Got a seat right in the front at #CSPC2018 @sciencepolicy for the panel on #NextGenCanScience (science and the next generation) feat enablers of trainees getting involved in #scipol @ChiefSciCan @McGill_VPRI @katemoran Stacey Robinson and @DanWicklum

#CSPC2018 @ChiefSciCan mentions #Budget2018 reinvestments of 2.8B$ to create more collaborative infrastructure in govt labs and beyond. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get things right and elevate Canada in science leadership 🙌

📣 All major equipment in federal labs will be part of a registry and be accessible to everyone ➡️ democratizing the infrastructure of #cdnsci - @ChiefSciCan #CSPC2018 @sciencepolicy

#CSPC2018 David Castle is VPRI at @uvic and replaces @katemoran on the panel. He is also vice chair of the board for #TRIUMF. Infrastructure on and off campus are opportunities for collab, and Strategic Infrascture Fund helped build space for new labs @uvic

Stacey Robinson is a research scientist at @environmentca, who collaborates internally and externally incl @Carleton_U. Engaging with students and giving them experience of #cdnsci in govt, is a really important part of her work
#CSPC2018 @sciencepolicy

#CSPC2018 @DanWicklum works at Oil Sands Innovation Alliance and works with companies, helping them develop and share #IP, leveraging funding and infrastructure to drive #innovation

Martha Crago @McGill_VPRI @mcgillu asks, why should there be a border btw intramural and extramural #cdnsci? If one lab needs machines and resources, and they are gathering dust (or actively used) elsewhere, why not share them?

... When @U15ca VPRs noticed that @InnovationCA funding could be matched with other funds, and not be stacking, this was a game-changer! #CSPC2018

Now that the Royal Vic hospital is being repurposed by @mcgillu, the plan is to be a more communal and collaborative space where resources aren't constrained to the walls around them #CSPC2018 @McGill_VPRI

Building capacity to drive joint ventures, like the Marine Commercialization Centre which eventually led to funding #COVE project, is possible and should be done! COVE gives companies and labs waterfront space to ask and answer critical questions #CSPC2018 @McGill_VPRI

Caste @uvic adds to #CSPC2018 that #physics and #astronomy communities depend on large infrastructures and have decade-long plans for systematic capacity building ➡️ incl new shared facilities. We can't say this for #biology, or #oceanography, or many other #cdnsci fields.

What are the pain points for access to infrastructure? It has to fundamentally start with the nature of the work #cdnsci wants to do, and to align common interest as joint funding asks to build inclusive capacity and infrastructure - Castle @uvic #CSPC2018

#CSPC2018 so Castle @uvic put biologists on the spot! How do we get our act together? - asks @ChiefSciCan to Stacey Robinson

A: important Q's must be asked! Who is responsible when an important machine breaks? Having space to test things out is also key (#COVE is a good example)

#CSPC2018 two key points there, says @ChiefSciCan:

1. Maintenance of #infrastructure requires more structure

2. Defining what #infrastructure is! It's not just machines and labs, it's also land and space and engagement for #cdnsci to get their hands dirty outside those walls

#CSPC2018 @DanWicklum adds a major tool to break down barriers and bridge gaps is the collective need from diverse groups, incl #startups.

Large prizes like 20M$ Carbon X-Prize to turn CO2 streams into a usable product, are a great #innovation driver

#CSPC2018 now we come to the final point, on #trainee and #talent support, says @ChiefSciCan. Castle @uvic says we need to look internationally for good models of #infrastructure management. We need to foster research scientists that drive #cdnsci as middle authors, not just PIs

#CSPC2018 at @uvic, a @InnovationCA funded platform for scanning electron microscopy is now getting funds to attract facility manager and research scientists that can support the #infrastructure for the greater benefit of #trainees and labs across the uni

#CSPC2018 @ChiefSciCan asks how the grad student experience in govt lab w/ Robinson are different from those in academic labs? A: pathways for permission are larger on govt side, but there is often broader perspectives avail to students for diverse career development

#CSPC2018 Q from @CANARIE_Inc on security and privacy in a more open #cdnsci infrastructure. Crago @McGill_VPRI says there are challenges but w/ internationalization of research we can't stay closed.

