CBRS Highlights Capstone’s Role in Supporting Multidisciplinary Research in Parliamentary Testimony

On November 7, 2024, CBRS Executive Director, Dr. Jennie Z. Young was called to deliver testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research (SRSR). The session focused on reshaping Canada’s research funding ecosystem through the proposed Capstone organization, announced in Budget 2024. 

The Capstone aims to bring more coordination, cohesion and agility to Canada’s federal research funding system, integrating the efforts of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Dr. Young emphasized that the Capstone could foster collaboration, bridge funding gaps, and enable  multidisciplinary research to tackle urgent and complex challenges, including brain and mental health research.  

“One of the capstone’s foundational aims is to support multidisciplinary research, which is essential as the scientific landscape evolves and challenges grow more complex. This focus is especially crucial in a frontier field like brain and mental health research, where its intersection with artificial intelligence puts it somewhere between CIHR and NSERC, and with the importance of psychology and other social sciences, it means that brain research often falls outside the mandates of our existing funding agencies. This challenge illustrates why we need an overarching organization like the Capstone to bridge gaps and ensure that particularly complex ones like brain research isn’t left without sufficient support,” said Dr. Young. 

She also highlighted the importance of long-term, stable, and flexible funding mechanisms to support innovative research and collaboration. She called on policymakers to seize the opportunity to strengthen Canada’s research infrastructure..   

“My understanding of the Capstone is that it’s really supposed to do something extra, on top [of the granting councils],” said Dr. Young during her testimony. “[In Canada,] we do have that unique superpower of being able to collaborate, and it requires infrastructure and resources to support it.” 

Dr. Young’s testimony reinforced the alignment between the CBRS’s vision and the Capstone’s goals: fostering collaboration, bridging funding gaps, and enhancing agility in Canada’s research funding system. With these priorities, CBRS is optimistic about the Capstone’s potential to amplify brain and mental health research and position Canada as a global leader in brain health innovation. 

Watch Dr. Young’s testimony

Read her opening remarks.