada’s historic “On to Ottawa Trek”. The campaign, and the reasons our archives are important to more than historians, are featured in this CBC radio story. One estimate says the cuts could close 800 of Canada's smaller archives.

CAUT’s RESPONSE

CAUT has harshly criticised cuts to research in the recent federal budget, noting cuts to funds that make it possible for professors to take research time. CAUT raises concerns about government interference in research areas, funding “bricks and mortar” while cutting the programs that fund the use for these facilities. They also state they were told to “shut up” by the policy advisor to Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, when they met to raise their concerns.

Start up visa program linked to research and innovation

Policy Monitor is reporting that changes to federal immigration policy are being considered. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced they are consulting with industry about a proposal to increase immigration targeting at business innovation and research.

This language echoes the priorities in the 2012 federal budget, and previous changes to immigration aimed at graduate students.

Hopefully Canada isn't losing innovators with the decision to have some applicants on wait lists start their immigration application over again.

Canadian Medical Association weighs in on CIHR and other research cuts

The devil is in the details, and a great summary of concerns about research funding has been provided in today's Canadian Medical Association journal.

I have quoted from the article below any sections directly related to resaerch funding not reported in my previous post on the budget, but I htink the entire article is worth a read for those interested in details of how budget policies relate to health and health research.

CIHR cuts are a shift in funds to "targetted research"

 And in several cases, a departmental or agency cut is offset by an injection of new funds for a targeted purpose, so the effect is often a wash. For example, while the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) budget will be reduced $15 million in 2012/13 as a result of the spending review exercise, the granting council received $15 million per year to support its Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41204.html and www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.109-4161). 

Cuts to NSERC, SSHRC, are also a shift of funds to increased support for "industry-academic research partnership initiatives"

As with CIHR, the spending review exercise resulted in a $15 million cut to the budget of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) in 2012/13, and an additional $15 million in the following fiscal year. The budget of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) was cut $7 million for 2012/13 and another $7 million the following year. But the 2012/13 cuts are offset by the provision of $37 million annually ($15 million to CIHR, $15 million to NSERC and $7 million to SSHRC) in “support of industry-academic research partnership initiatives.” The staggered cuts could result in a serious hit to granting councils base budgets in 2013/14 but Treasury Board and Finance officials, who speak on condition of anonymity during budget background briefings, indicated that the expectations are that the bolstered funding for industry-academic partnerships will be repeated in next year’s federal budget, so that council budgets will continue to remain at roughly $1 billion apiece for CIHR and NSERC, and about $651 million for SSHRC. “The net effect is that overall council funding will be unchanged,” one Finance official stressed. That’s based, though on the presumption of an increase for 2013/14. About 25% of the medical and natural sciences budgets, and 45% of the social sciences budget, represents monies administered by the councils on behalf of the government for special initiatives, such as one to cover the indirect costs of research.

and if that sank your spirits, you may be cheered to know there is new funding for depression research:

$5.2 million will be provided to support the creation of a Canadian Depression Research and Intervention Network by the Mood Disorders Society of Canada and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It will connect “over 80 of Canada’s brightest depression researchers from across the country. Particular focus will be on suicide prevention and identifying and treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Funding provided in the budget will serve as a catalyst for private and public sector investment.”

Devils in the details on the controversial change of NRC to a more industry-related body.

The National Research Council will continue to be restructured as a toolbox for industry, receiving an additional $67 million this year to support its “refocusing on business-led, industry-relevant research.” The council will also see its Industrial Research Assistance Program contributions budget, which provides extramural grants to businesses to develop products, double to $220 million per year. The combined increases will hike the National Research Council’s overall budget to $700.5 million in 2012/13.

and finally: 

 $12 million per year will be set aside to make the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program “permanent.” In the original competition to create such networks, the four winners included the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery-CQDM (Nuns’ Island, Quebec), which aimed to “accelerate the drug discovery process and to develop safer and more effective drugs.”

