Former Fulbright Visiting Research Chair, ISSP
Immediate Past President of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society
Issues of who benefits, who is allowed to contribute to science, who has a say in how science is governed, and how science is admitted into society and culture have come to maturity only in the past decade. Taken together, these issues are called “the right to science” and form a new framework for considering a full range of issues in science and technology policy.
Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor, ISSP Principal,Paulicy works
Since 2005 when it was founded as the brainchild of John de la Mothe, a Canada Research Chair for innovation at University of Ottawa, and Nicholas Vonortas of George Washington University (GWU), the D. Allan Bromley Memorial Lecture and Event has provided graduate students with the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with senior science and technology (S&T) policy advisors from the two capitals—Ottawa and Washington, D.C. In the spirit of honouring the legacy of the Canadian-born science advisor to the US President George H.W. Bush, the event alternates between the two capitals.
Inaugural Director and Core Member, ISSP
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Ottawa
I had the privilege to be the rapporteur at the Workshop on Principles & Guidelines for Government Scientific Advice held on September 28, 2016 and to report the results to the plenary of the 2nd INGSA Conference two days later. The workshop was facilitated by James Wilsdon and Dan Sarewitz and included approximately 40 experts from 20 nations, with additional input from the Global Young Academy. I offer here observations from the rapporteur’s vantage point.
Postdoctoral Fellow, ISSP
Global Governance PhD candidate (ABD) at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo
The Canadian government has expressed a strong commitment to grounding its action on climate change in fact-based decision-making and robust science. Computer-based climate-economy models have become standard tools for aiding decisions on climate policy. As such, these models offer an important and revealing example of the science- policy interface that the ISSP works in.
Canada Research Chair in Information Law,
Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Municipal police services in North America now commonly make digital crime maps available to the public online. These interactive maps allow individuals to choose a particular part of their city, as well as a window of time (crimes in the last 7, 14 or 21 days, for example). They can search for all mapped crimes in this time frame or can limit their search to particular types of crime. The results are returned in the form of icons on a map of the selected area. The icons represent different categories of criminal activity, and clicking on each icon will reveal basic information about the incident.
On Tuesday, May 11, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM, the ISSP and the RCIS will host an expert panel discussion on AI and machine learning.
Will AI and machine learning augment or replace human creativity? How do we teach creativity to the next generation in a world of AI and machine learning? And how do we ensure teaching creativity and innovation in this world remains inclusive?
On Thursday, May 27, at 12:00 PM, the Institute for Science, Society and Policy will host Prof. Handan Tezel, Faculty Affiliate, ISSP and Full Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Enginnering, Faculty of Enginnering, uOttawa, to discuss how we can capture carbon dioxide from combustion gases or from air and recycle it back to make fuels and other useful chemicals, instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.
The 'war against science' is nothing new. The first 'bankruptcy of science' debate took place in France at the turn of the 20th century, was fuelled mostly by conservative public intellectuals, and brought evidence up for debate. Is history repeating itself now in Canada? The trend raises important questions: Dr. Stathis Psillos reflected on what were and are the key external and internal criticisms of science and evidence in particular, how are these tied to a particular image of science, and what is needed to defend science and its claim to objectivity and truth.
This event was organized in collaboration with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada's Situating Science Strategic Knowledge Cluster.
The Critical Need for Evidence in Developing Good Public Policies - April 2014
Dr. Munir Sheikh reflected on how public policy can contribute fully to enhancing our quality of life if it is evidence-based. Professor Sheikh's talk concentrated on examples intended to drive home this point: two examples on the need to do better on developing evidence; two on using evidence appropriately. With respect to the first set of examples, the talk focused on the cancellation of the long form census and estimating the true size of government. Regarding the use of evidence, examples included the design of pollution taxes and policies focused on the middle class.
This event was organized in collaboration with Evidence for Democracy.
The ISSP was delighted to host Rongping Mu, Director-General of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the students from George Washington University.
This panel discussion with David Willetts (UK Minister of State for Universities and Science), Martyn Poliakoff (Foreign Secretary, Royal Society), and Mary Bownes (University of Edinburgh) examined how science advice to government translates into informing government policy. This included discussing the UK’s Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) and how it operates.
This event was presented by the ISSP, the Center for International Policy Studies, and the British High Commission.
Canada’s existing legislative and institutional frameworks and competition policies: Is there a need for reform in light of the digital revolution?
The Hon. Konrad W. von Finckenstein reflected on the regulatory and governance challenges fostered by rapid technological innovation, including whether Canada's existing legislative frameworks and competition policies are up to the task of encouraging and promoting innovation in its broadcasting and telecommunications systems.
A new study from the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program examines cabinet’s review of the 2021 NGTLSystem Expansion Project following recommendations from the Canada Energy Regulator.
From Monday, May 31 to Thursday, June 3, 2021, Positive Energy will host a virtual conference exploring the roles and responsibilities between and among public authorities making decisions about Canada's energy future in an age of climate change. The conference will convene senior leaders from business, government, Indigenous communities, civil society and the academy for a series of virtual, interactive, 1-hour sessions.
Congratulations to Prof. Stefanie Haustein, Faculty Affiliate of the ISSP and Assistant Professor, Department of Information Studies, Faculty of Arts, uOttawa, recipient of the Faculty of Arts Researcher of the Year Award!
