COVID-19 has underlined the importance of getting international partnerships right

International science collaborations have never been more active than during the pandemic. The sharing of scientific information across borders — from genomic datasets to open-access journal articles — has allowed for rapid progress in the fight against COVID-19 that would otherwise have been hamstrung.

The majority of these collaborations have been “bottom-up” efforts led by researchers, according to a recent 2021 OECD report. While these efforts have led to huge advances, the report notes that the international STI policy community needs to encourage a more collaborative mode of STI “in which shared goals and missions underpin individual and collective STI actions.” Mitigating climate change or preventing the spread of infectious diseases go far beyond any one research project, and confronting these problems requires a more orchestrated response.

Canadian government agencies, to their credit, have been pursuing more formal partnerships. Senior correspondent Lindsay Borthwick wrote this month that the Canadian government continues to pursue an associate membership with Horizon Europe, the EU’s new €100-billion research program. A few weeks earlier, Borthwick reported on a new formal partnership between NSERC and the US National Science Foundation.

These arrangements can become contentious and deeply political. Horizon Europe has been bogged down with negotiations over the status of non-EU countries like the U.K. and Switzerland, and it’s unclear how far along Canada is in talks.

Canadian researchers must also navigate partnerships with countries like China that may not share the same goals at all. NSERC’s recent announcement that they are implementing national security assessments for Alliance Grants has put responsibility on the backs of researchers to assess their partners and their work for risks to Canada’s security. As they expand these assessments to all granting councils, the government must take care to avoid a chilling effect on new research partnerships.

It won’t be easy in cases where geopolitical interests are not aligned. Senior correspondent Mark Lowey’s extensive reporting for Research Money on critical minerals and rare earth elements shows that Canadian governments are pushing to make Canada a preferred supplier internationally. That goal is essentially at odds with China — which currently has a near-monopoly in global markets — and critical mineral research is listed on NSERC’s national security assessments as a potential risk.

Solving international problems like climate change mitigation and adaptation will require international partnerships with countries around the world. Maintaining the steady flow of scientific ideas and research across borders is as much a political problem as a logistical issue, and it will require political solutions. At Research Money, we'll be watching the world of international research closely in the coming year.

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