Over the past year, the ISSP has published multiple member blogs about how we need to transform decision-making to more effectively address grand challenges, such as transforming teaching, training and the science enterprise; fostering equity, diversity and inclusion in decision-making; putting into practice new decision-making models, and reframing how we think about science and technology in domestic and international policy. The compilation also includes a dedicated section on the grand challenges of COVID-19 and climate change.
On July 22, 2021, Science and Policy Exchange, the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, the National Research Council and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) hosted a science diplomacy event to introduce early-career scientists to real global science-policy issues and to guide them through evidence-informed policy scenarios. This blog is an adaptation of the author’s keynote speech.
From Monday, May 31 to Thursday, June 3, 2021, Positive Energy hosted 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 convened senior leaders from business, government, Indigenous communities, civil society and the academy for a series of online, interactive, 1-hour sessions.
On Thursday, May 27, at 12:00 PM, the Institute for Science, Society and Policy hosted 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.
On Tuesday, May 11, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM, the ISSP and the RCIS hosted 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 Wednesday, June 15th 2022, from 8:30AM to 5PM, the ISSP and Positive Energy will host a conference featuring a variety of speakers and industry representatives to discuss the findings of our latest research. This conference will be held in person at the University of Ottawa and offered virtually.
New survey results from Positive Energy and Nanos Research evaluate Canadians' appetite to meet established climate commitments, whether it is the right time for Canada to be ambitious in addressing climate change and drivers of views on timing to address climate change. It also evaluates Canada's international credibility on environmental policies.Canada's international credibility on environmental policies.
A new study from the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program examines the work of the Ecofiscal Commission of Canada, an organization that aimed to depoliticize the debate about carbon pricing in Canada by using one specific tool: infusing the debate with non-partisan, academically rigorous research and evidence.
This Positive Energy study explores limits to consensus-building on energy and climate—specifically limits that flow from partisan politics. It identifies key drivers and events that have contributed to the polarization of certain energy and climate issues along partisan lines, and offers advice for decision-makers looking to navigate polarized contexts on the way to net zero by 2050.
New survey results from Positive Energy and Nanos Research evaluate how Canadians perceive the level of public consensus on a number of climate and energy issues. The survey asks Canadians about the current level of agreement on these issues, as well as the level of agreement relative to five years ago.
The fruit of eighteen months of engagement with our members, it is grounded in the ambitious vision of helping Canada to transform decision-making to meet the grand challenges of our time. The plan lays out multiple research, teaching and outreach goals, activities and target outcomes to realize this vision.