The Long Range Plan for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Research in Canada 2013 – 2018

Click to download the full report

December 8, 2012 — The Long Range Plan was officially launched at the Winter Meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society in Montreal.  Mme Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC, addressed the meeting and in her remarks emphasized the importance of mathematical and statistical sciences in all aspects of the global research enterprise.

In 2010 NSERC requested the Canadian mathematical and statistical sciences communities to undertake a comprehensive long range planning exercise, with the aim of establishing a unified vision of priorities and directions for the development of research in the mathematical and statistical sciences in Canada.

The plan is the result of more than two years of work and extensive consultations, and reflects the dynamism, strength and diversity of aspirations of the different segments of the mathematical and statistical sciences research communities in Canada.

The plan sets out a vision for global excellence in research, building on three pillars:
People; Research and Discovery; Innovation and Connections.  It calls for increased investment in research in the mathematical and statistical sciences, through NSERC’s Discovery Grants, through continued support of Thematic and Collaborative Resources, and through new efforts in NSERC’s Research Partnerships Programs.

News Release

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Long Range Plan to be officially launched December 8, 2012

Following extensive consultation between May 24 and July 31 2012, the LRP Steering Committee  prepared the final version of its report, and the translation and publication process is underway.  There will be a public launch of the plan at the winter meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Society in Montreal.

CCA Report on Science Performance and Research Funding released July 5, 2012

Slides from society meetings 2012

The slides are essentially the same, but all are provided here for your reference.

CMS Summer Meeting, Regina

SSC Annual Meeting, Guelph

CAIMS Annaul Meeting. Toronto

Consultation Draft  May 14, 2012

The Steering Committee for the Long Range Plan for Mathematics and Statistics Research welcomes your feedback on this draft, at any time before July 31, 2012. We will present the plan at the CMS Annual Meeting, on June 2, at the SSC Annual Meeting, on June 3, and at the CAIMS Board Meeting and AGM, on June 24 and 27.

Updated Information for the community, Mar 2012

We are working hard to finish our  first draft, and plan/hope to circulate it early in May, at which time we will call on the mathematical and statistical sciences research community for input.  We are planning  to present and discuss this draft at the summer meetings of CMS, CAIMS and SSC, before preparing the final version.

Letter from Walter Craig and Nancy Reid, to NSERC

On October 19, 2011, we sent a letter to NSERC with recommendations for procedures for the evaluation of Discovery Grant proposals in EG 1508.  We consulted with the Mathematics NSERC Liaison committee, the Long Range Plan steering committee, and the Mathematics and Statistics Liaison committee, but the views presented in the letter are our own.

Information for the community — July 21, 2011

Slides for the presentations to summer meetings of CMS, SSC and CAIMS, as well as all the submitted discussion documents, are posted under the Community Consultations Tab

Call for discussion documents — January 2011

Interested members of the mathematical and statistical sciences research communities are invited to submit a short discussion document, to inform the development of our long range plan. Guidelines for submission are given here. The firm deadline is April 18, 2011. All submissions will be posted to this web page. Submissions should be sent by email to Nancy Reid; please put LRP2012 in the subject header.

Introduction — October 2010

In June 2010 NSERC requested that the mathematical and statistical sciences community prepare a long range plan for a five- to ten-year horizon. This exercise will be funded by NSERC, and draws on the expertise of the Canadian Mathematics Society, the Statistical Society of Canada, and the Canadian Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society, the Fields Institute, the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, the Centre de Recherches Mathématiques, the Banff International Research Station and the communities of researchers in applied mathematics, pure mathematics and statistics.

A steering committee has been established to oversee the development of the long range plan. The membership of the steering committee is: Alejandro Adem (PIMS), Edward Bierstone (Fields), Eddy Campbell (UNB) Charmaine Dean (SFU), Christian Genest (McGill), Niky Kamran (McGill), Rachel Kuske (UBC), Mark Lewis (U Alberta), Nancy Reid (U of T; Chair), Gail Ivanoff (NSERC Group Chair, ex-officio), Anne-Marie Thompson (NSERC, ex-officio).

The terms of reference for the long range plan have been posted to the Long Range Plan website (www.longrangeplan.ca), which will be the primary source of information about the process, and one of the most important means of communicating with the various communities.

Links to this website will be added at the websites of the societies, institutes, and BIRS, and many academic departments. All relevant documents will be available there; please feel free to forward additional suggestions to Nancy Reid.

Consultation with the communities will include presentations at society meetings, town hall meetings, regular written updates, email notifications using society mailing lists, and the discussion forum available on the web site.

The goal is to complete the exercise by January, 2012. To this end, we are aiming to present a detailed outline at the summer 2011 meetings of the societies, and to have a draft plan for circulation to the communities by September, 2011.

Comments and ideas are welcome at any time, and may most easily be submitted via the website, but may also be sent to any member of the steering committee. This is an important and exciting opportunity for the communities to set out thier goals and aspirations, and to influence policy for mathematical sciences research in Canada. It can only succeed with wide participation and creativity, and we urge you to take part in the process.

Nancy Reid,
On behalf of the Long-range Plan Steering Committee.
October 3, 2010.