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Executive Team
SPE Café Reports
Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Food
System in Canada
On March 22, 2023, Science & Policy Exchange organized a virtual Café event featuring the holder of the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies and founding director of the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer, to discuss ways to improve the Canadian food system, with our moderator Dr. Monika Korzun, a postdoctoral fellow in sustainable agriculture at Dalhousie University. This report summarizes key messages and policy recommendations on the topic.
Déverrouiller la science: l’essor de la
Science Ouverte au Canada - Perspectives de la Relève en recherche
Le 2 juin 2022, Dialogue sciences et politiques a organisé un Café virtuel comprenant des tables rondes avec la communauté pour : 1) en apprendre davantage sur l'importance et la pratique de la science ouverte au Canada ; et 2) discuter du rôle des membres de la relève en recherche dans la promotion de la science ouverte. Les questions de la table ronde étaient centrées sur les recommandations de l'UNESCO en matière de science ouverte. Dr Masha Cemma et Dylan Roskams-Edris ont fait part de leurs expériences et de leurs opinions dans ce domaine. Dans ce rapport, nous résumons les discussions des présentations des panélistes invités et des tables rondes.
Santé mentale: Comment mieux faire?
Le 28 juillet 2020, le Dialogue Sciences et Politiques (DSP) a organisé l'événement Café DSP
avec plusieurs tables rondes composées d’étudiant·e·s des cycles supérieurs, dans le but de
mettre de l’avant (1) les problèmes de santé mentale dans le milieu universitaire (2) le paysage
actuel des ressources disponibles et des services de santé mentale dans les institutions
universitaires canadiennes et (3) les améliorations possibles. Le Café a été suivi d'un webinaire,
le 17 septembre 2020, par Devon Simpson qui a discuté des trois points susmentionnés. Sur la
base de ces deux événements, nous formulons dans ce rapport des recommandations visant à
encourager un environnement universitaire favorisant le bien-être et à garantir un soutien
adéquat en matière de santé mentale pour les étudiant·e·s.
Your voice matters
Science and Policy Exchange (SPE) conducted a “SPECafe: Your voice matters. What do you want them to hear?” event on April 4, 2019. The goal was to identify key concerns affecting doctoral students and graduates, postdoctoral fellows (PDF), and early career researchers (ECRs). This report summarizes these issues, offers recommendations to Members of Parliament (MP) and provides guidelines for research trainees to advocate for their interests before the government.
Breaking Gender Barriers in STEMM
This report was generated from discussions among mostly female undergraduate and graduate STEMM students at an our SPE Café on Dec 11, 2017, inspired by the Gender Summit that took place in Montreal on Nov 6-8, 2017. It reflects barriers that participants have experienced or observed during their studies, as well as obstacles they anticipate facing as they pursue their careers.
Construire un système alimentaire durable et
inclusif au Canada
Le 22 mars 2023, Dialogue sciences et politiques a organisé un Café virtuel réunissant la titulaire de la Chaire UNESCO sur les études alimentaires, la biodiversité et la durabilité et directrice fondatrice du Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Dre Alison Blay-Palmer, pour discuter des moyens d'améliorer le système alimentaire canadien, avec notre modératrice, Dre Monika Korzun, chercheuse postdoctorale en agriculture durable à l'Université Dalhousie. Ce rapport résume les messages clés et les recommandations politiques sur le sujet.
Drug Policies in Canada: Towards decriminalization and legalization
On March 31, 2022, Science & Policy Exchange (SPE) conducted a virtual SPE Café event that included roundtable discussions with the community to: 1) understand current gaps in drug policies in Canada; 2) discuss recommendations for more constructive drug policies. The Café also included presentations from Kira London-Nadeau and Sara Guzman to share their experiences and opinions in the field. In this report, we summarize the discussion of the guest speaker presentations and roundtable discussions.
Sexual Harassment: How can Academia do Better?
Ce rapport résume les principales recommandations visant à améliorer les politiques en matière de violence sexuelle dans les établissement d’enseignement supérieur au Québec, suite aux tables rondes organisées lors de l’évènement Dialogue Sciences & Politiques, “SPECafé, Sexual Harassment: How can Academia do Better?”.
Time Flies When You're Having Funds
For our SPE café debut, we will discuss basic science funding in Canada, and more specifically the Naylor report’s recommendations.
Towards this goal, we have provided you on page 2-3 with an introduction to the current funding situation in Canada, highlights the Naylor report recommendations, and a brief overview advocacy strategies. We additionally provide you with additional resources on this topic on page 4.
Unlocking science: The rise of Open Science in Canada Perspectives from Early Career Researchers
On June 2, 2022, Science & Policy Exchange (SPE) conducted a virtual SPE Café event that included roundtable discussions with the community to: 1) learn about the importance and practice of open science in Canada; and 2) discuss the role of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in moving open science forward. The roundtable discussion questions were centered on the UNESCO open science recommendations. The Café also included presentations from Dr. Masha Cemma and Dylan Roskams-Edris to share their experiences and opinions in the field. In this report, we summarize the discussion of the guest speaker presentations and roundtable discussions.
Mental Health: How can academia do better?
Science & Policy Exchange (SPE) conducted an SPE Café event that
entailed roundtable discussions with graduate students to understand (1) mental health
problems in academia, (2) the current landscape of mental health resources and services in
Canadian academic institutions, and (3) potential improvements. The Café was followed by a
webinar talk, on September 17, 2020, by Devon Simpson, who elaborated on the three
aforementioned points. Based on the two events, we make recommendations to encourage an
academic environment that fosters wellbeing and to ensure that graduate students receive
adequate mental health support.
Sexual Harassment: How can Academia do Better?
This report summarizes key policy recommendations aimed at improving higher education institutional sexual violence policies in Quebec following roundtable discussions at Science & Policy Exchange’s event “SPECafé, Sexual Harassment: How can Academia do Better?”.
Marijuana Legalization; Where do we go from here?
The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations for the effective implementation of impending legalization of nonmedical cannabis in Canada. While recognizing that regulation is done by the provinces and territories across Canada, these policy recommendations could have implications across federal, provincial, and territorial levels.
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