R&D review panel announcement

OTTAWA, October 14, 2010 – The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada welcomes today’s announcement of the composition and mandate of the Research and Development Review Expert Panel. As drivers of research, universities have a keen interest in the work of the review panel. It will be critically important for the review panel to identify best policies and practices to enhance the Canadian R&D community’s capacity to meet the challenges of a globally competitive world.

Representing strategic segments of the R&D enterprise, the distinguished panel members will undoubtedly contribute to the strengthening of Canada’s R&D funding portfolio. We are especially pleased to see several prominent academics serving on this review panel and confident Tom Jenkins will bring able leadership to this process.

Canadian universities are a $30 billion enterprise, educating more than 1.5 million students annually and performing more than one-third of Canada’s research and development. University research impacts the daily lives of Canadians, and the greatest role universities play in the research and innovation cycle is in educating the next generation of leaders and innovators who take their knowledge and ideas with them when they graduate. It will be the ideas and the transfer and exchange of new knowledge – into policies, products and services – that will enable Canadians to increase our productivity, and remain competitive in the decades to come.

The Canadian university community recognizes that the best ways to inspire and support innovation are changing and require strong collaboration with governments and the private sector. With Canada’s productivity and competitiveness challenge in mind, universities are committed to working closely with the Government of Canada throughout this review to determine the most effective and efficient funding models to support research and development, and ultimately, Canada’s innovative capacity.

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The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is the voice of Canada’s universities. AUCC represents 95 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges.

For more information please contact:

Lyse Huot
Director, Government Relations and Communications
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada