PRES2008-04-16

1. TETRAPARTITE 2008 Bordeaux, France COUNTRY UPDATE on AAFC Science & Innovation PRES2008-04-16

2. AAFC Science and Innovation Targets the Needs of the Nation • Different ecosystems • Different market structures • Different attitudes St. John’s Lacombe Summerland Ste-Foy Charlottetown Saskatoon Lethbridge Fredericton Winnipeg Swift Current Kentville St-Hyacinthe Brandon • 19 Research Centres • 600 Researchers • 40% of total Research • $300M/year Lennoxville St-Jean Ottawa Guelph London Harrow

3. The Government of Canada announced its Federal S&T Strategy in May 2007 • Advocates four core principles: • Principles of Excellence • Focus on Priorities • Foster Partnerships • Enhance Accountability • Creates three S&T advantages: • Entrepreneurial Advantage: Translate knowledge into practical applications. • Knowledge Advantage: Generate new ideas and innovations, achieve excellence. • People Advantage: Grow its base of knowledge workers. A key element is the desire to explore new models for science conduct and delivery with an emphasis on government, academic and industry partnership

4. The AAFC Science & Innovation Strategy developed in 2006 is aligned with the Federal S&T Strategy Science Management Goals • Science Relevance through alignment with government strategy and priorities • Science Excellence through peer review • Partnerships engaging greater government-academic-industry collaborations • Leadership in building integrated national science capacity in support of the sector • Accelerating the rate at which science and technical knowledge is transformed into practical applications and commercial products and services • Improved system-wide coordination through enhanced foresight and planning • Enhanced capacity to bring science and technical knowledge into policy and business decision-making in government and industry

5. Strategic research priorities identified in the AAFC Science and Innovation Strategy are equally important to many countries AAFC Research Priorities Enhancing human health and wellness through food and nutrition, and innovative products Enhancing the quality of food and the safety of the food system Enhancing security and protection of the food supply Enhancing economic benefits for all stakeholders Enhancing environmental performance of the agricultural system Understanding and conserving Canadian bioresources Developing new opportunities for agriculture from bioresources 5

6. Federal, provincial and territorial governments are developing the next generation of agricultural policy for Canada – Growing Forward The Agricultural Policy Framework 2003-2008 • The guiding framework for agricultural policy development and programming for the past five years • Emphasis has been on establishing a risk management platform for the agriculture and agri-food sector • Key areas of focus were: • Business Risk Management • Food Safety and Quality • Environmentally Responsible production • Growing Forward • (2008-2013) • This will be the new policy framework for agriculture for the next five years • While risk management programming will continue, emphasis has shifted towards science and innovation and sector renewalprogramming to enhance sector productivity, profitability and competitiveness • In addition, there is greater recognition of bioeconomy opportunities for agriculture beyond traditional food and feed

7. New agri-based business opportunities are emerging in energy, bioproducts, health, and environment • Emerging market opportunities for agri-based products: • Bioenergy: Bioethanol, Biodiesel, Biogas (methane) • Biomaterials: Composite materials, Biofibres • Bio Oils: lubricants, bioplastics • Biochemicals, biopesticides • Emerging market opportunities in food, food ingredients and health and wellness products: • Functional Foods • Nutraceuticals • Bio-Pharmaceuticals • Emerging market opportunities in production system-based products and services: • Organic agriculture products • Environmental goods and services To capture these opportunities, Canada’s agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector needs to broaden its competitive strategy to include product differentiation and value-added in food and bioeconomy markets 7

8. The Growing Forward agenda emphasizes three Science & Innovation Objectives • Developing Strategic Focus & Taking Collaborative Action • Establishing a mechanism to build common understanding among governments, academia and industry of the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and to engage governments, academia and industry in taking coordinated and collaborative actions to address the challenges and capture the opportunities • Accelerating the Flow of Science & Technology along the Innovation Continuum • Establishing new models to deliver science, to manage the transfer of technology to the sector, and to make science resources available to address industry identified near-market issues • Enhancing Sector Capacity to Innovate • Developing supporting programs and services needed to better connect science with entrepreneurial actions, to better connect agri-entrepreneurs with investors, to assist the sector in accessing highly skilled personnel, to enhance understanding of emerging technologies, to better understand how to measure innovation performance, and to communicate innovation successes 8

