The Royal Society of Canada

The Society has worked for more than a century to promote learning and research in the arts, humanities and the natural and social sciences. President Dr Graham Bell discusses the exciting

changes that are afoot for the Society, as well as its collaborative activities and plans for the future

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Why was the Royal Society of Canada: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada originally formed? How is the organisation structured?

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) was established in 1882 as the senior Canadian collegium of distinguished scholars, artists and scientists. As Canada’s National Academy, the Society’s primary objective is to promote learning and research in the arts, humanities and the natural and social sciences.

The RSC occupies the same public position in Canada as the two institutions on which it was originally modelled: the Royal Society of London and the Institut de France. Similarly, it stands at the head of the arts and professions of the country and is self-elected through the open and rigorous scrutiny of peers. It is also similar in that none of its members are appointed, and so it stands separate from government or other institutions. The RSC’s breadth, authority and independence enable it to perform a unique role in Canadian public life.

The Society is directed by its Council, the Council’s Executive Committee, and the Executive Officers, and is assisted by several non-executive officers, as well as several standing and ad hoc committees.

The Society consists of three Academies, which collectively represent all fields of intellectual endeavour: the Academy of the Arts and Humanities; the Academy of Social Sciences; and the Academy of Science. The affairs of the Academies and their divisions are managed by their council and executive officers and, again, their standing and ad hoc committees.

Since the RSC became a corporation through a Special Act of Parliament in 1883, By-laws have governed the ways in which the Society’s activities and accountability are managed and maintained. Recently, a task force was assembled to review the By-laws with the aim of ensuring their compliance with new legislation, and simplifying them by removing a good deal of unnecessary procedural detail. This information was then transferred to the operations manual.

The Society is currently undergoing a transitional period. What are some of the most important changes set to take place in the coming years?

We are currently in the process of establishing a College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists within the Society, whose members will consist of young people in the most active and productive phases of their professional lives. The College will reflect the changing balance of the disciplines and the relationships between them, as well as the new ideas, theories, technologies and discoveries that crowd us each year. It will also reflect the new demography of today’s universities and societies.

The College will be a large enterprise – comprising 500-600 members when it is fully populated – and will be big enough to extend greatly the activities of the RSC and to make a substantial contribution to public life in Canada.

By what means are the Expert Panels (EPs) fulfilling the Society’s goals?

The EPs report on matters of current concern. For more than 130 years, the RSC has brought together scholars and researchers from diverse disciplines to conduct expert, multidisciplinary investigations on matters of public importance. During the 1980s, the RSC began formalising this endeavour by launching EPs to operate on the model pioneered by the US National Academy of Sciences. These EPs have provided insight, advice and recommendations to Canadian governments, industry and NGOs on public policy matters ranging from the health effects of asbestos to early childhood education. The EPs ensure there is independent, comprehensive and evidenced-based input into the public policy development process in Canada.

Recent EP reports concern: Environmental and Health Impacts of Canada’s Oil Sands Industry; End-of-Life Decision Making; Sustaining Canada’s Marine Biodiversity; Early Childhood Development; Review of Safety Code 6: Potential Health Risks of Radiofrequency Fields from Wireless Telecommunications Devices; and the Status and Future of Canada’s Libraries and Archives. The EP programme is central to the RSC’s operation. Future plans include an increase in the number of panels and collaboration with national academies from other countries to produce joint reports.

What are your thoughts on the way STEM education is promoted, both in Canada and globally?

Science education is the key to national prosperity. The RSC supports outreach programmes for school children and regularly invites students of all ages to its meetings. A concrete example of our commitment is our involvement in the Science Education programme of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Science, which addresses this theme in all the countries in the Western Hemisphere. The general objective of this programme is to improve the level and relevance of science education in the hemisphere through active participation of science academies and the most prominent scientists in the US, working together with teachers and educational authorities.

I share the public concern that standards of science education in Canada may not be keeping pace with other countries, and the RSC is seeking effective ways to investigate and ameliorate this situation. Our concern has been expressed through the creation of The McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science, established through the generosity of McNeil Consumer Healthcare. It is intended to highlight the important role science plays within our society and to encourage the communication of science to students and the public.

To what extent does the Society’s work aim to serve minorities or underrepresented communities in Canada?

The RSC seeks to engage all communities in its activities and Fellowship. To this end, the RSC identified ‘diversifying and enhancing the Fellowship’ as a one of five strategic directions in our plan, ‘Strategy for Renewal and Growth 2012-2017’. To implement this strategic direction, the mandate of the Standing Committee on Equity and Diversity has been strengthened. The Committee is responsible for advising the Society’s Council on matters related to equity and diversity.

