Submission to the 2011 Federal Budget Consultations

Recommendations
1.      The Granting Councils are the best mechanism to fund basic (curiosity-driven) research in Canada.  While funding for the Councils’ targeted programs has increased significantly in recent years, the consensus among our community and our partners in every sector is that increased support for basic research is also essential to a healthy national innovation capacity.  Recognizing this, Budget 2010 did increase the Councils’ funding for basic research — a small but much appreciated increase.  Much more remains to be done, however, particularly given that the cuts to the Councils mandated in 2009 will reduce their budgets by $87M p.a. in 2011-12 and beyond. CCR therefore recommends:
 That the federal government augment the basic (curiosity-driven) research portion of the Granting Councils’ budgets by 5%.

2.     A key role of basic research is to educate, inspire, and unleash the creativity of the next generation of highly qualified people.  Relative to our population, however, Canada produces 35% fewer graduates at the crucial doctoral level than the OECD average or the U.S.10  This has been recognized by the federal government with the creation of, for example, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships.  CCR therefore recommends:
 That additional graduate level scholarship programs be developed and sustained over the long term to support emerging researchers, as current stimulus programs expire.
3.    Adding at least 40% to the direct costs of conducting research in Canada, indirect costs29 are reimbursed by the federal Indirect Costs Program at only about 25%.30  The shortfall is borne by the research institutions, forcing them to forego other investments that would improve the quality of teaching and research.  The U.S., U.K. and the EU recognize the impact of such a burden and reimburse 40-60% of the direct costs of research.  Maintaining world-class research infrastructures and facilities in Canada requires increased support to cover these costs.  However, CCR recognizes the current financial situation and therefore recommends:
   That the funding for the indirect costs of university research rise over the course of the next 5 years to represent 40 percent of the direct costs funded by the granting councils.

Name: Paul S. Vincett – Chairperson
2010-08-16

An Open Letter On the Mandatory Long-form Census

July 27, 2010

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) to express our profound dismay at the decision of your government to discontinue Statistics Canada’s mandatory long-form census survey.  The CCR is a coalition of private and public sector research and post-secondary education organizations representing some 50,000 researchers and 500,000 students in a wide variety of disciplines across Canada.

Information generated by the mandatory long-form provides a scientific basis for individuals, families, businesses, churches, unions, charities, communities, and governments to understand the workings and directions of Canadian society and to consider and implement personal, economic, and policy decisions.  Moreover, Statistics Canada has long-standing and effective policies for protecting the privacy of individual respondents.

The discontinuance of the mandatory long-form will deny Canadians and their governments the ability to make the best possible planning and investment choices, whether they relate to neighbourhood or national issues, in both the public and private sectors.  Given the nearly unanimous and unprecedented concerns of the research and policy communities, the Consortium urges you to restore the mandatory long-form census and to protect a critical and internationally recognized element for strong Canadian policy analysis.

Yours sincerely,

Paul S. Vincett
Chair, Canadian Consortium for Research

c:  The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry

An Open Letter to the 40th Parliament from Canada’s Research Community

Dear Parliamentarians,

“Publicly Funded Research: The Essential Foundation for  Excellence in Commercialization.” So wrote Industry Canada’s business-based Expert Panel on the Commercialization of R&D.

Their 2006 recommendations “are based on one key premise: continuing government commitment to publicly funded research carried out with little or no expectation of commercial application.” (What we call basic research.) “The challenge for government is to increase — not merely maintain — its investments in publicly funded research, while encouraging private sector R&D”.

In other words, this distinguished primarily-business group insists that we must have increased but balanced investments in basic and targeted research.

It’s widely accepted that basic research is essential to our long-term prosperity, and we can’t rely on the rest of the world to do it for us.

Recent Budgets contained some welcome support for university research. But, unlike the U.S., basic research is being squeezed in favour of increased shorter-term targeted efforts. Please use your influence to ensure that Canada’s research granting agencies and universities have the money for increased support of basic research too.

Sincerely,

Roland Andersson
Acting Chair, Canadian Consortium for Research

 

Consortium Welcomes Budget Recognition of Basic Research, Stresses that More Needs to be Done.

Released: March 4, 2010

OTTAWA— “With the inclusion of non-targeted funding for the granting councils, this budget recognizes in principle the value of basic research,” says Roland Andersson, Chair of the Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR).”The government is to be congratulated for listening to the research community on this point, even though the actual sums involved at best sustain existing programs.” The increase of million for the granting councils’ base budgets still leaves them millions of dollars behind where they need to be.

The Consortium is pleased that the government has provided additional funding for Genome Canada and notes the modest million increase for the Indirect Costs of Research Program. The CCR also recognizes the funding commitment to TRIUMF, Canada’s world-class subatomic research centre, but is concerned that the level of announced funding may compromise TRIUMF’s position as an international leader.

It is encouraging that these investments have been made in spite of the current economic difficulties Canada faces.

