Challenges and Opportunities of a Knowledge-based Economy
Society, Culture and the Health of Canadians
Exploring Social Cohesion in a Globalizing Era
Introduction
As Canada moves towards the twenty-first century, we are witnessing the
rapid development of a new global reality. It is a time of continuing,
profound change and it presents us with new challenges and new
opportunities.
We know, for example, that the rapid transformation contemporary
Canadian society is undergoing is having a significant impact on the
health and economic well-being of Canadians, as well as on their social
relationships at many different levels.
The Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is
launching three new strategic theme programs to focus attention on
learning more about what is taking place in these areas and what
potentially lies ahead.
As a first step in developing these strategic themes, SSHRC began
consultations in 1997 with academic, student and social/cultural
organizations, universities, learned societies, think-tanks, private
sector/labour groups and policy-oriented federal government departments
and agencies. This effort helped pinpoint a number of pressing social
and intellectual issues. It also provided an opportunity for
researchers, universities, governments and users of research to help
define SSHRC targeted research priorities.
By launching the new programs resulting from these consultations, SSHRC
will be continuing to help build the knowledge and intellectual capital
Canada needs to secure its future. Broadly-based interdisciplinary
research that draws on multiple perspectives from the social sciences
and humanities can identify problems and pressure points in each of the
three targeted areas, help us learn from past experiences and help us
develop new approaches to new circumstances and opportunities.
Bringing a range of perspectives will offer decision makers and policy
makers at all levels ¾ from small institutions such as schools to large
government departments and ministries ¾ a valuable knowledge base for
shaping more effective policies and practices.
An important requirement of these new programs will be for
interdisciplinary research teams to develop active partnerships with
potential research 'consumers'. This means that governments or other
potential users of research would take part in every step ¾ from
formulating the research question to using the research yielded by the
project. Through this dynamic exchange of ideas and expertise, the
researchers and partners will develop a clearer, more comprehensive
picture of issues in society which are increasingly complex and
interwoven. Researchers will better understand the issues confronting
the users of research and partners will better understand the
implications of research results and more easily transform them into
action.
The three theme programs will also provide students with new
opportunities for hands-on training with some of Canada's leading
researchers in a range of fields.
With the launch of these new themes, SSHRC will also be taking on a new,
expanded role as 'knowledge-broker'. The Council will sponsor events and
other activities to help communicate research activities and results to
the public as well as facilitate potential internships or personnel
exchanges between research teams and interested agencies.
SSHRC will hold two competitions under each of these three new themes,
the first in 1999 and the second in 2001-2002. SSHRC expects a range of
proposals, but anticipates a typical application would require an annual
budget in the range of $80,000 to a maximum of $200,000 per year for up
to three years.
The following provides additional details and potential
research directions that might be followed under these three new themes
being launched in SSHRC's Strategic Grants Programs.
Challenges and Opportunities of a Knowledge-based Economy
As Canada and the world move rapidly into a knowledge-based economy,
work, family, education communication, finance and leisure are
undergoing significant change. There is hardly a single aspect of
people's lives that remains unaffected.
Ideas and information are fast becoming the principal raw materials of
production, distribution and wealth. Economic success and social
stability will increasingly depend on the ability of individuals,
communities and societies to adapt to new challenges and opportunities.
Possible research directions under Challenges and Opportunities of a
Knowledge-based Economy include:
- patterns of participation in a
knowledge-based economy
- social marginalization due to unemployment,
disabilities, gender, lack of educational opportunities and other
factors
- changing notions of ethics, sovereignty and cultural expression
- historical comparisons with other periods of significant change
- the
changing nature of work, including the impact of new technologies
- the notion of an information society, including access to technology; the
impact of new sectors such as new media and electronic commerce
- cultural and environmental aspects of a knowledge-based economy
Society, Culture and the Health of Canadians
Health research has often been narrowly cast as research in medicine, in
biomedical models, in technology or in health services. Now there is a
growing understanding that an accurate picture of health requires
research into a broad array of social, cultural and economic factors.
There is a widespread belief the next major advances in health must
include closer examination of a social and other factors influencing the
health of Canadians.
Society, Culture and the Health of Canadians will support
interdisciplinary research programs in this targeted area. Possible
research directions include:
- evolving health-related policy in Canada
- attitudes and behaviors of
individuals and groups which influence health
- differences between
professional and lay meanings of the word "health".
- relationships
between health, education, life cycle and development
- ethics
- cultural
constructs of health and illness and their influence on health
- social
and cultural factors responsible for under- and over-utilization of
health services
- shifting views of the roles of the private, public and
third sectors in an efficient health care system
- restructuring and the
social history of the current health care system
- informal care, formal
care and alternative medicine in a comprehensive health care system
Exploring Social Cohesion in a Globalizing Era
One of the most complex issues facing societies being swept by rapid
change today is the impact of globalization on social cohesion ¾ whether
it's the relationship between individuals, their families and
communities or the relationships between states within a federation.
Broadly-based interdisciplinary research in the social sciences and
humanities is needed to examine a variety of issues ¾ including the very
meaning of the concept of 'social cohesion'.
Under a new theme titled Exploring Social Cohesion in a Globalizing Era,
possible research directions include:
- the meaning of social cohesion
- exploring why social cohesion has
become a contested concept in contemporary societies
- trends in social
marginalization
- the relationship between social cohesion and universal
values such as equality and human rights
- the role of public and private
institutions and their impact on social cohesion
Additional Information
SSHRC is Canada's
federal funding agency for university-based research and student
training in the social sciences and humanities.
Created as an independent body by Parliament in 1977, SSHRC reports to
Parliament through the Minister of Industry.
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For more information or interviews, please contact:
Pamela Wiggin
Director of Communications
SSHRC
(613) 992-0691
E-mail: pamela.wiggin@sshrc.ca
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For questions concerning strategic themes, contact:
themes@sshrc.ca
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