2016 Canadian Science Policy Conference Returns To Ottawa

The 2016 Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC), the eighth such event, will return to the nation’s capital from November 8-10.  This is the third year the Conference will take place in Ottawa, and the first time it has been held in the same city in consecutive years.  I attended the first conference in 2009, and the event has grown in size and stature every year since.  I’d encourage anyone interested in Canadian science policy, or even in how interested researchers and practitioners form and grow a community, to review previous conferences and consider attending the event.

The conference themes have been announced, and conference organizers are looking for panel proposals.  The deadline for submitting them is June 17th.  Most of the conference themes reflect the change in Canadian government (which took place just before the last CSPC) and the statements that government has made regarding science, technology and innovation policies for the country.  These new policies include the establishment of a science adviser of some kind (distinct from the government’s Minister of Science, Kristy Kirsty Duncan, who spoke at the 2015 conference) and a spending review for fundamental science research.

More information on the 2016 conference should trickle in over the summer.