Federal Budget & Grad students

Updated: links to responses to budget for research/graduate study added below

The budget was touted for many cuts (and the demise of the penny!), but there are some additional resources for research, when business related, plus small increases for graduate students.

You can see the (more) detailed budget plan section on "Supporting Entrepreneurs, Innovators and World-Class Research"
Or visit the budget main page here, which includes briefs, press releases, the full budget plan, and even a video of the Minister looking really serious (kids in the hall fans may think he is about to crush your head).

The following is the quick version of the funding increases related to university research:

"Support for Research, Education and Training
The Government is committed to providing additional resources to support advanced research at universities and other leading research institutions. Economic Action Plan 2012 proposes:

• $37 million annually starting in 2012–13 to the granting councils to enhance their support for industry-academic research partnerships.

• $60 million for Genome Canada to launch a new applied research competition in the area of human health, and to sustain the Science and Technology Centres until 2014–15.

• $6.5 million over three years for a research project at McMaster University to evaluate team-based approaches to health care delivery.

• $17 million over two years to further advance the development of alternatives to existing isotope production technologies.

• $10 million over two years to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research to link Canadians to global research networks.

• $500 million over five years, starting in 2014–15, to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support advanced research infrastructure.

• $40 million over two years to support CANARIE’s operation of Canada’s ultra-high speed research network.

• $23 million over two years to Natural Resources Canada to enhance satellite data reception capacity."

  
  
  [How did McMaster do it? (shakes fist)! Develops theory.]
  
  There are also some items of particular grad student interest:
  
  
  

  "Economic Action Plan 2012 proposes $14 million over two years to double the Industrial Research and Development Internship program.
  The Industrial Research and Development Internship program currently helps 1,000 graduate students undertake hands-on research in innovative Canadian firms each year. This initiative provides host firms with access to cutting-edge research and skills, while providing students with valuable applied research experience in a private sector setting. To double the resources of the Industrial Research and Development Internship program, Economic Action Plan 2012 proposes $14 million over two years. This new funding will be administered by Mitacs, an advanced research organization with a proven track record of helping businesses solve problems through access to graduate students."

  
  and,
  
  

  "This new approach will promote business innovation through improved support for high-growth companies, research collaborations, procurement opportunities, applied research and risk financing. This will provide a solid foundation on which Canada’s globally competitive businesses can build by making the investments in innovation required to create high-value jobs and long-term economic growth. In particular, the Government will:... Support private and public research collaboration through internships for graduate students and funding for business-led research and development.  ..."

 I hope all that extra money means these internships will be paid.

UPDATE: Responses to budget:

CIHR provided some excellent summaries of how reasearch money is shifting (my summary here)

CBC Power Politics longer interview on innovation and the budget (video)

Liberal finance critic, MP Scott Bryson, described the research funding as a "shell game" on CBC's As it happens March 29, 2012. He said funds that once went to innovation in the private sector was being shifted to the public sector, which was being cut, thus leaving the private sector worse served in terms of supporting research. NDP critic also on, doesn't speak to the research funding. Check out the CBC As It Happens budget interviews (before there is 11% less of it).

NDP tried to get a jump start calling for the  National Research Council to be saved the day before the budget was launched.

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)  applauded the research funding  and the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies also called the budget a positive development (PDF) but the press release "noted the details are still sketchy".

Meanwhile, the Canadian Association of University Teachers said the budget "compromises research, hinders prosperity", saying tying research to commercial goals will hinder, not help, innovation.

And from the student groups: CASA says thumbs down [pdf], saying it shifts money from granting councils to industry related research, and the CFS love it. Just kidding, they don't like it either.

UBC likes it. So does UVIC, but we have less to say, and refer back to the AUCC statement.

Mixed reaction from the business community according to the Financial Post

A few days pre-budget, the Globe and Mail had some more in depth coverage on how r&d  funding for industry works now, and proposed changes with the budget.

