Council of Canadian Academies

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) (French: Conseil des académies canadiennes, CAC) was created to perform independent, expert assessments of the science that is relevant to important public issues. The CCA's assessment scope includes the natural, social and health sciences, engineering and the humanities.[1]

Council of Canadian Academies
AbbreviationCCA
Formation2002
TypeNon-governmental organization (NGO)
PurposeExpert assessments of existing evidence
HeadquartersOttawa, Ontario
Region served
Canada
Official language
English
French
Staff
26 (2021)
Websitewww.cca-reports.ca

The CCA is a private, non-profit corporation that received a $30 million founding grant in 2005 from the Government of Canada. The grant supported core operations for 10 years and was renewed twice, in 2015 with an additional $15 million for five years[2] and in 2018 with an additional $9 million for three years starting in 2020–2021.

Although the CCA is at arm's length from government, it has agreed to conduct up to five assessments per year of subjects proposed by the Canadian federal government. The CCA can also perform assessments for non-governmental and private sector organizations, but the cost of these cannot be covered by the federal government's founding grant.

History

A proposal for a formal structure for “Providing Independent Expert Advice to Government and the Public" was prepared by the Royal Society of Canada in 2000.[3][4] This led to the incorporation of the Canadian Academies of Science in April 2002 by three founding member academies: The Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Canadian Institute of Academic Medicine (subsequently to evolve into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences). Activities began in 2006 and in June 2006 the Canadian Academies of Science was renamed to Council of Canadian Academies.[5][3][6] The first formal evaluation of the CCA by Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada took place in 2018.[7]

Governance

The CCA is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors, some of whom are appointed by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society of Canada.[8] Howard Alper served as first board chair.[5] The current (interim) Chair is Sioban Nelson.[8]

The CCA also has a Scientific Advisory Committee, whose role is to advise the Board on assessment topic selection, terms of reference, the selection of expert panelists, and peer review.[8] The current (interim) Chair is David Castle.[8]

Presidents

Assessments

The CCA's assessments are performed by independent panels of qualified experts from Canada and abroad who serve pro bono. This model has been employed in other countries, most notably in the United States by the National Research Council of the US National Academies. All Council assessments are published and made available to the public free of charge in English and French. Assessments are published as panel consensus reports in conjunction with separate "Report in Focus" summaries. The first Director of Assessments was Marc Saner.[14] The current Director of Assessments is Tijs Creutzberg.[15]

Reports

The first report of the CCA, The State of Science and Technology in Canada, was released September 12, 2006. Since then, the CCA has published over 50 additional assessments.[16]

In January 2023, the CCA published Fault Lines, a report prepared for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) by the organization's Expert Panel on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation.[17] The report provides an analysis of the landscape of "misinformation" and "disinformation" during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, suggesting that the vaccine hesitancy experienced by 2.3 million Canadians led to at least 2,800 deaths and $300 million in hospital expenses.[18][19] Funding for the report was provided by the Government of Canada.

References
  1. Buzan, Mark (February 8, 2006). "CNW Group - Peter Nicholson Appointed as 1st President of the Canadian Academies of Science". CNW Group on behalf of Thornley Fallis Communications. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  2. "University Affairs - Prime Minister creates Academies of Science". University Affairs Magazine. December 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  3. Stavroula Papadopoulos (2009). "History of the creation of the Council of Canadian Academies" (PDF). Council of Canadian Academies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  4. Leiss, William (2008). "Development of the Expert Panel Process in Canada, 1995 – 2005" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-04-22.
  5. "Annual Report 2006 (Archive.org)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2009.
  6. Quirion, Remi; Carty, Arthur; Dufour, Paul; Jabr, Ramia (2016-08-02). "Reflections on science advisory systems in Canada". Palgrave Communications. 2. doi:10.1057/palcomms.2016.48. ISSN 2055-1045.
  7. Government of Canada, Innovation (23 August 2018). "Evaluation of the Council of Canadian Academies - Audits and evaluations". www.ic.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  8. "Governance". Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  9. "News Release: Peter Nicholson Appointed as 1st President of the Canadian Academies of Science". 2 August 2006. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  10. "Elizabeth Dowdeswell Appointed President of the Council of Canadian Academies". 15 April 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  11. "Board of Governors for the Council of Canadian Academies appoints Janet Bax as Interim President and CEO". 2 October 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  12. "Council announces Dr. Eric M. Meslin, FCAHS, as new President and CEO". 26 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. "Announcements - January 2016 | University Affairs". University Affairs. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  14. "Annual Report 2006-07" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2009.
  15. "Tijs Creutzberg". Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  16. "CCA Reports". Retrieved 2019-01-13.
  17. Himelfarb, Alex; Boecker, Andreas; Carignan, Marie-Ève; Caulfield, Timothy; Cliche, Jean-François; Hodson, Jaigris; Horn, Ojistoh; Khenti, Akwatu; Lewandowsky, Stephan (January 2023). Fault Lines (PDF). ISBN 978-1-990592-19-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-01-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  18. Wright, Teresa (2023-01-26). "COVID misinformation led to at least 2,800 deaths in Canada, $300M in costs: report - National". Global News. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  19. Kirkey, Sharon (2023-01-26). "COVID misinformation may have caused thousands of deaths in Canada: report". National Post. Archived from the original on 2023-01-26. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
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