Responding to the Jenkins Panel on R&D

It's been just over a week since the October 17th, 2011 press release on the Review of Federal Support to Research and Development website announced the completion of the Jenkins' panel comprehensive review of federal R&D programs.



Here's a quick sampling of some of the comments the panel report has so far provoked:

• The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) promised only to review the recommendations according to it's October 17th, 2011 press release "AIAC acknowledges work of the Jenkins Panel on R&D." Specific areas of concern were listed as being the suggested changes to the SR&ED federal tax credit system and the revised role being proposed for the National Research Council (NRC). According to the AIAC press release "the timing of the report is beneficial as AIAC is preparing for the review of aerospace policies and programs announced in the 2011 budget." As outlined in my May 30th, 2011 post "Political 'Reviews' Moving to the Forefront" the Jenkins review is not the only report related to Canadian R&D  which is expected to be released over the next 12-18 months.

• On the other hand, the Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries (CADSI), which bills itself as the “voice” of the Canadian defense and security industries, seems to look favorably on the report, at least according the October 17th, 2011 press release "Federal Innovation Report Provides Key Elements To Industrial Success For Canadian Defence and Security Companies."  The press release quotes CADSI president Tim Page as welcoming "the federal government’s release of the Report of the Expert Panel on Government Support to Research and Development as an important step towards making our country and our economy stronger." 

• The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) has also come out inn favor of the Jenkins panel review according to the October 17th, 2011 press release "AUCC applauds expert panel’s vision for innovation." According to the AUCC president Paul Davidson, the "panel’s analysis reaffirms the leading role that Canada’s universities play in providing the talent, discovery and ideas that serve as the cornerstone of our economy and society.”

• The mass media also seems to have strong opinions about what the Jenkins panel review means. According to the October 17th, 2011 Financial Post (FP) article "Canada’s R&D funding system ‘unnecessarily complicated,’ panel finds" the real conclusion is that "Canadian entrepreneurs looking to get federal R&D support had better be comfortable pushing through piles of paperwork." A day later, in the October 18th, 2011 PT editorial comment "Dim-bulb R&D policy" the paper laments that "Jenkins’ mandate never included ­scrapping the whole bad idea" of SH&RD tax credits.

• According to the October 17th, 2011 post on the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce website under the title “Shaping the Future of Canadian Innovation: The Jenkins Panel Report Deloitte" the accounting firm Deloitte Canada comments the panel "on its consultative approach in developing its recommendations" and applauds "the suggestions to increase the availability of funds to start-up and later stage companies, and increase the government’s procurement." However, the company also found that while "simplifying the SR&ED program is a great objective" it may "create a bias in the program towards labour-intensive sectors at the expense of non-labour intensive industries" and did not "explicitly deal with approaches to making Canada more attractive to foreign investment."

• Both the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and FPInnovations feel "the report is an important step forward in discussing ways to improve federal support for innovation and help the forest industry transform and benefit from the promising opportunities in the emerging bio-economy" according to the October 18th, 2011 Canadian News Wire (CNW) press release "Forest industry on Jenkins Report: Focused investments in innovation key to Canadian competitiveness."

So far the public statements have been pretty tame. Expect the next round of public statements to be less so.

This next round will begin in early November, just in time for the 1st Canadian Aerospace Summit (organized by the AIAC), the 2011 Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC), the INNOVATION 2011 conference (organized by the Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies) and the 2011 Canadian Space Summit. Each will each bring together enough interested people to revisit R&D innovation issues.

Then the real sparks will begin to fly.