9. Research Branch science and innovation will focus on five major initiatives along the Innovation Continuum INNOVATION CONTINUUM DISCOVERY PHASE PRE-ADOPTION / PRE-COMMERCIALIZATION PHASE MARKETING PHASE Government Funded Jointly Funded Industry Funded Government conducted Public-Private Partnerships Industry Delivered Canadian Agri-Innovation Council (CAIC) Enhance capacity to anticipate challenges and opportunities and to proactively take collaborative action Science Clusters Seeding the establishment of science groups, not adding to AAFC’ s capacity, but adding to the critical masses of focused capacity in partnerships  Innovation Commercialization Centres Technology transfer, pre-commercialization activities, prototype development. Staff and resources in partnerships, not at AAFC.  Science Supporting Agri-based Products Making AAFC and other organizations’ science capacity available to solve pre-commercialization challenges   A-base Peer-Reviewed Research Strategic alignment with government and sector priorities Public good and high-risk discovery science Programs and Services for the Sector Environmental Science Food Science 9 9 Growing Forward Initiatives

10. AAFC science activities will emphasize the role of governmentin supporting farmers and contributing to society's priorities Management Criteria assess whether proposed research: is an appropriate role for the Government of Canada, responds to departmental mandate priorities, is aligned with departmental scientific priorities, builds on synergies, has a high probability of impact for Canada. • Focus • Biodiversity Reference Collections, Biosystematics • Agri-Environmental Indicators • Gene Banks - Animals and Plants • Germplasm enhancement • Animal Welfare Standards and Practices • Biosecurity - Animal and Plant Pests and Disease Monitoring • Biosecurity - Food Borne Hazards Mitigation and Control Systems • Science in support of regulatory assessment and standards • Adaptation to Climate Change - Agriculture Production Systems • Northern Agriculture Production Systems • High Risk Groundbreaking Research A-base Peer-Reviewed Research Strategic Alignment with government and sector priorities Public good and high-risk discovery science 10 10

11. Developing Strategic Focus and Taking Collaborative Action focuses on coordinating actions among governments, academia and industry Canadian Agri-Innovation Council There are three key elements: Establishing a high-level Canadian Agri-Innovation Council (CAIC) and secretariat to deliver Foresight and Innovation Fora Design and implement a systematic Foresight process and engage knowledgeable individuals to identify plausible scenarios out 10-20 years and to identify implications for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector for the short-, medium-, and long-term Develop Innovation Fora that engage decision-makers from government, academic and industry organizations to focus on strategic issues and opportunities arising from Foresight, conduct SWOT analysis and develop and implement collaborative workplans that address issues and opportunities 11 11

12. Science Clusters will engage academia and industry in exploring new models for delivering science support to farmers and the sector • Potential Science Clusters • Cereal Grains • Dairy Science and Product Innovation • Beef Genomics and Value-Added Meat • Horticulture and Wine Research • Organic Agriculture Science Clusters Seeding the establishment of science groups, not adding to AAFC’ s capacity, but adding to the critical masses of focused capacity in partnerships  These public-private partnerships will enable AAFC to refocus its research efforts on areas that are clearly the role of government while ensuring that existing industry services are maintained and further developed 12

