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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Strategic Outcome 1.0 - People: Highly skilled science and engineering professionals in Canada
Successfully conducting research and putting new knowledge to work requires a pool of highly qualified people. Universities offer the best training ground for the next generation of researchers—our human capital—whether they ultimately work in industry, in postsecondary institutions or in the public sector. NSERC’s people-oriented programs promote science and engineering to a diverse audience, support undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral research experience and training in academic and industrial settings, and attract highly qualified faculty to our universities.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 1 | 5.5 | 1 | 5.5 | 1 | 5.5 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Student interest in research in the sciences, math and engineering is encouraged | Percentage of science promotion projects that successfully complete the planned activity | Greater than 80 percent |
Program Activity Summary: To ensure that Canada has an ongoing supply of future discoverers and innovators, NSERC encourages interest in science and engineering in Canadian youth and in the broader population.
Subactivities include:
Planning Highlights
PromoScience
- NSERC will focus support on target groups that are under-represented in the NSE (e.g., women, Aboriginals) in its PromoScience grants. These grants enable community-based organizations, museums, science centres, non-government organizations and universities to promote science and engineering to youth.
Benefits to Canada
Canada is ranked 21st among OECD countries in the number of science and engineering degrees as a percentage of new degrees.12 The federal S&T strategy identifies the need to build a stronger culture of science and innovation in our country and to encourage young people to study science and engineering. Prizes raise the awareness of Canadians about the importance of achievements in science and engineering research. Activities funded under the PromoScience program provide an early exposure to S&T to young people to spur their interest. Particular emphasis is placed in the participation of under-represented groups (e.g., Aboriginals, women).
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 29 | 149.6 | 29 | 143.6 | 29 | 143.6 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| A supply of highly-qualified Canadians with leading-edge scientific and research skills for Canadian industry, government and universities | Percentage of students supported that are actively employed in Canada after graduation | 75 percent |
| Average completion rates among NSERC award recipients vs. general NSE student population | Completion rate 10 percent greater than NSE student population |
Program Activity Summary: This program activity supports the training of highly qualified people through programs of scholarships, fellowships and student stipends. Support is provided at all levels of university studies from undergraduate awards for four-month research terms to postdoctoral fellowships in academia or industry.
Subactivities include:
- Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)
- NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS)
- Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS)
- Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)
- Postdoctoral Fellowships (PDF)
- Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (Banting PDF)
- Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE)
Planning Highlights
Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
- Together with SSHRC and CIHR, NSERC is implementing the federal government’s new prestigious program, the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, announced in Budget 2010. Banting Fellowships will attract the world’s top talent to conduct research in Canada. The program also increases NSERC’s capacity to foster international mobility in research.
Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program
- NSERC will continue to implement measures to foster a strong employer/industry-centric component in the CREATE program to ensure optimal impact in relation to NSERC’s Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation. Such impacts include the development of highly qualified people with professional, job-ready skills and experience of enriched and varied research environments.
Benefits to Canada
Student scholarship programs are a vital part of NSERC’s efforts to ensure that Canada produces a sufficient number of people with advanced degrees in science and engineering. This is essential to our future competitiveness, as is pointed out in the federal S&T strategy and Budget 2009. By accessing international scientific research and training, the Banting Fellows, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholars and Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholars who receive Foreign Study Supplements will contribute to strengthening the potential for collaboration between Canadian universities and other affiliated research institutions outside of Canada.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 10 | 152.9 | 10 | 152.6 | 10 | 152.5 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Enhanced research capacity in science and engineering | Number of foreign-educated new applicants to NSERC’s Discovery Grants program | Greater than 100 per year |
| Number of NSERC-funded professors leaving the country | Less than 100 per year | |
| Canada Research Chairs Database | ||
Program Activity Summary: This program activity aims to attract and retain faculty in Canada. Faculty chairholders in the natural sciences and engineering fulfil three crucial functions: 1) they build capacity in areas of strategic relevance; 2) they conduct leading-edge research; and 3) they ensure that students receive the best possible training.
Subactivities include:
Planning Highlights
Canada Excellence Research Chairs
- Among the 19 inaugural recipients of the prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERCs) announced in May 2010, 13 conduct research in the natural sciences and engineering. They will be launching their research programs in Canada over the coming year and accelerating research in the priority areas of the federal S&T strategy.
Canada Research Chairs
- Following on the 10th-year summative evaluation of the Canada Research Chairs Program completed in 2010-11, the program’s terms and conditions will be renewed, and, where warranted, program changes will be implemented.
