CHFSS kicked off the Winter 2012 Big Thinking series on January 31 with Professor Jeremy de Beer from the University of Ottawa. Held in partnership with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the event drew over 150 MPs, Senators and public servants, as well as many university presidents who were in town as part of AUCC’s Day on the Hill.
Prof. de Beer’s talk, Innovation? What innovation? Re-thinking progress and how we measure it, explored new options for considering intellectual property and how policies can best encourage new, creative research. He argued for a more holistic approach to innovation, one that values the contributions of the social sciences and humanities, while also challenging the ways we traditionally measure progress.
Incorporating pop culture and current statistics into his talk, Prof. de Beer pushed the audience to understand the deep need for change in policy and measurement. Without it, he argued, Canada could risk falling further behind in R&D investment and results.
Watch Prof. de Beer’s full presentation above—and you can read further about his work:
- iPolitics: Intellectual property policy needs a new approach, tech expert argues
- University Affairs: We need a new way to measure innovation