PLANT BIOLOGY AND FOOD-SCIENCE IN CANADA - A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC ) recently announced a plan to undertake a ''reallocations exercise'' designed to provide support for new initiatives and emerging fields of research in a period of fiscal restraint. NSERC's Grant Selection Com mittees (GSC) were instructed to establish committees charged with pre paring reports that respond to the question ''Why is it important for Canada that your research community should receive some of the funds a vailable for reallocation?'' The Plant Biology and Food Science Grant Selection Committee (GSC03) responded by striking a committee represen ting the breadth of research it supports. Extensive input was obtained from the scientific community through a web site and electronic discu ssion group. A discussion document was then prepared and distributed t o 34 ''consultants'' representing NSERC-funded researchers and leaders in the agricultural, food, and forest industries. After refining the report, a second draft was circulated to more than 90 scientists for f urther review. This process provided us with a collective ''vision'' o f our discipline that focuses on the importance of fundamental researc h, guided by excellence, innovation through multidisciplinary approach es, international leadership potential, and relevance to Canada and Ca nadians. To achieve this vision, NSERC must introduce a strategy to at tract, train, and retain our best young minds, establish a broad, real istic funding base, and create opportunities for more interaction amon g disciplines. Six specific recommendations were put forward to achiev e these goals with a total request for $15.3 million in reallocated an d new money. If funded, this initiative will provide GSC03 researchers with the support required to generate the ideas, communicate the insi ghts, develop the skills, and educate the personnel that will be essen tial for Canada's participation in the biotechnology revolution that i s transforming global agriculture, food, and forest industries. Moreov er, fundamental knowledge of the interaction between plants and their environment will also help Canada play a leading role in the effective , responsible stewardship of planetary resources in the 21st century.