Funding for science as a percentage of GDP according to the OECD.
In the latest CSMB Bulletin, Alex Palazzo and Trevor Moraes urge the Canadian Government to increase funding for basic research.
From the article:
Why must governments increase their support for science? Charities do support some science, but this tends to be in very focused areas and less exploratory in nature. As for the private sector, there is no incentive to engage in basic fundamental exploratory research, as it does not provide a short-term financial gain. But that is not to say that basic research has no benefit. Engaging in basic research is critical on several fronts. It generates new unexpected findings that help fuel applied research and thus promotes private sector R&D. It trains our university students, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, by allowing them to be engaged in cutting-edge research and to use the newest technology to solve problems and explore new frontiers. These students then go on not only to become the next generation of scientists, but importantly other jobs in the knowledge economy, where critical thinking and problem solving are required skills. The University of Toronto recently published the results of the 10,000 PhD Project which reports that these highly-trained individuals end up not only as researchers in academia but bring their considerable skills to the public, private and charitable sectors1. They become the next generation of policy analysts, doctors, lawyers, and business entrepreneurs.
Read the article here.
