Register now for January 31!
Organized by CFHSS, Big Thinking is a lecture series featuring the best Canadian research and scholarly work in the social sciences and the humanities. Held on Parliament Hill up to six times a year, the Big Thinking lectures bring research directly to the attention of elected officials, policy-makers, government officials, NGOs and the media.While reaching Parliamentarians, these talks demonstrate the importance of humanities and social science research in the development of public policy and in contributing to the quality of life of Canadians.
Over the years, they have helped sustain the dialogue between scholars and users of research results on issues of concern to Canadians such as poverty, government response to the recession, political leadership, climate change and religion in the Canadian secular society.
Open to Parliamentarians, media and the public, the Big Thinking talks are held in the prestigious and historical setting of the parliamentary restaurant. The 40 minute presentation is followed by a question and answer period.
The event runs from 7:30 am to 8:45 am and costs $15, but is free for parliamentarians and the media. A hot breakfast is served.
Upcoming lecture:
January 31, 2012
Innovation? What innovation? Re-thinking progress and how we measure it
Jeremy de Beer, University of Ottawa
There’s so much buzz about innovation and science and technology and productivity. But, what do we really mean by these terms? What does progress look like? How will we know when we’re doing better?
Beyond these questions, it can be challenging to encourage more of something that is rarely predictable and often disruptive. Further, our centralized, hierarchical models of industrial production are being replaced by tech-driven global knowledge networks.
In this talk, Jeremy de Beer (University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law) will explain why effective decision-making in this dynamic environment requires us to think differently about science and technology and how we measure success. Professor de Beer’s talk will draw on experiences from current Canadian and international research projects and his expertise in intellectual property, international trade and technology to demonstrate creative ways of assessing the human impact of innovation policy.
This Big Thinking lecture is organized in partnership with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.
Recent Big Thinking Lectures
2011
"Building resilient communities: The economic impact of Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires in Canada"
Lou Hammond Ketilson
[08/12/11]
"The World Economic Outlook: Implications for Canadian fiscal policy"
Jack Mintz
[17/11/11]
"Generation Next: Social mobility of the children of immigrants"
Philip Kelly [20/10/11]
"Food for thought: Addressing the global food crisis"
Evan Fraser
[28/09/11]
"On What Terms Can We Speak? Aboriginal-Canadian relations as an educational priority"
Dwayne Donald
[10/03/11]
"Helping the most vulnerable? Exploring gender, poverty and social policy in Canada"
Lori Curtis [09/02/11]
2010
"Between Militarization and Litigiousness: Canada's policy choices in the fight against cybecrime"
Benoit Dupont
[12/09/10]
"The Greying of Canada's Population - two policy challenges for the next generation"
Christopher Ragan
[11/03/10]
"From Canada 2.0 to a Digital Nation"
Catherine Middleton [10/07/10]
"Pension Reform: How Canada can lead?"
Keith Ambachtsheer [12/05/10]
"Achieving a Low-carbon, High-octane Economy: How federal fiscal and policy reform can lead the way"
Stewart Elgie [01/04/10]
"Contested Sovereignty: Who Owns the Arctic"
Michael Byers [03/12/09]
"Afghanistan: Canada's Vietnam?"
Reeta Tremblay [05/11/09]