The CCR emphasizes that further increases in research funding are essential for Canada’s long-term prosperity. The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) was established in 1976. It consists of 18 organizations that represent researchers in all disciplines across Canada. While the majority of these researchers are based in universities, the constituent organizations have numerous members in government laboratories and in private sector research centres. With approximately 50,000 researchers and 500,000 students represented in these member groups, the CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concerns are the funding of research in all sectors and support for post-secondary education.

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Name: Roland Andersson, Acting Chair Phone Number: 613-232-6252

2010 Pre-Budget Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – Download the full document below.

  1.  CCR recommends that the government augment the funding for basic research by increasing by 5% the base budgets of the three granting councils and of Genome Canada, with any new targeted initiatives being funded separately and in full consultation with the research community.
    Cost: about 100M p.a.
  2.  CCR recommends that the funding for the indirect costs of university research rise to represent 40 percent of the direct costs allocated to the granting councils.
    Cost: about 200M p.a.

http://ccr-ccr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Pre-Budget-2010-CCR.pdf

Research consortium calls for more fuel for the research pipeline

January 27, 2009
OTTAWA— The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) supports the short term spending on colleges and universities in the 2009 federal budget, but is concerned for the long term sustainability of funding for basic research.  In particular, the CCR welcomes the injection of $2 billion into the infrastructure of post-secondary institutions in Canada. It will address the most urgent maintenance and repair needs and create jobs in local communities. CCR also applauds increased support for the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), the additional $750 million for the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the scholarships and internships for graduate students. We are deeply disappointed, however, that the latter two come at the cost of cuts to the funding of the research granting councils.

“This funding shores up Canada’s research pipeline, but fails to put any gas into it,” says CCR Chair Jody Ciufo. “Research and discovery are fueled by the basic research grants provided by the granting councils. Stop that flow and you risk a sputtering economic engine.”
In a letter that the CCR released in December, we called on the government to increase funding to Canada’s granting councils. The letter argued that though harsh economic times might suggest a need to restrain funding or to focus investment in traditional projects, it is critical to understand that a reduction to research support – even if only for a few years – comes at a huge future cost to the economy and will cause damage to Canada’s research and innovation capacity that could take years to repair.  In light of these developments, the CCR is worried that we be will unable to retain the world class researchers, Canadian and others, who have been attracted by the robust research environment in recent years at Canadian universities. Because of the economic downturn, universities’ undergraduate enrolment increases will require more core funding. Beyond the increase promised in the 2008 budget, this budget provides no new funding for the Canada Social Transfer which provides core support to post-secondary education to the provinces.
We are also concerned about the increasingly narrow focus in most of the recent funding mechanisms for postsecondary education and research.  In the context of the recent announcements for research and infrastructure, we expect the entire research community to take a decisive role in determining the implementation of the programs and that decisions will be informed by scientific evidence and input. Our working alongside the federal government will ensure  a well-balanced research program in Canada.The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) has consistently advocated three priorities: a dedicated transfer for post-secondary education; increased financial support for the granting councils and related agencies; and re-investing in government science.
The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) was established in 1976. It consists of 18 organizations that represent researchers in all disciplines across Canada. While the majority of these researchers are based in universities, the constituent organizations have numerous members in government laboratories and in private sector research centres. With approximately 50,000 researchers and 500,000 students represented in these member groups, the CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concerns are the funding of research in all sectors and support for post-secondary education.

For more information:
Jody Ciufo, Chair
Canadian Consortium for Research
jciufo@fedcan.ca613.238.6112, ext. 306www.ccr-ccr.ca

Name: Jody Ciufo Phone Number: 613-238-6112, ext 306 Email Address:jciufo@fedcan.ca

http://ccr-ccr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/CCR_2009_Budget_News_Release.pdf

CCR gives budget advice to Ministers, Leaders and MPs

December 17, 2008 – I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Consortium of Research (CCR) to ask that research and innovation be a major consideration in preparing the government’s next budget and an integral component of any stimulus package put forward to strengthen Canada’s economy.

The CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concerns are the funding of research in all sectors and support for post-secondary education. Established in 1976, CCR consists of 18 organizations that represent 50,000 researchers and 400,000 students in all disciplines across Canada. These researchers are based in universities, government laboratories, and the private sector.

Our country is facing the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical for government to revisit budgetary assumptions and consider innovative, effective mechanisms for aggressive investment in our economy and our future.

Research and innovation are today’s version of the bricks and mortar infrastructure projects of the 1930s. In a global knowledge economy, the nations that will successfully weather the present crisis are those that will adopt investment packages that not only provide rapid stimulus to the economy but also have research and innovation components.

Basic scientific research in subatomic physics led to the development of today’s ubiquitous worldwide web, itself the backbone of e-commerce and of global competitiveness. More recently, a powerful voice compression technology developed at the Université de Sherbrooke key part of the software used in more than one billion cell phones worldwide and has earned the university and its inventors millions of dollars each year in royalties and led to two spin-off companies. Canadian research led to the global emergence of business powerhouses such as Research in Motion and Open Text Corporation that are creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, here at home, and re-investing in Canada to create research institutes and new possibilities for the training of new generations of highly-skilled Canadians.

