In a new report published by the CCA (Council of Canadian Academics), it has been revealed that science policies are becoming important by the day for the sub-national governments. The science policies are meant to be explicit, which are different from that of the implicit ones followed by almost all governments all over the world.
According to Phys.org, the current functionality of the scientific institutions depends mostly on a multi-level system. This system in most cases is uncoordinated and complex in nature. As per the experts, the benefits of science in a country are more inclined towards the explicit and effective policies adopted by the sub-national governments.
A two-day workshop was held to understand the implication of science policies that are considered to be relevant to sub-national jurisdictions. A report has been published regarding the findings of the research, which are reportedly dependent on five core elements: people, infrastructure, research, science culture and mobilizing knowledge. The report also emphasized on the fact that it is necessary to have coordination between different governments and various sectors to regulate a sound science policy.
According to Eurekalerts, the entire ecosystem of science can be maintained and developed by the implementation of a long-term sub-national science policy. The CCA has elaborated on the fact that with the recently released Fundamental Science Review of Canada, it is now easy for the various provinces to come together and align a certain amount to be invested in science for maximum impact on federal policies.
The CCA is an autonomous body which started its operations in 2005. It is a non-profit organization which looks to conduct workshops based on evidence and expert assessments for the development of Public Policy in Canada. The projects undertaken by the CCA are handled by independent and multidisciplinary panels of experts from all across the country and abroad.
The report produced by the workshop under the supervision of CCA is supposed to be used by the Canadian provinces and territories for making decisions regarding science policies at a sub-national level. Experts suggest that making Science policies explicit at sub-national levels can help in leveraging federal support for science.