Thank you, Mr. Chair, and honourable members of the committee.
My name is Christine Fitzgerald, and I'm the executive vice-president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. You just heard from Mr. Zarins from the Brain Injury Association, and just using an example right off the bat, it was CIHR that funded research that resulted in changes in regulation for hockey helmets in the province of Ontario.
It's a privilege for me to join my colleagues from NSERC and SSHRC to speak about the importance of investing in research. I'm here today to provide the view from health research. I will address three questions. Let me start with the first question.
Why does health research matter for Canada? Canada's future success depends on the health and well-being of its citizens. Canadians care about their health and that of their children, families, and communities. Everybody in this room today probably knows someone who has to deal every day with the devastation of living with cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, depression, and cardiovascular disease. Canadians also understand the value of health research and how it contributes to the future quality and sustainability of our health care system.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research receive the lion's share of public funding destined for health research and training in the country. Our annual budget is $986 million, in other words, $27 for every Canadian. CIHR uses that money to support more than 13,000 established researchers and trainees.
Of every dollar we spend, 94% goes directly to health research conducted in cities like Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Hamilton. This research benefits not only our health and health care system, but also contributes to the future economic prosperity of our country. The equation is simple: knowledge drives innovation; innovation drives productivity; productivity drives economic growth.
Since 2000, CIHR has leveraged close to $800 million in additional funding and has contributed to over 150 spinoff companies. Spinoff companies and leveraged funding are not the full measure of success. Studies have consistently shown a significant economic return on investment from health research, with the most recent study by RAND Europe showing a return of close to 40%.
And to those who think we aren't investing enough or too much, I quote a famous philanthropist who once said: “If you think research is expensive, try disease.”
My second question is, why must we build on our strengths? Health research is one of the four top clusters of internationally competitive science and technology strengths for Canada, as confirmed by the Council of Canadian Academies. The others are the natural resource sector, information and communications technologies, and environmental sciences. Within health research, the council recognizes Canada's exceptional strengths in neurosciences, regenerative medicine, aging, cancer, and clinical research. For example, 70% of the world's top cancer stem cell researchers are in Canada and California. That's why we entered into a collaborative research agreement with California in 2008.
Dr. Alain Beaudet, CIHR's president, is in India this week meeting with six of the world's foremost health research funders, who have formed a landmark alliance against chronic diseases like heart disease and strokes, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Unless we step up our efforts, 388 million people worldwide will die of one of these diseases within the next decade.
Let me end with my last question. Why is doing well just not good enough? It's not easy to get a CIHR grant; it's very competitive. Only one in five health researchers is successful. Yet while the domestic competition becomes stiffer for Canadians, the global competition for talent is intensifying. Countries such as Sweden, the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. have stepped up their investments in health research. Why? It's simple. Because the social and economic benefits are significant.
In recent budgets, the Government of Canada has invested in research infrastructure in universities, colleges, and teaching hospitals. The government has also invested in highly qualified personnel through programs like the CRC and the Vanier scholarships. Over the last decade, the proportion of federal funding for people in infrastructure has increased, but the proportion for operational costs is actually going down. CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC fund the operational costs of doing research.