CSPC2016

Organized by, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, Jennifer Zwicker

Health research includes biomedical, clinical, health systems services and social, cultural, environmental and population health research.  Findings in these areas are integral to the creation of new knowledge, development of more effective and more efficient health services and products resulting in improved quality of life of Canadians and a more efficient health system.  Canadian public research funding policy is struggling to keep pace with the increasing pressures on public research funding allocations within the health care discipline.

With a comprehensive review of federal support for fundamental science occurring in 2016, this will be dynamic and engaging panel that will draw on multiple perspectives to discuss how health research can be both more sustainable and equitable in Canada to maximize Canada’s health research potential. With discussion grounded in the funding trends for Canadian health research from the 1960s to present, panelists will focus on both the policies and priorities that guide health research investments and the principles and practices of the peer review process.

• Revisiting the policies and priorities that guide health research investments: The shift in health research policy in Canada to “mission-driven research” runs the risk of “short-termism”, where the quantity and type of research funded is focused on short-term results and is industry or priority driven (Lynch, 2015). An OECD report (2015) highlights that long-term funding for curiosity-driven research is a significant source of innovation and has high social return. Panelists will discuss how research-funding policy can become more sustainable and the importance of maintaining creativity.

• Revising principles and practices of the peer review process: How can the grant review process better address any potential bias in the way funding is approved? With recent changes to the peer review system for awarding federal research funding, members of the scientific community have concerns around the variability in success rates across career stages and potential unconscious biases due to gender and other characteristics that might come into play when research grants are awarded. Panellists will discuss what may be contributing to this and suggest areas where policy revision is needed.