Also of interest:

CCPA alternative federal budget

Federal budget consultations: making the case for grad students

The federal government is hosting budget consultations, and have a simple online form where citizens can submit their comments.


These consultations are a simple way to let the federal government know what you think of federal funding for graduate study and the role of graduate study in the economy.

 

Not sure what to say? Check out the following information sources... they spark a lot of ideas about the role of graduate school, and the impact it has on our society.

 

The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies has this letter to the Federal Government on how to better support graduate studies and Canada's low (2nd last by OECD ranking) investment in graduate education:

 

1. Investing in the granting councils
2. Investing in international grad students in Canada
3. Invest in innovative skills training for grad students and post docs
4. Invest in post docs.

The budget consultation is a venue for supporting this ideas.

 

Perhaps you are interested in your field of research and its role in the economy...

The OECD has all manner of statistics on the impact of education, research and development and how Canada's funding ranks compared to other OECD nations.

 

OECD study on education funding. (Tertiary education is post secondary education, but doesn't break down between a bachelors, masters and PhD).

The OECD database is searchable on many subjects, so you can search for data on our priorities in science and engineering, health, environment, business, education, and doctoral graduates, depending on your interest.

 

For example:

 

In 2011 Canada is below average in OECD for doctoral graduate rates (but is close to average at PhDs awarded to women: 44% of Canadian PhDs - OECD average is 46% -- Canada's rate hasn't changed since 2009, but OECD has gone from 43% to 46% average between 2009 and 2011):

 

 

Direct funding of Research and Development (2011 stats) includes this amazing chart, which shows how those R&D dollars are spent - are they going to defence or universities or health?

 

 

Here is Canada (2009) vs OECD breakdown (2008) by % of direct Research and Development spending:

  

• Defence: Canada 3.2% OECD 31.8%
• Health & Environment: Canada 22.7% OECD: 17.5%
• Economic Development: Canada 25.8% OECD 15%
• General University Funds: Canada 33.3% OECD 16.1%
• Non-oriented: Canada 7.7% OECD 11.3%
• Other Canada 7.3% OECD 8.4%

... but remember that Canada spends less than the OECD average (govt appropriations as % of GDP) on research and development:

 

Spending on R&D as % of GDP (2010): Canada .61% OECD average .75%

 

 

More great grad school themed blogs

I seem to be having a bonanza in the department of "excellent blogs for UVic graduate students to read", something I am always seeking in my work.

The Thesis Whisperer warms my heart because, like me, she keeps a list of procrastination activities handy. It is also packed with practical advice to be productive in your research and writing, so has the best of both worlds.

The thesis whisperer is actually a group of whisperers, but the writing is consistent and topical.

how is academic writing to be ranked in the age of 2.0?

Found this article an interesting read from the Academic Productivity blog. What is the impact of self publishing online for academics?

What happens when "that hallway conversation moves into blogs" and is now cited?

The author argues that peer reviewed journals are becoming out of date in terms of tracking article impact, and looks at new publishing models for researchers. Not sure I want to give up on peer review altogether but the proposal for self publishing and online debate is interesting. After all, it isn't so much different than conferences ...

Perhaps we should organize a discussion on this at the GSS?

Science & Tech funding boost

CBC is reporting that Industry Canada has announced funds for 310 Canada Research Chairs. See the story here.

There is no write up on the Industry Canada site, although there is a (not very exciting) media advisory.

The push seems to be in particular areas and with at least some focus on commercial/economic outcomes for the research...

Between this and BC's announcement that 2011 is the Year of Science, looks like the coming year might be science-tastic. (Too bad BC is simultaneously is reducing involvement of independent researchers and increasing Big Pharma's input in the BC drug approvals process... read about it in the Globe and Mail or listen to the CBC Victoria radio interview (MP3)).

oil company funding for university energy research comes under scrutiny

BP and nine other major oil companies's funding for research into alternative energy has come under scrutiny in a report by Jennifer Washburn at thinktank the Centre for American Progress.