The nomination and selection procedures of the RSC are monitored by this Committee, which makes an annual report to the Council, including

The New Fellow Presentations at the RSC’s Annual General Meeting provide an opportunity to showcase research programmes within the Academy of Science’s four divisions.

In 2013, the following four presentations were recognised for their outstanding contribution at the Academy:

Applied Science and Engineering, Brahim Benmokrane: Building Durable Civil Infrastructure using Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composite

Earth, Ocean and Atmosphere Science, Anne de Vernal: The sedimentary archives of climate changes in arctic and subarctic environments

Life Science, Michael Doebeli: Adaptive Diversification

Mathematics and Physical Science, Patricia Mooney: Materials and Nanostructures for New Semiconductor Technologies.

Academy of Science

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www.rsc-src.ca

recommendations to enhance the diversity of the Fellowship. As an example, the number of Alice Wilson Awards – which recognise the most outstanding women postdoctoral researchers in Canada – has been increased; now our country’s top three emerging scholars are acknowledged each year.

What will be the next breakthroughs to come from the social and natural sciences taking place in the next decade? How do you foresee the Society’s involvement with these advancements?

We must maintain the capacity to take advantage of breakthroughs when they occur. They can seldom be foreseen in any detail; instead, we must have the power and flexibility to meet them when they arise. This can be done in part by horizon-scanning groups, in collaboration with other national academies. These are highly interdisciplinary initiatives that can only be mounted effectively by very broad-based institutions. The RSC, with its three Academies and vast range of expertise amongst its Fellowship, is unique in its capability to convene this kind of activity in Canada.

LOCAL LEVEL

The Institutional Member (IM) Programme was officially launched in 2004. No other national academy has such a programme. The goal was to provide a mechanism by which, on one hand, the Society could develop its programmes in conjunction with universities and, on the other hand, universities could have formal and direct input into the strategic orientation and governance of the Society. In addition, this close relationship would facilitate the nomination of new Fellows from all Canadian universities, and provide a home for the Society to sponsor scholarly activities at institutions of all sizes in all provinces across Canada, offering a substantive set of benefits to member institutions. Since 2004, the IM programme has continued to grow in number and expand in scope. Today, 52 universities and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) are IMs of the Society.

REGIONAL LEVEL

The RSC is encouraging the formation of regional chapters. The first to be constituted was the Atlantic chapter, the RSC Atlantic, which is a step towards engaging more directly and dynamically with the RSC Fellows, New Scholars, IMs, stakeholders (eg. high school students), community institutions (eg. local libraries, hospitals) and potential private sector supporters in Atlantic Canada. The RSC Atlantic’s mandate includes: promoting the RSC in Atlantic Canada; assisting in ensuring excellent nominations from the Atlantic region for the RSC’s Fellowship in the Academies, membership in the RSC College of New Scholars and the RSC Awards; encouraging appropriate participation from Atlantic

Canada in the RSC Nominating Committees, Standing Committees, Task Forces, and Expert Panels; undertaking a range of activities in Atlantic Canada in support of strategic directions outlined in RSC ‘Strategy for Renewal and Growth 2012-2017’; and assisting with the stewardship and promotion of IM in the region.

NATIONAL LEVEL

As Canada’s National Academy, the RSC exists to promote Canadian research and scholarly accomplishment in both of Canada’s official languages, to mentor young scholars and artists, to recognise academic and artistic excellence and to advise governments, NGOs and the Canadian population on matters of public interest. The RSC is a unique instrument for nation building in a diverse, advanced modern society.

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

The RSC represents Canada at international academic events and on international academic bodies. This leads to important international collaborations. The Society represents Canada in the Inter-American Network of Academies of Science, an organisation which brings together all the national academies of the Western Hemisphere. Amongst other activities, it operates working groups on four major themes: water, energy, women in science and science education. The RSC participates actively in all these groups and contributes to preparing their reports, which are addressed to governments throughout the hemisphere.

The RSC also represents Canada in all major international groupings of academies, including the Global Network of Science Academies and the International Academies Council, which have a broad range of activities in which we participate. The RSC provides an important service to Canadian society through its role in projecting and protecting the values of the Academies at all levels.

The RSC is the Canadian representative for the G8 National Academies, which have traditionally met in advance of the G8 political summit to prepare statements on the themes of the meeting. These statements are then transmitted to heads of state. The RSC hosted this meeting in 2011. In 2013, the UK Royal Society brought together Academy presidents to strengthen the link between scientists and policy makers, to increase the transparency of the Academies activities and to minimise the possibility of misunderstanding. The meeting resulted in a statement, signed by all Ministers and Academy Presidents, covering policy on four major themes: global challenges, global research infrastructure, open data and open access. The RSC helped to prepare this statement and is currently reviewing its implementation prior to a follow up meeting in 2014.

All levels covered

The RSC and the G8 Summit

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