Focusing priorities in areas of Canadian strength and opportunity will enhance Canada’s global competitiveness, particularly as other advanced economies undertake a similar process. This approach will help to ensure that resources are used to build on particular Canadian strengths, while at the same time ensuring the maintenance of a strong base of support for discovery research. Research is the foundation from which the most innovative ideas and technologies can flourish — and the CFI embraces this principle, from the design of its funding programs to the rigorous merit-review process used to determine funding.
The evolving research landscape also requires new and closer working partnerships between academia, industry, and government in order to facilitate knowledge translation, technology development, and commercialization. The CFI has always been a catalyst for collaboration, and will continue in this role to the extent possible under our mandate.
Finally, the accountability of CFI investments continues to be entrenched in how we do business, as we challenge ourselves to find innovative ways of evaluating the results of public investments in R&D, and communicating the benefits of such investments to Canadians.
The economic and social benefits of research investments take time to fully materialize. Impacts become evident only years later, and often cannot be predicted in advance. We are now at an important tipping point in the evolution of the research investment/benefit cycle. For the CFI’s part, we have begun an important second decade of operation with renewed funding, commitment, and optimism about Canada’s potential as a nation of innovation. I look forward to reporting on our contributions to realizing this potential in the coming years.
