The Council of Canadian Academies has published an expert panel report that asserts that Canadian researchers have been “let down” by Canada’s fragmented approach to research infrastructure (RI). The report, commissioned for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, highlights that no national framework exists for planning, developing and supporting national-scale RI, resulting in a patchwork of governance models and funding. The panel suggests that national-scale RI should be managed as a portfolio of projects rather than individually, and that a “specialized governance body” could be created to coordinate funding and policy direction. “Failure to act risks locking in systemic weaknesses at precisely the moment when an optimized national-scale RI ecosystem is most needed,” the panel concludes.
