CanadaResearchFunding.org

The Globe and Mail is suggesting today that the Conservative Government and Canada’s research community are going to share a “peacemaking moment” this evening, during a photo-op to announce the finalists of the Canada Excellence Reseach Chairs (CERC) program. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Industry Minister Tony Clement will be joined on stage by more than a dozen leaders of Canadian universities, including McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum who said, ”It is a day for celebration … and a powerful symbol to the entire scientific community.” Tonight’s event will announce the shortlist of 40 proposals for the 20 CERC positions announced last year, which will be funded with a total of $200-million, or $10-million each for a total of 10 years.

A cynic might suggest that this event continues, and perhaps escalates, the government’s recent spate of making show of pre-budget cut funding announcements, in this case bringing out the PM himself to announce even the shortlist of a funding competition. A more generous interpretation, though, is that this represents, as the Globe states, “a chance for the Harper government to be seen as an innovator in its support of research, and for academic leaders to say thank you in a very public setting.”

Indeed, the university administrators seem to recognize the fine balance between being grateful and supportive of the campus infrastructure spending in the recent budget but yet supportive of their faculty members upset at research funding cuts. Tom Traves, president of Dalhousie University and head of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada says:

University presidents are well aware of the larger setting and we are concerned on behalf of our colleagues who look on the reduction of funding to the granting councils as a problem. The presidents would definitely like to see the reductions reinstated, but in the short term here and now the glass is seven-eighths full.

Personally (since I’m no cynic), I think it’s a positive development to see the Harper government engaging with university leaders, even if it’s simply a photo-op. This government has a reputation for ignoring its critics and controlling the message by excluding dissenting voices from dialogue. By inviting university leaders to be present at the announcement today, and by holding the event in the same hotel on the same day as the CAUT meeting where budget cuts to the research councils will surely be vocally criticized, the Conservative government is showing a willingness to engage with the academic research community. I hope the university leaders, and perhaps even a few CAUT members, have the opportunity to engage the PM and Minister and their aides constructively and open a positive dialogue about providing a solid base of research funding. As University of Alberta president Indira Samarasekera is quoted as saying, “I believe it is up to us [the university leaders] and the researchers to make the compelling case for the continued increase in this base”.