D | The Scientist Magazine®

OTTAWA—The Canadian government has promised to match contributions from industry in a new program to increase funding for research. But its procedures have led scientists and industry officials to doubt whether the program, which began April 1, will really stimulate industrial support for universities. The idea seemed simple enough last year when it was first announced: for every dollar provided for eligible university research by the private sector, the federal government would kick in another dollar, up to a maximum of 6 percent of the annual budget for each of the country's three research councils. Science and Technology Minister Frank Oberle said the formula would increase spending by as much as $3.4 billion ($2.5 billion U.S.) the next five years and that it would provide the councils with an unprecedented degree of financial stability. Under the rules, universities that receive funds from the private sector may apply to the appropriate granting council for matching funds. Projects must contain a valid research component and include a specific goal for the work. The councils will decide which projects are acceptable, as well as the proportion of matching funds to be awarded and their destination—the university that submitted the application or the council's own grants budget. 'Why Bother?' The process has caused many scientists to question the likely impact of the new program. As Geraldine Kenny-Wallace, a chemistry professor at the University of Toronto, remarked: "Why would a researcher, beleaguered already with the rising costs of research and increasingly less time in which to do it, go out of his way to try to stimulate interaction with industry when matching funds that would be so valuable to support the research infrastructure will probably flow somewhere else?" The response from industry is equally skeptical. "I have talked to a lot of people in both the universities and industry and they all think that it is simply not going to be a workable system," said John Shepherd, chairman of electronics manufacturer Leigh Instruments Ltd. and a former Science Council of Canada executive director and vice-chairman. Each of the granting councils will follow its own guidelines for administering the program. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, with a budget of $324 million ($240 million U.S.), for example, plans in the first year to give 10 percent of the matching funds to the university as part of its general research grant and keep the rest for its own grants, awarded on the basis of peer review. The university's share would rise to 20 percent in the second year and 30 percent in the third year. Each university is free to decide how to allocate the additional funds. Motives Suspect The program was presented as a way to increase the budgets of the country's three granting councils as well as to stimulate private investment in university research. But some see it as an attempt by the government to ask industry to bear a load it is unwilling to carry, or as an opportunity for the councils to cover over their own budget shortfalls. "If the object is to obtain from industry the additional funds the councils requested [but did not receive] from government in their five-year plans," the Canadian Research Management Association has declared, "then most such industrial contributions will come from the corporate donations budget, where they compete with charities, cultural activities, community initiatives and the like. In the view of the CRMA management board, this process is not likely to be successful." A better approach, the association said, is collaboration on specific projects with economic incentives to industry. Exactly such project is underway, as part of new heart institute, between the University of Ottawa and Bell Canada and Bell Northern Research. The university, which last yew played a leading role in the country's first human heart transplant is developing an electronic imaging system that will allow video analysis and discussion among doctors in separate offices. University officials have asked NSERC to pro vide matching funds under an existing $23 million cooperative program in which applications undergo peer review. The advantage is that, once approved, the entire match goes toward bolstering the specific project for which funds were sought. Peter Morand, director of research administration for the university, said the older cooperative program allows universities "to leverage" industry grants for additional equipment, staff and the like to a much greater extent than does the new program. Spurgeon is a freelance science writer in Ottawa.

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