Canada Science Policy Conference 2012

 

Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) is the most comprehensive, multidisciplinary, multi-sector national forum on science, technology and innovation policy in Canada. Under the motto of "Building Bridges for the Future of Science Policy", CSPC 2012 will provide a unique opportunity for various science policy stakeholders to get together at the national level to network and discuss and provide insights for the present and the future of science policy in Canada, a future based on a strong and dynamic science policy community that projects an innovative Canada for all Canadians."

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Announcing the 2012 Canadian Science Policy Conference Agenda and Keynote Session
 
Keynote Session: a dialogue between the CSPC 2012 Honorary Co-Chairs:
Continuing to connect the science policy community in Canada, CSPC is honoured to be supported by 3 Honorary Co-Chairs, prominent in the Canadian Science Policy community and related industries. They will participate in a keynote session on Monday evening, November 5th.
 
M. Elizabeth Cannon, PhD, FCAE, FRSC
President and Vice-Chancellor
University of Calgary
 
The Honourable Preston Manning C.C.
President & CEO, Manning Centre for Building Democracy
 
Dr. Eric Newell
Chancellor Emeritus, University of Alberta
Former Chair and CEO, Syncrude Canada Ltd.
 
 
For more details on these prominent leaders in Canada's science policy landscape click here: http://www.cspc2012.ca/hcc.php.
 
2012 Preliminary Conference Agenda:
 
Highlights of CSPC 2012:
 
Address by Hon. Gary Goodyear - Minister of State, Science & Technology
 
Impressive list of speakers including:
 
Richard Hawkins, Chad Gaffiled , Ingram, ..
 
Click  http://www.cspc2012.ca/agenda.php for your first peek at the CSPC 2012 Agenda! Stay tuned for more details as the Conference Program Committee works with the session organizers to finalize the agenda.
 
This year's conference features 2.5 full days of expert insight on Canada's science policy issues of today and the future. Under themes addressing health, agriculture, energy and the science policy nexus, this year's program brings you more than 80 speakers from across Canada and internationally!
 
Day 3 builds on last year's highly popular "Science Policy 101" with more exercises and new material!
 
Register Now!
Register today at  https://www.verney.ca/cspc2012/registration/index.php to benefit from the Early Bird rate (ends October 1, 2012) Don't miss Canada's premiere science policy conference as it brings a spotlight to Western Canada!
Stay informed! Be sure to follow us on Twitter @sciencepolicy, Facebook, and LinkedIn for the latest in science policy news and conference updates.
 

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CALL FOR PANEL PROPOSALS
The Canadian Science Policy Conference Advisory Committee is inviting members of the science policy community to submit proposals for the conference program.  All submissions must be received online by the end of day July 6,2012.  

Link:
http://www.cspc2012.ca/presentationsubmissions.php

Under the motto “Building Bridges for the Future of Science Policy”, CSPC 2012 is very pleased to come to the TELUS Spark Centre in Calgary, Alberta – Canada’s first new purpose-built Science Centre in more than 25 years.

This year’s conference, November 5–7 2012, will explore topics of national relevance with particular regional significance to Canada’s West under the following themes:

- Innovating on energy supply and demand for more sustainable resource management: a critical test for the integration of science, technology and policy
- Re-imagining Canadian Healthcare: How innovation in science and policy can contribute to a more sustainable system
- Food, Fuel, and Farmers: Agriculture at the convergence of multi-disciplinary science policy issues
- Science-Technology-Society-Nexus

If you have any questions, please contact program@sciencepolicy.ca

Submission instructions

PROPOSAL FORMAT

    • Please submit a brief proposal that outlines the title and subject of your session, as well as proposed speakers (including bios), format and goals of the proposed conference session. Please note the word limit on the website.
    • Proposals must be submitted to the CSPC program committee online at www.cspc2012.ca/presentationsubmissions.php for evaluation prior end of day July 6, 2012.