What makes the report particularly interesting is the detailed analysis of the contracts between the universities and the oil companies, and the amount of control given to the companies in the contracts.

The contracts characteristics are highlighted in the report:

"• In nine of the 10 energy-research agreements we analyzed, the university partners failed to retain majority academic control over the central governing body charged with directing the university-industry alliance. Four of the 10 alliances actually give the industry sponsors full governance control.
• Eight of the 10 agreements permit the corporate sponsor or sponsors to fully control both the evaluation and selection of faculty research proposals in each new grant cycle.
• None of the 10 agreements requires faculty research proposals to be evaluated and awarded funding based on independent expert peer review, the traditional method for awarding academic and scientific research grants fairly and impartially based on scientific merit.
• Eight of the 10 alliance agreements fail to specify transparently, in advance, how faculty may apply for alliance funding, and what the specific evaluation and selection criteria will be.
• Nine of the 10 agreements call for no specific management of financial conflicts of interest related to the alliance and its research functions. None of these agreements, for example, specifies that committee members charged with evaluating and selecting faculty research proposals must be impartial, and may not award corporate funding to themselves." (Washburn, October 2o10, p 6)

The author was interviewed on Democracy Now about the study October 18.

Washburn, Jennifer. October 2010. Big Oil Goes Back to College. Centre for American Progress. found October 15, 2910 at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/10/pdf/big_oil_lf.pdf

Conference Board should have used Turnitin!

Looks like the Conference Board of Canada should be using Turnitin to check their work, and to avoid this embarassing situation.  Kind of a bummer to withdraw three reports that were proposing tougher copyright legislation due to "failing to meet research standards"--or "plagiarism" as Dr. Michael Geist bluntly puts it.

Michael Geist, who blew the lid off this story, is a University of Ottawa prof and a Canada Research Chair. He is a regular commentator on intellectual property issues in the digital age. Geist has been a critic of the direction copyright legislation in Canada is moving, and of the Conference Board report recommendations. But he went one further than his criticism of bias, and stated  the Conference Board had plagiarized text from a lobby group in the US for their report! The lobby group  promotes business interests in copyright legislation, making even cited use of the work questionable. Whoops! Or I suppose I should say, Gotcha!

Hmmm. How does UVIC define plagiarism? Yup, inadequate or missing citation of others' work meets UVic calendar's definition of plagiarism. Now, a student in this situation wouldn't get to withdraw three reports, but stubbornly stand by their "results". And students' work isn't likely to shape federal policy on copyright. 

You may be wondering, what exactly is this Conference Board? Until now, I always thought they were some branch of Stats Canada and never really gave it a thought--I've heard them quoted as a source of information about Canada many times on CBC radio.

The Conference Board is actually non profit society, and is self described as independent (though linked to the Conference Board of New York), non-biased, and undertaking applied research. 

But a look at who is in charge at the Conference Board gives a different sense. While their Board of Directors does include the President of one co-operative (the cooperators), that board member sits amongst the CEOs of Microsoft Canada, CGI, Merk, Debeers, and the Business Development Bank. Not a bad lineup for a business lobby--but questionable in an impartial research group. Give me the Chamber of Commerce any day. 

Well, I say chalk one up for truly independent university researchers like Dr.Geist. As noted a few days ago, academia is under lots of pressure from business too, not to mention that shift in SSHRC grants toward funding business-focussed research. There is a reason universities need to be independent and publicly funded! 

No doubt this is all fodder for gossip at Congress (of the Humanities). With Geist as a member of a keynote panel Friday night on copyright, this should make for a flivelu discussion! I propose Geist perform a rendition of Tom Lehrer's take on plagiarism, Lobachevsky, in honour of this schadenfreude-filled moment!! 

