Research as a public good

An editorial in today's Globe and Mail outlines how R&D spending should be considered a "public good." While there is no mention of the role of colleges in the applied research aspect of our R&D, the editorial does pick up on a special report from last Saturday's Globe that focused on Canadian innovation. This story outlines many of the hard facts Canada must face in terms of R&D, including the fact that we spend little on research and development overall compared to other countries, we do little to encourage applied research once inventions are made (the "D" in R&D), and that an ecosystem approach to the R&D value chain in Canada necessitates a focus on the complementarity of all players as working together on our productivity, both social and economic.