Industry committee  You've raised an interesting point, and I just want to pick up on it a little bit. It's one I've mentioned often. That is, some of the research that's done in the upper end of the spectrum doesn't always result in new products and in technological advances, particularly in our areas.

Industry committee  Not yet. We are waiting for the budget.

Industry committee  Absolutely. I would say that we are the best in the world. In addition, our administrative expenses are not high at all. They actually represent 6% of our total costs. As I mentioned earlier, about 95% of our funding goes to researchers.

Industry committee  I will begin and then I will turn the floor over to Ms. Bérubé. In my view, the biggest problem is that entrepreneurs and companies are not really sure about what SSHRC does. That is our main challenge. We have a lot to offer to those companies and to the Canadian public, but we have a little more work to do on raising awareness about what we can bring to that community.

Industry committee  I would say that’s not the case at all. At any rate, researchers choose their areas, their research topics in co-operation with industry. That’s the way things work and I must admit that this is not a concern for me. There is a peer review process in place, which works very well around the world.

Industry committee  We absolutely do. We're more than happy to do that. In meeting individually with MPs and deputy ministers and ministers, we have one standing offer among others. That offer is that if you are interested in research that's being done in Canada and funded in Canada through us, we are more than happy to search and mine our database to provide you with lists and detailed information on research that's been done in a particular sector, since we've been funding research and have the records.

Industry committee  Absolutely. We work very closely with NSERC. They are part of our portfolio within Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. We work very closely with CIHR. We share with NSERC a number of administrative services directly, including human resources, information services, and financial services.

Industry committee  Thank you, sir.

Industry committee  Absolutely. In fact, through our collaborative research program, we have encouraged the participation of many companies. About 10% of partners come from this program. We have close to 300 active partners because of this program. Nearly 300 companies are active participants and contribute to funding.

Industry committee  Thank you for pointing that out, sir.

Industry committee  Sure, I'll clarify that. It's a great question, but I may answer this a little differently from the way you've asked it. I'll point out that we're saying that through our projects and through the projects we fund, we are able to bring another 80¢ to the table in addition to the dollar that's been provided by SSHRC and by the Parliament of Canada.

Industry committee  Absolutely...the students and the training costs, the infrastructure and the equipment costs. When we talk about research and innovation, I always say we have to think about several legs of the stool that are involved. We provide one leg. There are several other components. Thank you very much for that question.

Industry committee  Thank you very much for that kind introduction, Mr. Chairman. On behalf of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today with respect to our operations, goals, challenges, and some of our strategic priorities. Let me open with a brief introduction to SSHRC and its key role within Canada's knowledge economy and innovation agenda.

Industry committee  No problem. I can repeat anything I said. I can repeat it 1,000 times if you like. Through SSHRC's Connection program, research knowledge is mobilized to inform Canadian and international research, debate, decisions and actions. This accounts for 10% of program expenditures. On behalf of all three granting councils, SSHRC also administers—and this is an important point—four major programs you may have heard about: the Canada research chairs program, the Canada excellence research chairs program, the Canada first research excellence fund, and the research support fund.

Industry committee  Totally, and it's another great point because it's not always about technology. When we think of disruptive innovation, I tend to think of the market, things that are disruptive in the market and turn things on their head. Not all those things go anywhere. I don't know how many of you still have Beta tape machines at home.