Designing an effective forest sector research strategy for Canada

Abstract

Sustaining high levels of productivity and productivity growth in the Canadian forest sector depends on rapid development and adoption of sophisticated technology for forests, manufacturing facilities and products. R&D expenditures in Canada lag those for most of its major competitors, suggesting that Canada is unlikely to produce the necessary technology on the schedule it is needed. This lack of investment in R&D stems from the specific problems associated with being a net exporter with a large share of many global markets; the small size of Canadian firms when compared with global competitors, and Canada's collective failure to articulate a widely-accepted forest sector strategy which guides the daily policy and management decisions of governments, industry and interest groups. This paper argues that an effective R&D strategy for the country involves rapid deployment of technological innovations, R&D targeted on the special features of Canada's forests and polity, and better links between strategies for the forest industry and the forest resource. -from Author