Corporate interference in academic journals

A worrisome case from Australia--where a pharmaceutical company sponsored publication of an "academic" journal through a medical/scientific publisher, Elsevier for a fee.

http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/print/55671/

hat tip to:
Therapeutics Initiative at UBC for the link: http://www.ti.ubc.ca/

The Terapeutics Initiative itself came under fire recently for refusing pharmaceutical influence:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2464479

Academic integrity

This article in University Affairs looks at problems of academic integrity--taking credit for others work, research integrity, influence of funders, plagiarism... how often is it happening at Canadian Universities, and what can be done?

An interesting issue!

Tell Me about it: housing crisis for low income Canadians

Social Housing Investment Vital to Canada’s

Low-Income Families

What UVic student doesn't know the trials of finding affordable housing in Victoria? Check out this report release from the Canadian Policy Research Network:

December 6, 2007 – Housing, together with food and shelter, are the necessities of life, yet we know that close to 1.5 million, or roughly 14% of Canadians, a large number being single mothers and children, are in need of adequate shelter. Many are not housed at all.

Many low-income Canadians depend on government commitment to social housing to provide them with affordable housing opportunities, but over the past 15 years overall government support and investment in social housing has declined.

CPRN has successfully partnered with the Social Housing Services Corporation of Ontario (SHSC), the Knowledge Mobilization Unit of York University, and the City of Ottawa (for Infrastructure Canada’s Knowledge Building, Outreach and Awareness Program) to explore a number of critical social housing issues: strengthening housing governance, effectively considering social inclusion in design, the relationship between non-profit organizations and social housing, the challenges of city-regions and sustainable affordable rental housing, and social lives in social housing.

A Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada by CPRN Acting Assistant Director Nathalie Pierre is a synthesis of key findings from the six research papers produced by CPRN research interns through the partnership with SHSC, York University and the City of Ottawa. The research findings demonstrate that social housing plays a central role in stabilizing people’s lives and helping them access social services that promote community integration and individual and family well-being. This purpose should be recognized fully by governments to strengthen and expand social housing in Canada.

To read or download A Safer Haven, click here. For a list of the six research papers and links to read or download, click here.

A Message from CPRN President Sharon Manson Singer

Dear Friends of CPRN,

On behalf of the CPRN Board of Directors and staff, I want to thank you for your continued support in the work of CPRN over the past year.

During 2007, CPRN reorganized following the federal government’s decision to eliminate its core funding for our research and public policy dialogue program. We adopted a new business model and, most importantly, we are developing an exciting new research framework, Connecting with Canadians, which will be our focus over the next three to five years. Connecting with Canadians is based on what Canadians expect from government, business and community organizations and what they believe, as citizens, we should give back to society. It is rooted in the values and priorities of Canadians as expressed to us in deliberative dialogues over the last several years.

While these activities were underway, CPRN continued its commitment to high quality socio-economic policy research and dialogue. We produced reports and conducted dialogues on a number of critical issues including productivity, the challenges of youth transitioning from high school to the labour market and youth disengagement in our political process.

Through this work, the interest in CPRN’s work grew tremendously! There were almost 2 million downloads of our publications in 2007, an increase of 15% over 2006. All our publications are available free to the non-profit sector, academic researchers and government decision-makers across Canada as well as around the world. The continued growth and success of our Web-based distribution of research reports and information positions CPRN as the leading socio-economic policy think tank in Canada!

We are pleased that CPRN’s voice and high quality research continues to be valued. We are committed to strengthening and expanding its presence in 2008. To that end, I hope you will consider making a donation to CPRN. Click here to make your tax-deductible gift by credit card via a secure site. An e-receipt will be sent to you. Or, you can send a cheque to CPRN, 214-151 Slater Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1P 5H3.

If you or your organization would like more information on how you can support CPRN in its work, please contact info@cprn.org.

If you have already made a gift in support of our work, a heartfelt thank you. And to our new donors, thank you!

Thank you for your continued support.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Sharon Manson Singer, President
Canadian Policy Research Networks