Research Innovation Office, Memorial University’s Post

Societal transformation is urgent in the face of the enormous challenges the world is facing. Research has the potential to contribute profoundly to that societal change, but the gap between research and society (individuals, collectives, communities, civil society organisations, …) persists.   The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) is conscious of this research-society deficit and aims at enhancing its societal impact.   This is what we worked on during the 3-day training I had the opportunity to give to researchers at Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) about research’s societal impact, which included accompanying the researchers in understanding, enhancing and monitoring their research projects’ societal impact potential and identifying necessary steps to achieve this impact potential, specifically through 2 concrete research cases (a social observatory and research on transformation of housing-transport modalities).   I want to thank the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) for organising these 3 very stimulating days, especially Martin Dijst, Pierre Imhoff, Kristell L., Philippe Gerber, Marzieh Ghanbari and Tai-Yu Ma.

A crucial topic to discuss from our Co-Founder Rita Gil Mata, PhD. What do you think about this topic? Share your views!! #FUNDamentallySCIENCE #SupportingExcellentScienceGettingFunding #WorkLifeBalance #Deadlinesbutnotreally #DisruptingLives

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐂 𝐑&𝐈 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 🗓️💼 This morning, I coached some MSCA fellows preparing for the early September deadline. Their summer? Gone. 😔 And at the host institution's? Research managers taking early holidays to support proposals during August. 🏖️➡️💻 (cheers to the incredible community of RMAs always doing their best to support researchers!) Fellow colleagues? Check the poll of Isabel Burdallo, PhD which results speak for themselves. Almost 𝟰𝟬 topics that are open and will close on the first 15 days of September. Let's make some quick and VERY conservative maths: - 10 submissions for each topic with 10 partners in each consortium and 2 people working on it per partner: 𝟴.𝟬𝟬𝟬 professionals of the R&I system that have their holidays ruined. This is definitely not new, but honestly, I don't get it! What good can come from: - Researchers sacrificing summers/Christmas holidays ☀️ 🎄 ❌ - Research Managers rearranging their lives to support the community 🔄 - Proposal quality at risk - we talk so much about mental-health, but how good can proposals be when no one rested properly? 📉 EC's R&I Funding Programmes deadlines, systematically in September and January, aren't just dates. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞. We need change. We are all deeply involved in the R&I ecosystem, we should organize ourselves to discuss these impacts with the EC Agencies and collectively find better ways. 🧠💪 Your thoughts? How could we do it? Let's talk! #ResearchFunding #EuropeanCommission #WorkLifeBalance

On average, fewer than 20% of PhD holders work in academia: they become part of innovation ecosystems in the social, public and industrial sectors. As such, they should be equipped to leverage their skills to drive Canadian prosperity.   Graduate education strategy is an important dimension of innovation policy. In a context where social and human research are increasingly seen to be as important as the development of enabling technologies to address societal and global challenges, we need to rethink the competencies we associate with highly qualified talent.   Join the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and The/La Collaborative at the next annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) for a consultative and deliberative workshop to shape the vision for Canada’s Graduate Education Strategy. Join us to: ↗ Take ownership of proposed recommendations and set priorities ↗ Reflect on the mechanisms necessary to promote concerted action ↗ Identify key stakeholders to rally around an emerging consensus ↗ Identify audiences for a statement and next steps A consensus statement emerging from this consultation will inform the next steps of a national campaign in partnership with Evidence for Democracy. This special event will take place Wednesday October 30, 1:30-5pm in Toronto (downtown) and is free. For more information and to register, please secure your ticket using the Eventbrite platform: https://lnkd.in/eZ2mYrEF

Such an important topic Sandra Lapointe. I wish I could be in Toronto to learn from others and share views. My modest oversimplified suggestion: As part of their academic path, provide the 80% (PhDs that know won't go into academia) with 20% of non-academic competencies that will be useful in their future roles. Non-academic competencies could be viewed as a mix of knowledge mobilisation, experiential learning, valorization/transfer, entrepreneurship and other impact-focused activities. Evaluate accordingly. Looking forward to learn about the result of the discussions! Coryell

