Open letter to members of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee

Publication date: 2017-10-27

We are delighted that you will serve as members of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC). The CRCC will play an important role in reinvigorating Canada's federal science funding system so that it can meet the current and future needs of our country's scientists, scholars and students. We ask that the committee deliver on this ambitious goal through greater harmonization, collaboration and coordination among the granting councils—the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)—and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

It is our expectation that the committee will act quickly to review a wide range of programs and policies and deliver results that support our shared goal. In addition, we ask that the committee submit a work plan within the next two months designed to address the following priorities:

In order to fulfill this bold mandate, the CRCC will be composed of the presidents of SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR; the Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; and the Deputy Minister of Health Canada. The chair of the CRCC will rotate on an annual basis between the presidents of the three granting councils, with the President of SSHRC serving as the inaugural chair. The chair and the committee may strike ad-hoc subcommittees or working groups on specific issues as appropriate.

The President of the CFI will also participate in committee work, given the importance of aligning federal funding for the infrastructure and the equipment that support research. In addition, the President of the National Research Council of Canada and Canada's Chief Science Advisor will participate in CRCC meetings.

We are grateful for your continued contributions to strengthening Canada's science enterprise and providing Canada's scientists with the tools they need to advance the well-being of all Canadians.

Yours sincerely,

Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health

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