13. Innovation Commercialization Centres focus on professionally managing knowledge and technology transfer to the sector • Potential Innovation Commercialization Centres • Livestock Innovation & Commercialization • Beef, Dairy, Swine, Poultry, Feed, Forage • Grains Innovation & Commercialization • Cereals, Oilseeds, Special Crops, Pulses • Horticulture Innovation & Commercialization • Vegetables, Fruits & Berries, Greenhouse • Food Innovation & Commercialization • Agri-environmental Innovation & Commercialization Innovation Commercialization Centres Technology transfer, pre-commercialization activities, prototype development, business development Staff and resources in partnerships, not at AAFC These public-private partnerships enable science providers to focus on research while ensuring that the transfer of knowledge and technology to the sector and entrepreneurs are managed professionally 13

14. Science Supporting Agri-based Products helps to fund research needed to implement near-market innovations to capture new opportunities Science Supporting Agri-based Products Making AAFC and other organizations’ science capacity available to solve pre-commercialization challenges • Industry-identified problems or challenges • Industry-driven innovation strategies and plans • Support to address pre-commercialization challenges • Near market solutions to product innovation These public-private partnerships enable AAFC and other science providers to deliver near-market research solutions in support of specific demands from the sector and small business 14

15. Research programs and services also address environmental, regulatory, and food safety issues Sustainable Agriculture Environmental Systems (SAGES) Focuses on agriculture’s contribution to clean water and clean air. Also supports development of science required to maintain effective environmental programs and policies and to address crosscutting issues such as climate change, water management, and geospatial technology development. Continuing Environmental Research started under APF WEBS II - Measures the relative environmental and economic effects of selected BMPs on water quality National Agri-Environmental Health Analysis and Reporting Program - Provides science-based agri-environmental information to help guide policy and program design. National Carbon and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Accounting System - A verifiable and transparent accounting system for reporting the changes in soil carbon stocks and GHG emissions from agriculture in Canada. Programs and Services for the Sector Environmental Science Food Science Integrated Food For Health Research New scientific information underpins health claims and provides the regulatory science support for setting requirements for new product classes. Create science networks with government, university and industry participation to accelerate the market entry of new and innovative products with enhanced health-promoting attributes by providing solid scientific evidence to meet critical knowledge gaps preventing product approval. The program would also target linkages with key international efforts in this area to leverage Canadian investments and facilitate access to expertise and knowledge. Science Advancing Food Safety Science in support of risk identification, prevention and rapid response; collection of accurate and appropriate baseline data to monitor program performance; and, research collaborations with national and international scientific institutions.

16. Improve AAFC’s ability to contribute to and benefit frominternational Science and Innovation development Created in 2004, an International Scientific Cooperation Bureau Leveraging Science Capacity Ensuring Multilateral Participation Enhancing Trade Opportunities 16

17. Leveraging AAFC Science Opportunities throughInternational Cooperation and Partnership Initiatives • MOUs with key strategy countries (Tetrapartite, China, India, Israel and Spain) • Twelve twinning projects with the European Commission on Bioproducts • Six joint projects with CABI Bioscience, Switzerland • Four joint research projects with Israel • Participation to the 2nd Call ERA-Net Plant Genomics • Created four chinese platforms involving eight chinese partners • Established priority on food for health with India (DBT) • Hosting of international research personnel 17

18. B. Enhancing trade opportunities with focus on Innovation • Five MOUs: Chili (horticulture), Mexico (beans), Japan (wheat), Spain (pork, cheese) and Russia (animal husbandry) • Participated to the High Tech Science Fair in China, Japan and France with the private sector • Development of niche markets based on innovation • Continuous knowledge support to trade initiatives 18

19. C. Ensuring the Canadian role in the world through multilateral science-based organizations • FAO: Plant genetic treaty, animal • OECD: Biological resource program • IICA: Procinorte • CABI: International • GBIF: Global biodiversity information facility 19

20. Aligning Research Branch Governance to addressa broader Science and Innovation Agenda A governance reflecting the Growing Forward Initiative ADM DG Science Programs G. Saindon DG Science Partnerships S. Morgan-Jones DG Science & Innovation Strategy TBA Chief Scientist, International Y. Martel DG Innovation TBA 20

21. THANK YOU – MERCI! Thank you! Questions? 21