Introducing our latest Special Focus eBook, which delves into Canada's involvement in the world's foremost research initiative, spotlighting key projects supported by funding from Horizon Europe. Canada's participation in Horizon Europe marks a significant step forward for scientific collaboration. In November 2023, Canada secured an association agreement, allowing researchers to compete for funding under Pillar II, the programme's main collaborative arm. This signifies a new era of scientific exchange between Canada and the European Union, with Canadian ingenuity poised to contribute on a global scale. In this eBook, we explore the industry-leading projects set to benefit from Horizon funding and their transformative impacts on a range of industries. We hear from the Canadian Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Agency, who detail Canada's partnership with the European Commission and the transformative impact expected from Horizon funding on the nation's future. The University of Alberta highlights its current status as a research powerhouse across various disciplines. Université de Sherbrooke takes the spotlight, showcasing its innovative programmes, strategic partnerships, and prestigious scholarships propelling research excellence forward. Vineland Research and Innovation Centre steps into focus next, shedding light on the critical significance of maintaining healthy soil and addressing the looming threats of soil erosion. Shifting gears, we turn our attention to the TRIUMF project, Canada's esteemed global accelerator, which stands at the forefront of scientific innovation. The University of Waterloo eagerly embraces the vast funding opportunities afforded by Pillar II of Horizon Europe. With €53bn in new funding on the horizon, the university anticipates groundbreaking advancements across various research domains. Continuing our journey, the University of Calgary seeks collaborative partnerships to propel its research endeavours to new heights through Pillar II opportunities of Horizon Europe. McGill University steps into the limelight to discuss the future trajectory of Canadian research now that Horizon Europe's funding has expanded to Canada. Later, Dalhousie University's Ocean Frontier Institute, under the leadership of Anya Waite, takes centre stage as it tackles urgent ocean-climate challenges through pioneering scientific research and innovation. Finally, Trent University shines a spotlight on its world-class academic environment, serving as a global hub for climate and sustainability research. To read and download this eBook for free, please click the link below ⬇ https://bit.ly/3wRbVJM #HorizonEurope #Canada #ScienceResearch #HorizonEuropeFunding

Trying to make the next Boston or Cambridge in Australia is probably folly. As Tony Raven recently noted in a LinkedIn discussion Australia lacks an industry base in key sectors like pharma which means that there are limited opportunities to work with those sectors. Given our geographical isolation we will always be at a disadvantage compared with their geographically proximate research organisations. This effectively limits our collaborative capacity with those sectors that we don't sustain. Instead, we have spent a great deal of policy time and effort talking about growing our own industries and commercialising our research. But the reality is we have faced difficulties with getting access to capital and having the the volume of research required to sustain this kind of system. San Diego, Boston, Cambridge all emerged in a national context characterised by large capital markets and VC $$, while also producing a large % of the world's science. These are both insurmountable given our relative size. Of course we can do some of this, and genuinely unique research and technology will always be competitive, but this will never scale in Australia. So what is the left for us at the nexus of universities and research organisations and industry? An alternative would be to more closely align our research with our existing and emerging export industries and our largest employing sectors. This would be things like agriculture, professional services, tourism, mining, (exports) and health care, retail, construction, education and training (employment). Issues we face are: - none of this is sexy and so is hard to sell to policy makers - most private companies in Australia are small (1-5 employees) and with no R&D - we have low absorptive capacity (apologies Tony Peacock 😉) as all our researchers are in universities not industry - we have so heavily invested in international student revenue to cross-subsidise research and are too deep in the international rankings game so we keep alive the idea that we are a global medical research powerhouse (we definitely have some exceptional research but again, not at a scale to sustain a global competitive position). This kind of thinking was started by the Business Council of Australia some years ago (https://lnkd.in/dVZnw2-c) but I'm not sure it got much traction. But if we shifted our thinking a little more towards this model and away from the 'New Boston' I truly believe the public dividend from research would increase massively.

This report compares the institutional settings of research systems in Canada, Germany, Israel, the USA, and the UK. Australia's research system is heavily influenced by the higher education system, with higher education research increasing while business investment in R&D has been falling. Australia, Canada, and the UK have had higher education expenditures in the national R&D effort in the 25-35% range. These countries inherited the British system of cabinet government and individual Ministerial responsibility. The approach to public research funding in these countries is an aggregative "bottom-up" style, with no long-term national research strategy and low R&D to GDP proportions. In Germany, Israel, and the USA, higher education contribution to national R&D is much less, in the 10-20% range, and a much greater proportion of public research—research institutes and national laboratories. These countries reflect different public administration traditions and have a national research foundation that takes a cross-government approach to public R&D investment. Based on the study, the report argues for new institutional forms, including additional research funding councils and a national research foundation. https://wix.to/ggCrwkU #newblogpost

Situated at the midpoint between Western and Eastern Canada, the Province of Manitoba has the largest, most diverse, and fastest-growing Indigenous population in North America. It’s flagship postsecondary institution, the University of Manitoba (UM), is a leader in research, innovation, and collaboration. As a driving force for progressive thought and transformational change, we are uniquely positioned to lead the way in advancing reconciliation. Innovation News Network is proud to present the latest article from University of Manitoba Vice-President (Research and International) Mario Pinto, appearing in the latest edition of the Innovation Platform. Mario describes the University's role in answering global societal challenges in a fascinating contribution. #canada #horizoneurope #indigenouspopulations #science #research #horizoneurope

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