In the international marketplace, the commercialization of new products and services is increasingly tied to the understanding of human behaviour and diversity. Global companies such as Xerox and Nokia use social and anthropological research to examine product, improve customer service and guide the development of new generation technologies and features.

Research investments have a direct and immediate impact across sectors and in communities everywhere in Canada. Competitive research is carried out through the employment of undergraduate and graduate students, laboratory technicians, post-doctoral fellows, statistical and IT assistants. It also requires the building of state-of-the-art facilities and the purchase of goods and services upon which their work depends. Used to pay salaries, build world-class labs and purchase scientific equipment, research grants have a direct and significant impact right across the country, generating both economic activity and tax revenue. Increasing the funding to all of Canada’s granting councils will have a direct and immediate effect on new employment for people and on making Canadian communities sustainable.

Increasing funding to programs that help keep our industries competitive— such as the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)—would also have similar positive effects. In addition to the immediate economic benefits resulting from employment, research programs create opportunities to train new generations of experts and highly qualified personnel who go on to join Canada’s workforce and generate further and significant contributions to industry, the economy and society.

Though harsh economic times might suggest a need to restrain funding or to focus investment in traditional projects, it is critical to understand that a reduction to research support— even if only for a few years—comes at a huge future cost to the economy and will cause damage to Canada’s research and innovation capacity that could take years to repair.

This is a time for Canada to recognize the significant potential and opportunities that result from a strategic re-investment in our ability to innovate, to commercialize new ideas, and to promote social progress. Our national ability to generate new ideas and support scientific inquiry is core to developing the industries and institutions that sustain and grow our economy and our society. These are the fundamentals that will continue to define Canada as a partner in the global economy and a leader among democratic nations.

We look forward to following up our recommendations through meetings and further discussion.

Yours truly,
Jody Ciufo, MBA
Chair, Canadian Consortium for Research,and
Executive Director, Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Name: Jody Ciufo
Phone Number: 613-238-6112, ext 306
Email Address: jciufo@fedcan.ca

http://ccr-ccr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2008_budget_letter_generic_version.pdf

CCR receives answers on their research questions from the Liberal Party

OTTAWA—The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) received a response from the Liberal Party on October 9, 2008, regarding the questions asked by the CCR during the recent federal election. You can read the answers below.

The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) was established in 1976. It consists of 18 organizations that represent researchers in all disciplines across Canada. While the majority of these researchers are based in universities, the constituent organizations have numerous members in government laboratories and in private sector research centres. With approximately 50,000 researchers and 400,000 students represented in these member groups, the CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concerns are the funding of research in all sectors and support for post-secondary education.

http://ccr-ccr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/CCR_Questionnaire_Liberal_response_Eng.pdf

CCR receives answers on their research questions from the NDP

OTTAWA—The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) received a response from the NDP on October 9, 2008, regarding the questions asked by the CCR during the recent federal election. You can read the answer below.

The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) was established in 1976. It consists of 18 organizations that represent researchers in all disciplines across Canada. While the majority of these researchers are based in universities, the constituent organizations have numerous members in government laboratories and in private sector research centres. With approximately 50,000 researchers and 400,000 students represented in these member groups, the CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concerns are the funding of research in all sectors and support for post-secondary education.

https://ccr-ccr.ca/ccr-receives-answers-on-their-research-questions-from-the-ndp/ccr_questionnaire_ndp_response/

The CCR questions leaders on research

OTTAWA—The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) wants to know what federal party leaders have in store for research if they form Canada’s next government. A consortium of 18 organizations representing the full spectrum of science, the CCR distributed five questions to each of the federal party leaders to seek clarification on their plans for research in the government, university, college and private sectors.

“Canadians place a high value on health and environmental, social and economic well-being,” says CCR Chair Jody Ciufo. “But to achieve these goals, we need a healthy research capacity—one that churns out new ideas and discoveries that fuel the innovation pipeline. We’re asking the party leaders what they intend to put into that pipeline.”

Specifically, the questions ask the parties about:

  • support for Canada’s granting councils,
  • large scale scientific facilities,
  • funding for the humanities and social sciences,
  • non-regulatory federal laboratories, and
  • the Science Technology and Innovation Council.

“Our members represent the full range of sciences – natural, health and social sciences, the humanities and engineering,” says Ms Ciufo. “We’re asking these questions on behalf of our members, but more so for future generations of Canadians, who need action now on basic research to ensure that innovation will flow fully into the coming decades.”

The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) was established in 1976. It consists of 18 organizations that represent researchers in all disciplines across Canada. While the majority of these researchers are based in universities, the constituent organizations have numerous members in government laboratories and in private sector research centres. With approximately 50,000 researchers and 400,000 students represented in these member groups, the CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concerns are the funding of research in all sectors and support for post-secondary education.

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Name: Jody Ciufo, Chair Phone Number: 613 238-6112 ext. 306 Email Address:jciufo@fedcan.ca