CONFERENCE THEMES:

This year’s conference themes are under the 4 categories of energy, health, agriculture and major issues in science and society. The theme descriptions are under the following titles:

    • Innovating on energy supply and demand for more sustainable resource management: a critical test for the integration of science, technology and policy
    • Re-imagining Canadian Healthcare: How innovation in science and policy can contribute to a more sustainable system
    • Food, Fuel and Farmers: Agriculture at the convergence of multi-disciplinary science policy issues
    • Science-Technology-Society-Nexus
They are intended to spark some insightful exploration and debate on the issues, but more importantly they seek to highlight some of the innovative ways in which science, technology and policy can contribute to an integrated and systemic approach to solving these issues in Canada and the world.

For a detailed description of the themes Click Here

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

The CSPC 2012 Program Committee will review each of the proposals and evaluate them based on the following criteria:

    • Quality of the proposed session: CSPC tries to cover topics that are highly relevant or timely for the science policy community in Canada to discuss. Sessions that can draw together strong speakers or facilitators on subjects that are either garnering much attention publically or politically, or that are enduring societal problems, will rank more competitively than those that don’t. Sessions with confirmed speakers will rank more competitively than those without.
    • Alignment with the conference objectives: The conference objectives seek to support innovation in Canada and build both community and ideas for strengthening the science policy environment. The session proposal will be evaluated on its ability to support these primary objectives.
    • Alignment with the conference themes: CSPC strives for a balance that dives deep enough into the issues to identify specific elements of what works and what doesn’t from planning through to implementation, yet is still able to make the discussion accessible to a broader audience. Sessions should include experts that can provide detailed examples under the CSPC 2012 themes to support their arguments, and translate those details into more transferable lessons learned and best practices.
    • Representation of a diverse range of speakers: CSPC doesn’t have a specific formula for evaluating session speakers, but it does embrace diversity as one of its core values. The more diverse the range of perspectives that your speakers can offer in terms of roles (government, business, academia, non-profit etc.) or discipline, gender, ethnicity, geography, experience or other aspects, the stronger your proposal will be relative to the others.
SESSION FORMAT & AUDIENCE:

Sessions are 90 minutes. Typically they have followed a panel presentation format, but some adopt more of a workshop or facilitated discussion style. CSPC has received enthusiastic feedback regarding sessions that allow for more interaction between the speakers and the delegates, and also those that bring a lively debate. Case studies and stories are easier for people to engage with than lists, facts and rhetoric. Consider challenging your speakers to be more creative when sharing their ideas.

The majority of the delegates will be fairly educated on different fields of science policy, but may not understand your field. You may want to include materials to prime the audience in order to allow your session to explore things to a greater depth. Many of the delegates are also practitioners in the science policy community, hungry for things to take back to their work beyond education and awareness. Often we’re asking people to “step outside their comfort zones” in order to foster more creativity in the way we think about and approach science, technology, policy and innovation. The more you can challenge your audience to participate in some way, such as writing down their biases or the first things that come to their mind, sharing with the person next to them what they think the key issues are, or hosting full break-out discussions the better.

Based on past attendance the majority is from academic, government, or non-profit institutions. CSPC is trying to target participants from the private sector for whom science policy is highly relevant, yet underrepresented. If you can propose a session which will engage this audience or if you have suggestions on how to better engage this sector please let us know!

TIMELINE:
July 6, 2012: Proposal submission deadline
July 20, 2012: Proponents notified as to proposal acceptance
August 17, 2012: Session descriptions and speakers/facilitators confirmed
October 12, 2012: Session requirements from conference manager confirmed
November 5-6, 2012: Sessions delivered

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Conference registration will be free for session speakers and facilitators. A grass-roots volunteer driven event, CSPC tries to leverage as much support as it can from its community. As such proponents are asked to find ways to have the travel and accommodation costs for speakers and facilitators covered either by their home organizations or other sources. That said, CSPC does fundraise for the event and will budget for some travel and accommodation costs. Where alternative arrangements are not possible please contact CSPC program@sciencepolicy.ca.

Further information about CSPC can be found on the conference website www.cspc2012.ca, and other online and printed materials are available to help you recruit speakers including the following:

    • CSPC Conference Plan
    • CSPC 2012 booklet
    • CSPC 2012 poster
Please feel free to contact us should you require any further information or support in putting together an excellent session for CSPC 2012!