Q - How do you see the private sector contribute to #cdnsci more effectively? @ChiefSciCan clarifies via Liz Boston @NSERC_CRSNG that industry letters aren't required (though suggested) for discovery grants. #CSPC2018

#CSPC2018 @ChiefSciCan adds that we need to strengthen #cdnsci broadly through #infrastructure, and that includes industry partners.

She asks everyone here @sciencepolicy to send her their definition of #infrastructure in #cdnsci, so that the definition used fits the community

Castle @uvic notes that #infrastructure and #space are not necessarily the same. On the Q on whether #BigData generation and collection is #infrastructure, @ChiefSciCan tables the discussion towards @InnovationCA

#CSPC2018 Q adds that big data and advanced computing are #infrastructure, and that more broadly infrastructure can lead to a common language for interdisciplinary collabs. With that set up, would researchers bury back into their silos or stay collaborative?

Robinson says she wouldn't change back! There's so much to learn from collaborations, and being in your own little world limits your perspective AND your impact #CSPC2018 @sciencepolicy @ChiefSciCan

As a language expert, Crago did basic research that incl teaching northern communities and learning so much from them as well. This engagement was of immense value. This parallels crossing borders btw academia/industry, fundamental/applied, science/policy #CSPC2018 @McGill_VPRI

Collaboration is a skill that can be developed, but it shouldn't be forced. There are a lot moving parts esp across academia and industry, (also #scipol) where you can go faster alone but further together

#CSPC2018

Q from @MitacsCanada #CSPF @Monsauce to #CSPC2018 panel - on #opendata and where this fits in #infrastructure incl where industry and #IP are considered. @DanWicklum says specific open datasets are being built, its importance is recognized in #oilsands sector

#CSPC2018 @McGill_VPRI adds the @mcgillu perspective, incl the @TheNeuro_MNI which is 100% open access. Also mentions #AI cluster and the fact that new #IP is being developed incl w/ @facebook. Whose data is this? These are good questions that should drive further developments

#CSPC2018 @ChiefSciCan reiterates the commitment to #openscience and #opendata in her office and across the 🇨🇦 govt - this is something championed by @KirstyDuncanMP.

#CSPC2018 Anne Webb from @NSERC_CRSNG asks how developing new #infrastructure can promote #inclusivity & #EDI? Castle @uvic says they are building capacity to get @NRC_CNRC researchers to join shared facilities, and that democratizing #data and improving access will help as well

#CSPC2018 @ChiefSciCan says this is an opportunity for #ECR that don't have the capacity in their young labs yet.

My Q #CSPC2018 - what is the appetite from industry in bringing in trainees,and to broaden their skills and vision of careers accessible to them? A from @ChiefSciCan is that throughout her career she has seen PhDs reach so many diverse careers, the options and the need are there

#CSPC2018 @McGill_VPRI says she is surprised by the question, that there is a good uptake of @NSERC_CRSNG CREATE and other programs to drive this, and that @mcgillu has been doing a lot of work to address this.

I agree! The amount of work done on this file has been v helpful

. @DanWicklum adds that #talent development is embedded in their initiatives! This is definitely true, and again kudos on keeping this in the table when developing #infrastructure 🙌.

There are a lot of young #cdnsci at #CSPC2018, I think they appreciated hearing this

The important point from my end, is to keep the #skills and #talent discussion at the table. Very thankful to all those that enable this, and especially those that open a seat at that table for the #NextGenCanSci to contribute to the discussion #CSPC2018 @sciencepolicy

Thanks to the whole @sciencepolicy @MehrdadHariri #CSPC2018 for a fantastic conference!