16 January 2014

Government launches consultation on new Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy

The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State for Science and technology, has recently launched a consultation on the government's forthcoming new Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (STIS). The STIS was promised in the last throne speech, and will be a welcome update to Canada's approach to R&D. The new Strategy follows on the heels of successive reports on the the State of Industrial R&D (by both the Jenkins Panel and the Council of Canadian Academies - CCA) and the State of S&T in Canada, also by the CCA, among other reports.

The consultation will provide some additional context for the STIS, which from the consultation document will focus on business innovation, entrepreneurial people, and excellence in publicly-funded R&D. Minister Rickford was interviewed in the Globe recently, where he lays out a sound rationale for updating the country's S&T strategy.

Have your say - access the consultation document here, and let Industry Canada know what you think. It is important to work together to advance how Canada can foster greater productivity from our world leading R&D, while also encouraging business to innovate.