Comments on: CAUT hosts forum on government funding in Ottawa http://canadaresearchfunding.org/caut-hosts-forum-on-government-funding-in-ottawa/ Your source for Canadian biomedical research funding news and information Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:38:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rob Annan http://canadaresearchfunding.org/caut-hosts-forum-on-government-funding-in-ottawa/comment-page-1/#comment-54 Rob Annan Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:38:23 +0000 http://canadaresearchfunding.org/?p=211#comment-54 Thanks for your insightful comments, Jim. I hope you won't mind that I've reprinted them as a blog post, as I think you raise important points that deserve widespread consideration. Thanks for your insightful comments, Jim. I hope you won’t mind that I’ve reprinted them as a blog post, as I think you raise important points that deserve widespread consideration.

]]> By: Jim http://canadaresearchfunding.org/caut-hosts-forum-on-government-funding-in-ottawa/comment-page-1/#comment-53 Jim Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:55:11 +0000 http://canadaresearchfunding.org/?p=211#comment-53 The CAUT forum will (rightly) be interpreted by the government as vested interests whining about their own constituency. If the research community wants to make real progress with this government, it needs to engage the general public, communicate the benefits of research, stop trying to publicly embarrass the government (it won't work even though it sells papers) and build constructive dialogue. This government has made mistakes but rubbing these in will just lead to more entrenchment. That doesn't mean making empty platitudes, but the point has been made already. It's time to move into constructive thinking - even if the government appears not to be listening. Indeed, continued whining in public may easily turn into a backlash from the many thousands of Canadians who have recently lost, or fear losing, their jobs. The other political parties realise this too so we won't find them coming to our defense. The research community must avoid becoming the weapon that others (journalists, opposition MPs) use to whip the government as we'll be the entity receiving the subsequent wrath. The CAUT forum will (rightly) be interpreted by the government as vested interests whining about their own constituency. If the research community wants to make real progress with this government, it needs to engage the general public, communicate the benefits of research, stop trying to publicly embarrass the government (it won’t work even though it sells papers) and build constructive dialogue. This government has made mistakes but rubbing these in will just lead to more entrenchment. That doesn’t mean making empty platitudes, but the point has been made already. It’s time to move into constructive thinking – even if the government appears not to be listening.

Indeed, continued whining in public may easily turn into a backlash from the many thousands of Canadians who have recently lost, or fear losing, their jobs. The other political parties realise this too so we won’t find them coming to our defense. The research community must avoid becoming the weapon that others (journalists, opposition MPs) use to whip the government as we’ll be the entity receiving the subsequent wrath.

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