Innovation Strategy overtaken by 21st Century Economy in Paul Martin government

Analysis

The federal government’s much vaunted Innovation Strategy has been shelved. After more than a year of near silence, the demise of the Strategy is possibly one of the worst kept secrets within policy circles and throughout the S&T community. But since there has been no official confirmation of its status, many are still under the impression that it has merely been delayed.

In its place, the government of prime minister Paul Martin has adopted the phrase 21st Century Economy which has a stronger sectoral focus and includes a major environmental sustainability thrust. The term appeared immediately upon Martin’s selection as prime minister last December and continues to be used in major speeches. It is deemed to be more inclusive than the Innovation Strategy, allowing for a greater dovetailing of policy planks that impact on innovation, the economy and society as a whole.

RE$EARCH MONEY contacted several senior policy officials to obtain their views. While none would affirm the Strategy as officially dead, there was unanimous agreement that the wording surrounding the Innovation Strategy as well as the title itself have fallen into disuse. In addition, some elements seem to have been dropped while others remain part of the government’s agenda.

“The Innovation Strategy doesn’t have much legs anymore although the commercialization and enabling pieces are still alive. People have recognized that it didn’t hold together,” says a senior federal official. “It did establish a framework and got a lot of feedback but it really has gone silent. You don’t see people lining up behind it.”

DEAD, DORMANT OR RE-NAMED?

One observer of the federal S&T environment contends that the demise of the Innovation Strategy isn’t exactly news. He says that he first heard it indirectly in early 2004 by an associate working at Industry Canada. The same observer says that last June he was told personally by a senior government official that the Strategy was “dead”.

“Some elements are active under other names, but within the department the term Innovation Strategy is nowhere to be seen. They’re not trying to keep it a secret,” said the observer.

The government’s willingness to declare the Innovation Strategy dead or at least reconstituted under another name has not yet spilled over into the public realm. When an Industry Canada official was asked by RE$EARCH MONEY whether the Strategy was dead, the response was non-committal.

“I wouldn’t characterize it that way,” says Alfred Leblanc, Industry Canada’s DG strategic policy. “You don’t hear the words (Innovation Strategy). There’s more talk about commercialization. The view is that we are further ahead in putting some of the pieces in place than others.”

CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR?

Leblanc says there is “no big mystery” surrounding the Strategy’s lack of visibility. He attributes the silence to the extended period of transition within government that has “distracted” policy makers in Ottawa to some extent. But he acknowledges that the term 21st Century Economy has been a major “meta theme” since the February/04 SFTT (R$, February 12/04).

Regardless of the Innovation Strategy’s official status, Leblanc asserts that the process that began in early 2002 has been extremely valuable and has had a major impact on the innovation policies evident in government today.

“There was good input into the consultations and it’s safe to say that that input has been very helpful in shaping policy,” he says, adding that he attended the National Innovation Summit in November/02. “In the last two Budgets there has been a host of initiatives that are consistent with those consultations. The consultations helped to shape the advice we are giving to government.”

TROUBLED GENESIS

Even before the Innovation Strategy’s official launch in February/02, internal feuding caused the skills and learning portion of the initiative to be split off and placed under the control of Human Resources Development Canada. The major components of the Strategy remained within Industry Canada under minister Alan Rock, who staged a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful campaign to increase its visibility and status within Cabinet. By the time of the National Innovation Summit in Toronto that November, the cracks were beginning to show. Scheduled speaker prime minister Jean Chrétien was a no-show (apparently due to bad weather) as was Dr Rey Pagtakhan, then secretary of state for science, research and development.

Nonetheless, the Summit was well attended, although representatives from the all-important business sector were dwarfed by those from government and academia. During the event, a five-point action plan was unveiled and discussed (see chart), ending with a number of key deliverables. They included a commitment to reconvene the Summit’s delegates within two years (November/04) and a pledge to “measure and report annually on Canada’s progress towards our national goals and targets”.

BAD BLOOD

Neither has happened, creating bad blood for many of those who attended.

During RE$EARCH MONEY’s recent Edmonton conference on commercialization, it was publicly stated that a senior Industry Canada official had declared the Innovation Strategy dead. One conference participant who attended the summit expressed anger at the government’s failure to follow through on its commitments.

“I’m not going to any more federal government meetings unless they pay me to go there,” said David Langstaff, president and CEO of Winnipeg-based Cangene Corp.

From a practical perspective, the replacement of the Innovation Strategy by the 21st Century Economy matters less in terms of policy and programs than its impact on the optics and communication of government priorities. Without clear lines of communication, confusion, duplication of effort and lack of inclusiveness could have a negative impact on the process of innovation.

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