Benefits to Canada
Top scientists and engineers serve as magnets that attract other high-calibre researchers and students to, or remain in, Canada so that they can work with the best researchers in the world. These top scientists and engineers enhance the research environment in Canada and the training of highly qualified people.
Strategic Outcome 2.0 - Discovery: High quality Canadian-based competitive research in the natural sciences and engineering
The knowledge generated through basic research provides a critical foundation for all scientific and technological advances. NSERC’s discovery-based programs support long-term, ongoing programs of research, shorter term research projects, the acquisition of research equipment and access to national research facilities. The high quality and impact of Canadian research is evident in its ranking among top countries in terms of the average number of times Canadian papers are cited by other researchers.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 53 | 358.4 | 53 | 359.3 | 53 | 359.3 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| The discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in natural sciences and engineering is enhanced by the provision of support for ongoing programs of basic research | World ranking in number of NSE publications | Maintain top 10 world ranking (Canada was 7th in 200813) |
| Percentage of funds spent on training of students and postdoctoral fellows | 35 percent | |
| Higher education expenditure on R&D (HERD) as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to G8 countries | Maintain current world ranking (Canada was first in 2008 among G8 countries14) |
Program Activity Summary: This program activity promotes and enables global excellence in discovery research. Having a solid capacity for basic research across a broad range of traditional fields from astronomy, biology, chemistry, electrical engineering, mathematics, mechanical engineering, physics and psychology to newly established fields like genomics, nanotechnology and quantum computing ensures that Canada remains at the leading edge of knowledge creation. It also ensures that Canada can access and exploit S&T knowledge developments from other countries.
Subactivities include:
Planning Highlights
Discovery Grants Program
Discovery Accelerator Supplements (DAS)
- NSERC will increase the number of Discovery Accelerator Supplements awarded each year as per the recommendation of the International Review of the Discovery Grants Program. The DAS will provide substantial and timely resources to up to 375
researchers who have a well-established research program and who show strong potential to become international leaders in their respective area of research. DAS support enables the researcher to capitalize on an opportunity, such as a recent research breakthrough, a paradigm shift or a new strategy to tackle a scientific problem or research question.
NSERC will continue to award at least two-thirds of its Discovery Accelerator Supplements to researchers with research programs that impact the government priority areas identified in the federal S&T strategy: environmental science and technologies; natural resources and energy; health and related life sciences and technologies; and information and communication technologies.
- In October 2010, NSERC launched the Discovery Frontiers Initiative to support large-scale transformative research activities that address challenges and seize leadership opportunities in areas of national importance. Strong linkages with top international groups will be required.
The first call for proposals is focused on Northern Earth System Research. It will address problems that have been defined with input from the northern community and will support Canada’s leadership in the North.
Benefits to Canada
Global excellence in discovery research allows Canada to participate as a full player in the international research community. Canadian researchers are developing new knowledge and are also accessing and exploiting knowledge developed outside Canada, thereby generating new opportunities for innovation. National governments around the world recognize the critical role a basic research foundation plays in maintaining a competitive economy. All OECD governments support basic research in their universities. Now fully implemented, NSERC’s new peer review process and structure for the Discovery Grants Program will continue to support excellence and better respond to the changing research environment which involves more multidisciplinary research.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 10 | 37.9 | 10 | 36.5 | 10 | 22.6 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | |||
| The discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in the NSE is supported by their access to research equipment and major regional or national research facilities |
Average number of researchers benefiting from equipment awards |
Over 1,000 | |||
| Average number of researchers benefiting from a Major Resources Support award | Greater than 50 | ||||
Program Activity Summary: NSERC programs in this area help support the maintenance and operation of research equipment and major research resources. Funds are also used to facilitate researchers’ access to major research facilities in Canada and around the world.
Subactivities include:
Planning Highlights
Research Tools and Instruments
- NSERC will continue to foster and enhance the discovery, innovation and training capability of university research in the natural sciences and engineering by supporting the purchase of research equipment and installations (smaller than funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation [CFI]) through the Research Tools and Instruments Grants Program.
Major Resources Support
- The Major Resource Support program facilitates access of Canadian researchers to more than 50 experimental and thematic facilities. NSERC, together with the CFI, will continue to ensure effective operational support of national research facilities to avoid redundancy between the MRS and CFI programs, such as the CFI Major Science Initiatives program.
Benefits to Canada
Top researchers need state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to carry out research at world-class levels. Access to top facilities plays an important role in attracting the best minds to Canada and keeping them here.
