19th July 2012 Toronto, Canada
The question of whether the public should be allowed to freely access publicly-funded research has been raging for years now, culminating recently in an all-out assault on the restrictions of traditional publishing models dubbed the Academic Spring. Read on for some history and what the UK is doing about it. The “traditional” model of research […]
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9th July 2012 Toronto, Canada
The Council of Canadian Academies (@scienceadvice) reported back last week on a year-long Expert Panel assessment of how research performance is measured in science and engineering disciplines. The 16-member panel included Sir Keith O’Nions (Rector, Imperial College London), and was co-reviewed by Claire Donovan (Reader, Brunel University). The specific question the panel was asked to […]
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17th April 2012 Ottawa, Canada
Prof. David Clary (his blog), Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) recently visited Ottawa, on the invitation of the Office of the Auditor General(@OAG_BVG) to participate in a Science Forum, looking at how science can be used to better inform policy, in times of austerity. Part of this involved discussions of how science advice to government […]
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2nd February 2012 Toronto, Canada
Last week, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affiars (DEFRA) released a comprehensive report into the risks and opportunities presented to the UK by climate change. The report, the first of its kind and the first in a five-year cycle, assesses 700 impacts (100 in exhaustive detail) across 11 sectors and is available to […]
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25th January 2012 Toronto, Canada
If things seemed a little quiet on the SIN blog and newsfeed last week, it’s because Nicole, Nicolina, Paolo, Shannon and I were in London rubbing shoulders with the rest of the global Science and Innovation Network at our all-Posts conference. As well as meeting face-to-face (often for the first time) with our stakeholders in […]
5th January 2012 Toronto, Canada
In a speech earlier this week, Universities and Science Minister David Willetts laid out the government’s ambition to make the UK “the best place in the world to do science.” However, he offered no new funding or support and spoke mostly about broad aims for growth. There were eight principal points from the speech. The […]
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16th December 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Another Bilingual blog from our Montreal Science & Innovation Officer, Nicolina Farella: It all started last March, when I received a phone call from Arnold Black. Arnold wears two hats. On one hand, he is Project Manager for C-Tech innovation (R&D company in the clean technology sector), and he also holds the position of Technology […]
5th December 2011 Toronto, Canada
This is John Preece reporting on the launch of the Strategy for UK Life Sciences, announced earlier today by Prime Minister David Cameron. You can read the full document on the BIS website, and the press release on NDS. Here’s what the Prime Minister had to say: We can be proud of our past – […]
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18th November 2011 Toronto, Canada
The recent Arthur J. Carty lecture at the University of Waterloo featured Prof. Sir David King (Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government from 2000 to 2008 and current Director of the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment; pictured left). Prof. King gave an unchallengeable talk on the importance of good science advice in government, […]
11th July 2011 Toronto, Canada
This is John Preece guestblogging about recent reports issued by two of Canada’s influential advisory bodies – the federal Science, Technology and Innovation Council and the provincial Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity. The reports detail the current status and future directions of innovation in Canada: State of the Nation 2010 and Canada’s Innovation Imperative. Both […]
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