Welcome to the 2025-2026 academic year. In this blog, I give a preview of our main research, teaching and outreach activities in the coming months. All our activities aim to advance the ISSP鈥檚 five-year strategic vision: helping Canada transform decision-making to meet the grand challenges of our time by strengthening science-society-policy relations within and among the academic, public, private and civil society sectors.
Our activities focus on the three thematic areas identified as priority topics in our strategic plan: public trust in expertise and expert-based decision-making, co-production of policies by public, private, civil society and Indigenous actors, and weaving together social and technological innovation. Initiatives feature leading-edge knowledge mobilization approaches and deep interdisciplinarity, hallmarks of the Institute鈥檚 research, teaching and outreach.
Below I profile some of our key activities. Please visit our website to see the full range of activities of our research clusters and individual members.
Confluences: Grand Challenge Action Dialogues
The grand challenges facing society 鈥 from the upending of the global trading order to climate change to global pandemics, inequality and beyond 鈥 require solutions at the intersection of science, society and policy. Cutting edge research is being done in this space at the ISSP, but there is untapped opportunity to co-produce and mobilize this knowledge with decision-makers. In 2023, the Institute launched Confluences, an initiative that takes a strategic, innovative approach to knowledge mobilization, combining the co-creation of an annual knowledge mobilization series with an edited book on science, society and policy.
Confluences has enjoyed high levels of traction with science policymakers, early career researchers and thought leaders from a variety of sectors. In 2024, Confluences spearheaded Grand Challenge Action Dialogues to incorporate more direct engagement with seasoned and emerging leaders on grand challenges and to broaden mobilization of knowledge at the science-society-policy interface.
This year, the ISSP will convene a special series of Action Dialogues on science diplomacy. With the continued uncertainty in domestic and global political, economic, scientific, and security contexts, this series will include a special focus on foresight and science diplomacy. The first Action Dialogue will undertake a collaborative foresight exercise to inform the themes, format and desired impacts of the series.
Subsequent dialogues will consist of:
- A publicly accessible, interactive engagement with guest speakers or panels of speakers to speak to a key grand challenge and related research and practice to address it successfully.
- A by-invitation discussion with seasoned and emerging leaders across multiple sectors to provide a neutral forum for an off-the-record, deep dive into the grand challenge to generate new insights, programs and practices, and to identify areas for collaboration among academics and practitioners.
- Meaningful opportunities for graduate students and early career researchers to participate in the sessions, whether as speakers, attendees, or student-run sessions with guest speakers.
In addition, this year we will launch 颁辞苍蹿濒耻别苍肠别鈥檚 edited volume on science-society-policy relations. It features contributions from seasoned and early career researchers, alongside emerging and established science policy leaders. We look forward to inviting everyone to the book launch!
Developing the next generation of science-society-policy leaders
This year, the ISSP is launching a Training Hub for Science-Society-Policy learners. The hub is a novel resource to help emerging and established leaders develop knowledge and skills at the interface of science, society and policy. This self-directed learning resource is designed for anyone interested in learning about SSP issues, from beginners to those looking to learn more about advanced SSP-related topics. Stay tuned for the launch planned for later this fall.
In 2025-2026, our Annual Bromley Memorial Lecture and Event, undertaken in partnership with The George Washington University, will take place in Ottawa. It is an especially important edition of the Bromley, as it marks the centennial of Dr. D. Allan Bromley鈥檚 birth. The event will take place in March and convenes graduate students from 电车无码 and GWU to learn about science policy and Canada-US science relations, and to meet with science policy leaders and researchers in both countries. The centrepiece of the event is the prestigious Bromley Memorial Lecture, delivered each year by a renowned science policy leader. Stay tuned for the announcement of this year鈥檚 speaker and your invitation to the Lecture.
In addition, the ISSP is pleased to appoint again a Graduate Fellow this fall. This prestigious role offers a unique training and professional developing opportunity for a doctoral candidate at 电车无码 to support the ISSP鈥檚 research, teaching and outreach activities and build their professional networks and competencies. Stay tuned to learn more about the successful applicant in our first newsletter of the year.
Alongside the activities mentioned above, the ISSP offers a Collaborative Master鈥檚 program, and we partner with and support national and local graduate student organizations and the . We offer opportunities for their members to participate in our research, teaching and outreach as researchers, speakers, and advisors.
Inclusive Innovation Speakers Series
The Inclusive Innovation Research and Engagement Cluster (IIRC) launched an in 2023. The IIRC is continuing this highly successful series this year. It features presentations and discussions that view inclusive innovation through multiple lenses, from the current and future effects of science and technology on society, through to organizational practices and policy needed to improve inclusion and accessibility. The series is intended for all audiences, from policymakers, practitioners and community members, to academic researchers. Events are either virtual or hybrid.
Join us as we help Canada address the grand challenges of our time
Canada must successfully confront a growing number and range of grand challenges. One need look no further than the ongoing threat of tariffs, the upending of the global trading order and nation-wide efforts to reorient Canada鈥檚 trading relationships to strengthen our economic security for examples of the grand challenges facing the country.
Durable solutions to complex challenges in the economic, environmental and security contexts require that we align science, society and policy imperatives. This means weaving together technological, social and policy innovations; fostering robust public trust in expertise and evidence used in decision-making; and convening researchers, governments, business, Indigenous peoples and civil society to co-produce knowledge and policy.
The ISSP is uniquely positioned to help identify how this can be done and, in so doing, help Canada secure its prosperity, environmental resilience, health and social equity at home and abroad. This blog outlining our key research, teaching and outreach activities is a preview of how we鈥檙e advancing our vision this year. We look forward to working with you to advance our collective efforts to transform decision-making. Join us.