Strategic Outcome 3.0 - Innovation: Knowledge and skills in the natural sciences and engineering are transferred to and used productively by the user sector in Canada
Turning knowledge into innovative products and services forms the basis for a competitive economy. Federal investments play an important role in stimulating innovation through the promotion of university-industry and college-industry partnerships, technology transfer activities and the training of people with appropriate scientific and business skills. Equally important is focusing research resources on areas that will have the greatest economic, social or policy impact.
NSERC’s Research Partnerships Programs take advantage of Canada’s robust capacity in research and offer a means to connect and apply knowledge and technologies generated in universities and colleges to industry and government end users, and to connect industry challenges and training capacity to universities and colleges. NSERC’s integrated set of partnerships programs ensure that support is available for the various aspects of applying research talent, expertise and research results to the benefit of Canada. Targeted projects in strategic areas build capacity and accelerate research and training in topics of identified national interest and concern. Engage grants build new academic–industry partnerships and Collaborative Research and Development Grants sustain these relationships by encouraging academic researchers and graduate students to collaborate with industry in joint research projects to address identified industrial challenges. Commercialization programs facilitate the transfer of research results into the economy and ease business access to the expertise and specialized facilities within colleges and universities. NSERC’s Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation has increased the reach and impact of NSERC’s Research Partnerships Programs by building innovation in Canada and responding to the call to action presented in the Science, Technology and Innovation Council’s (STIC) State of the Nation 2008 report (May 2009) and the Council of Canadian Academies Innovation and Business Strategy: Why Canada Falls Short (April 2009).
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 22 | 116.5 | 22 | 107.3 | 22 | 97.1 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Research and training in targeted and emerging areas of national importance is accelerated |
Percentage of researchers applying for a strategic grant for the first time (or who have never applied in a specific area) |
Five percent |
Program Activity Summary: This program activity funds research in areas of national importance and in emerging areas that are of potential significance to Canada. The programs require researchers to work with partners who can use and exploit the results of their projects.
Subactivities include:
Planning Highlights
Strategic Partnerships Programs
- It is NSERC’s practice to renew its strategic target areas every five years. The new target areas were announced in November 2010. Starting in 2011-12, NSERC will support Strategic Projects and Strategic Networks in four priority areas: Environmental science and technologies, information and communication technologies, manufacturing, and natural resources and energy. The new target areas align with the priorities of the federal S&T strategyand the industry sectors identified in Budget 2008 as priorities for NSERC investment.
- By supporting strategic partnerships in these four areas, NSERC will focus resources on areas most relevant to its mandate (environmental science and technologies, information and communications technologies and natural resources and energy) and the Budget 2008 priority area of manufacturing. The four target areas also effectively address the other priority areas of Budget 2008 (Forestry, Fisheries and Automotive). This focusing will support growth in the industry- driven programs associated with the NSERC Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation, while maintaining the strategic partnerships programs as significant tools in NSERC’s suite of Research Partnerships Programs.
- NSERC will continue to support international collaboration and exchanges through its strategic partnerships programs by launching concurrent calls for joint research proposals with foreign partners. Scientific-cooperation agreements are in place with France and Taiwan, and soon with Japan.
Collaborative Health Research Projects
- With the launch of NSERC’s four new strategic target areas, the former Biomedical Technologies target area will be merged with the CHRP program, which is jointly funded by CIHR and NSERC. The program, which is targeted to improving the health of Canadians, integrates the efforts of natural scientists and engineers with health scientists. In 2012, this program will require the involvement of users of the knowledge being created to ensure a stronger link and impact on the health system, with a focus on efficiencies and use of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians.
Benefits to Canada
To take advantage of Canada’s established excellence in research and innovation, and to build capacity in areas critical to the Canadian economy, NSERC invests in strategic priorities areas for the country. For maximum effect, these investments support a range of integrated activities with the common goal of connecting researchers with end users in order to transfer and exploit knowledge and to increase Canadian prosperity.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 60 | 167.1 | 60 | 160.0 | 60 | 170.2 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
|
Mutually beneficial collaborations between the private sector and researchers in universities, resulting in industrial or economic benefits to Canada |
Increase in the number of industrial partners supporting and participating in university-industry collaborations |
Greater than 75 new partners |
| Partner satisfaction with research results | 75 percent of partners indicating satisfaction through final reports and/or follow-up surveys | |
| NSERC Chairholders Database | ||
Program Activity Summary: NSERC’s programs under this activity foster collaborations between university researchers and industry in order to develop new knowledge and expertise and to transfer this knowledge and expertise to Canadian-based companies.
