Browsing Science Research at the Federal Level in Canada: History, Research Activities, and Publications

Alex Curran is a former member of both the National Advisory Board on
Science and Technology and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council. He was chair of the Telecommunications Sectoral Advisory
Committee on Free Trade and the first recipien

The federal government is a major supporter of Canadian scientific
research. In total it spends about $7 billion annually on research
activities. Roughly half of this amount is devoted to activities in
medical fields, in matters of health, and in support of national
defence. The remainder goes to the subject of this book, which relates
to the roles of the research councils and to the activities of those
departments that perform scientific research in support of their
operational responsibilities.

The first chapter describes the continuing search for a science policy
that reflects political imperatives and their effects on the research
budgets. In each of the other chapters, the author provides a history of
the department’s research role and a guide to publicly available
papers and reports.

The book, which is aimed at librarians in science-based organizations,
is not a substitute for the original publications. Rather, it puts into
perspective what research has been done and why, and it guides the
reader to those publications that provide in-depth reporting. Since
publicly funded research is performed in support of the Canadian
economy, research directors of private firms will find Browsing Science
Research at the Federal Level in Canada a valuable reference as well.