Project - Benchmarking of genomics S&T in Canada, 1991-2002
Client - Genome Canada (Genome Canada)
Description - Genomics holds a great promise to solve problems in various sectors of activity such as agriculture and human health. It is therefore likely to have a significant impact on global health and on the competitive advantage of nations alike. However, in order to maximize benefits, policy makers must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their country and of competing countries to adjust their strategies accordingly. Thus, Genome Canada called upon Science-Metrix' expertise in S&T evaluation to produce accurate data on the status of the field in leading countries. Based on these data, Science-Metrix identified the strengths and weaknesses of Canada to make recommendations that are meant to assist Genome Canada in its goal of developing and implementing a national strategy to make Canada a world leader in genomics.
Using methods from the fields of scientometrics and technometrics, the report starts with a global view of research in genomics (1991-2002) showing that the world scientific community has reached a steady state and is now moving at 'cruising speed'. A multicriteria evaluation of the scientific and technological output of 12 leading countries, including Canada, is then performed as a benchmarking tool. The US dominates both scientifically and technologically. Countries like Germany and Japan are important players but, relative to their population size, are being overtaken by smaller countries such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Canada is particularly well positioned in terms of intellectual property protection to reap economic benefits from its investments in genomics. The country ranks 3rd behind the US and the Netherlands for its technological output. However, Canada's position in knowledge creation is not as strong, ranking 7th ex-equo with Germany for its scientific output. Considering scientific output, Canada has a weakness with respect to its relative effort in genomics. Thus, by increasing its specialization in genomics, Canada should be in a better position to compete with the top leaders (e.g. US, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK).
Together with the recommendations, the analysis conducted by Science-Metrix yielded value-added information to identify international players with whom to develop mutually beneficial collaborations. This strategic information was used by Genome Canada in the development and implementation of a national strategy to make Canada a world leader in genomics.
This report is based on data from the Science Citation Index Expanded (Thomson-ISI) database and from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. The study has been conducted in 2003 and was completed in 3 months.
Archambault É., Côté G. and Bertrand F. 2003.
Benchmarking of Canadian Genomics - 1991-2002. Prepared for Genome Canada by Science-Metrix, 49 pages.
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