North American INGSA chapter in the works

Canada is working to establish a North American chapter of the International Network of Government Science Advisors (INGSA), according to Quebec chief scientist Dr Rémi Quirion. In his latest message to the scientific community, Quirion said discussions on the new chapter continued during a G7 research summit on arctic research and the sustainability of northern communities held in June. According to Quirion, who is a founding INGSA member, the North American chapter will include Indigenous communities. The prospect of a North American chapter was the focus of a Montreal workshop in May that explored topics such as the multiple levels of governance in federal systems, linguistic and cultural diversity and indigenous knowledge systems and the impact of diverse industrial sectors. The workshop was attended by several high-profile Canadian science advisors and officials including Quirion, Canadian chief science advisor Dr Mona Nemer, former Ontario chief scientist Dr Molly Shoichet, Dr Marc Saner, inaugural director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy and Naser Faruqui, director of S&T at the International Development Research Centre. INGSA was established in 2014 under the auspices of the International Science Council as a collaborative platform for policy exchange, capacity building and research across diverse global science advisory organisations and national system. It recently released a strategic plan that outlines its plans to expand the depth and the thematic and geographical scope of its work. INGSA headquarters are based at the University of Auckland to accommodate its current president, Sir Peter Gluckman, former science advisor to New Zealand’s prime minister.