Subactivities include:
- Industrial Research and Development Internships (IRDI)
- Industrial Research and Development Fellowships (IRDF)
- Industrial Research Chairs (IRC)
- Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grants
- Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE)
- Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE)
Planning Highlights
Industrial Research and Development Fellowships
- The Industrial R&D Fellowships (IRDF) program encourages business to hire a postdoctoral researcher for a two-year period to undertake research and development of importance to the company. This program gives the company the opportunity to evaluate the fellow for potential long-term employment and the postdoctoral fellow the opportunity to gain experience in industry. NSERC’s regional offices are an increasing part of the plan to more effectively market these PhD graduates to business. The IRDF program is part of the four point plan of the Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation to “Connect People and Skills” by making it more attractive for innovating companies, particularly small companies, to hire PhD graduates from the natural sciences and engineering.
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
- NSERC’s Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grants Program suite will continue to serve as important mechanisms to deliver on NSERC’s Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation. Engage Grants and Interaction Grants will continue to foster new industry-academic relationships. Since the launch of the Engage Grants in November 2009, the demand for this short-term support for new academic-industry relationships focused on solving a company specific problem, has grown significantly (to a projected $10.4 million in 2010-11). Through NSERC’s five regional offices working on the ground in the regions, industry participation in Engage Grants is expected to remain high and to translate into ongoing academic-industry research partnerships supported through NSERC’s integrated spectrum of research partnership opportunities, such as the Collaborative Research and Development Grants Program.
- The new Innovation Frontiers initiative builds upon the successes of university-industry collaborations by supporting large-scale, solution-driven research, involving significant partner leverage and participation. This highly flexible and agile initiative will serve as a driver for enabling industrial innovation in addressing issues of national importance, such as Canada’s Digital Economy Strategy and the clean energy sector.
Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence
- A review of the relevance and effectiveness of the BL-NCE program will be completed in 2011-12. A new component was introduced to the program in recent months to encourage higher participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): BL-SME Cooperative Funds. This funding was allocated to increase the direct involvement of the SME community in the research and commercialization activities of the Business-Led Networks and supports the NSERC Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation goal of increasing academic-industry partnerships with SMEs.
Benefits to Canada
The CRD Grants, NCE and BL-NCE partnership programs provide different means for companies to address their innovation challenges and gain access to specialized expertise and highly qualified personnel. Industrial R&D Internships and Fellowships provide training in industry for students and fellows, while also supporting research that enhances the innovation capacity of the host firms. Industrial Research Chairs (IRCs) are significant longer term investments by companies that focus the expertise of internationally recognized researchers on building research and training capacity in areas of importance to the partner company(s). Approximately 80 percent of IRCs work in the priority areas identified in the federal S&T strategy and in Budget 2008.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 18 | 54.8 | 18 | 36.9 | 18 | 36.9 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
|
The transfer of knowledge and technology residing in Canadian universities and colleges to the user sector is facilitated |
A set of nine university commercialization indicators collected by Statistics Canada15 |
An increase in the majority of the nine indicators |
Program Activity Summary: NSERC’s programs under this activity enhance the capacity of Canadian universities and colleges to transfer knowledge and technology from academic research laboratories to Canadian companies. They accelerate the pre-commercial development of promising innovations and related marketing and patenting activities. They support applied research and collaborations that facilitate commercialization, as well as technology transfer, adaptation and adoption of new technologies. Canadian companies increase access to publicly supported research results and spin-off companies are created. As with NSERC’s partnerships programs, federal funding serves to leverage significant amounts of private funding.
Subactivities include:
- Ideas to Innovation (I2I)
- College and Community Innovation (CCI)
- Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)
Planning Highlights
College and Community Innovation
- NSERC, together with CIHR and SSHRC, will continue to support collaborative projects with industry in colleges across the country and strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs through innovation. Through Budget 2010, the CCI Program budget was doubled, allowing for new activities to be funded. These new program elements (Applied Research Tools and Instruments [ARTI], Applied Research and Development [ARD] and Technology Access Centres [TACs]) provide additional tools to better deliver on the objectives of the program.
- Innovation Enhancement Grants (IE) will continue to provide colleges with support to strengthen and demonstrate their applied research capabilities and carry out applied research and knowledge/technology transfer activities where the college has recognized expertise that meets local or regional needs and has the potential to increase economic development in the community.
- Applied Research Tools and Instruments will assist with the purchase or development of equipment for applied research.
