By Mehrdad Hariri and Anton Neschadim
ACROSS CANADA
Alberta immerses in innovation policy discussions at CSPC 2012 The fourth Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) is coming soon to Western Canada and will shine the spotlight on its influences on driving economic growth and innovation in Canada. The conference will be one of the largest events of 2012 examining Canadian policies governing science, technology and innovation, and will feature more than 80 speakers in 21 panels. CSPC has become the most comprehensive annual national forum on science policy issues affecting Canada, and is attended by the leading voices of the Canadian science and innovation policy community. CSPC, operating as a grassroots movement, has established a network of partnerships with the full spectrum of science policy stakeholders, including organizations that are the central representatives of the healthcare, life sciences, and biotechnology industries and their respective professionals in Canada. More than 100 organizations have been engaged in some form of partnership with the conference, and more than 100 leaders of the broader science policy community have served on CSPC’s Advisory and Honorary Committees over the past few years. Bringing together professionals from business, academia, government and nonprofit, CSPC provides an annual forum to discuss the most relevant issues to science, technology and innovation in Canada during its conference sessions. In response to the needs of the sciencepolicy community, CSPC endeavors to be an effective and unique annual forum that draws people of diverse backgrounds from across the nation and beyond. This year, CSPC will feature panels falling under five major conference themes: energy, agriculture, healthcare, and science, technology and innovation. This year, all of the sessions have been proposed, developed, and organized by members of the broader Canadian science and technology policy community. CSPC 2012 will focus discussions on such topics as biofuels, genomics, stem cells and
regenerative medicine, entrepreneurship and innovation, and healthcare policies. The healthcare theme will feature a panel on next generation e-Health that will discuss how integrating research, policy, and industry could lead to a sustainable improvement in national healthcare. In the face of Canada’s aging population and steady increases in healthcare expenditures to GDP, this panel will examine how policy could be applied to balance and maximize the healthcare system’s ability to harness the many benefits innovation brings to healthcare, including cost, efficiency, sustainability, universality, and improved health outcomes. Other healthcare panels featured will include “Building Sustainable Healthcare: Policies, Perceptions and an Aging Population” and “The Power of Food: Improving the Health of Canadians.” CSPC 2012 will feature panels on challenges in public biofuel policies, impact of livestock genomics on society, role of fundamental research in driving Canadian innovation, and biotechnology’s role in Canadian economy. Similar to last year, Genome Canada will feature one of its Genomics, Public Policy and Society (GPS) panel series. CSPC 2012 is a must-attend event for biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry leaders and key decisions makers engaged in the constant struggle of navigating Canada’s science, technology, and innovation policy and regulatory landscape. The conference has produced a wealth of contributions to the science policy community in Canada. Last year alone, the conference produced a critical review of the “Jenkins Report” on federal spending on R&D in Canada, and a look at the role of Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in innovation. Conference materials, proceedings, and reports are made available to the public and help generate a great deal of discussion and debate in the community. CSPC believes that Canada is entitled to its own national forum on science policy, and
“Minister of State, Science and Technology Gary Goodyear delivers a special keynote address during the CSPC 2010, Montreal.”
“Science and Politics in Canada” keynote panel at CSPC 2011, Ottawa L to R: MPP Reza Moridi, MP Dr. Kellie Leitch, MP Marc Garneau, MP Hélène LeBlanc, President & CEO, Genome Canada, Pierre Meulien. Photos courtesy of: Anatoliy Romanko.
will continue building bridges between the various public and private-sector S&T and innovation policy stakeholders. CSPC 2012 is to be held at the TELUS Spark Centre in Calgary, Alberta from Nov. 5 to 7, 2012. For more information please visit www.cspc2012.ca
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