- Applied Collaborative Research and Development Grants will support businesses’ collaborative applied R&D projects at colleges.
- Technology Access Centres will provide responsive technology and management services to SMEs and conduct applied research projects with businesses.
Idea to Innovation
- NSERC, together with CIHR, will explore alignment in program objectives and delivery between CIHR’s Proof of Principle (POP) and NSERC’s I2I programs. The ultimate benefit will be to reduce the administrative burden on researchers and technology transfer office staff and avoid confusion about which program is more appropriate for projects that cross the mandates of the agencies.
Benefits to Canada
Canada is among the world leaders in academic research excellence. Transferring and translating this excellence into societal and economic benefit is a high priority for NSERC. Success in these efforts requires not only expertise in knowledge and technology transfer, but also building expertise in entrepreneurship and creating an environment that allows potential business ventures to thrive. The CECR is changing the context for academic technology transfer and commercialization, bringing new strength to an already productive area. The greatly broadened CCI suite supports the continued evolution of applied research and innovation in colleges, enabling colleges to play an even greater role in Canada’s innovation system.
Program Actvity 4.1 - Internal Services
The following program activity supports all three of NSERC’s strategic outcomes.
| Human Resources (FTE) and Planned Spending ($ millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | |||
| FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending | FTE | Planned Spending |
| 173 | 23.9 | 173 | 22.6 | 173 | 22.6 |
Program Activity Summary: NSERC and SSHRC share internal services for general administration, human resources, finance, awards administration, information management and technology, and audit services. This common administrative services model has proven highly efficient for the two federal granting agencies. In addition, NSERC has its own corporate services to address the agency’s distinct needs in terms of governance, policy, planning, statistics, program evaluation, performance measurement, communications and international relations.
NSERC is working cooperatively with SSHRC, CIHR and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in order to improve the coordination of programs, activities and policies. Adopting a more integrated approach to programs and client services helps reduce the administrative burden on researchers and institutions. It also enables the support of crosscutting, multidisciplinary research initiatives designed to address important scientific opportunities and problems that matter to Canadians. The funding organizations are responsible for a number of co-operative funding programs which contribute to Canada’s strong international reputation for the support of research excellence and training. Senior executives of the funding organizations, including the Presidents and Executive Vice-Presidents, meet monthly to discuss issues and strengthen their joint efforts in order to address the knowledge, people and entrepreneurial advantages identified in the S&T StrategyPlanning Highlights
From 2010-11 to 2011-12, NSERC will:
- continue to meet regularly with CIHR, SSHRC and CFI to ensure an integrated approach to supporting research and improving client service;
- consider the results of the most recent Management Accountability Framework assessment, and address any identified areas for improvement;
- continue to integrate strategic, operational, financial and human resources management considerations when performing business planning activities (e.g., the integration of human resource planning into the annual budgeting exercise);
- develop mitigation strategies identified in NSERC’s 2011-12 Corporate Risk Profile (CRP);
- with CIHR and SSHRC and in consultation with the postsecondary research community and other stakeholders, review and update the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards and related policies, including revisions to the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Integrity in Research and Scholarship;
- continue to develop NSERC-STATS and use its capabilities to generate a wide range of reporting products that will highlight the results and impact of NSERC’s investments;
- continue to lever emerging tools and technologies in streamlining the administration, delivery and reporting of grants;
- enhance capacity and stay at the forefront of the field of performance measurement for S&T investments;
- continue outreach efforts to targeted industry and sector-specific media, as well as industry associations, to highlight the benefits of the Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation (SPI) and to double the number of companies participating in SPI between 2009 and 2014;
- continue to identify new opportunities to connect with industry and key opinion leaders;
- utilize examples, statistics and other quantifiable data to demonstrate program effectiveness;
- increase Canada’s awareness of research achievements by leveraging existing relationships with core audiences through the NSERC regional offices, former NSERC Council members and former NSERC prize winners and journalists, to ensure that audiences are reached at national, regional and local levels; and
- increase awareness in industry, particularly SMEs, about the benefits of collaborating with academia.
Integrated Strategic Planning
NSERC continues to advance the integration of human resource planning into its business planning activities, most notably during the annual budgeting activities and in the activities surrounding the provisioning of new programs. During these activities, Human Resources (HR) works with business units to identify human resource requirements and translate these into HR recruitment plans. These, in
turn, become an integral part of the budgeting exercise. Moreover, by focusing on building strategic capacity throughout common administrative service units, NSERC focuses on enabling better integrated planning and reporting in areas such as finance and human resources.