1. NRC Key Science and Technology Sectors:
A Business Blog for Increasing Collaboration
and Sharing Knowledge Within Canada
CISTI Innovation Challenge: March 18, 2009

2. Introduction
• Who is familiar with blogging?
• We harness the power of the business blog to create a
professional online newsletter
– Expose our services and expertise
– Provide quality information on each of NRC's key industry
sectors
– Increase collaboration
• Our demonstration (to follow) will illustrate these points

3. Background
• Email Exchanges
– Can we expose this information exchange to more people?
• Focus on NRC's Key Industry Sectors
• Existing information exchange will power the content for each
key sector

4. Blogs
• Need an electronic medium for publishing content and providing
collaboration
• What is a Blog?
– Website
– Posts (most recent first)
– Regularly updated and moderated

5. Market Survey
• Other Scientific Research Blogs in Canada
– Science Canada
• http://sciencecanada.blogspot.com/
• This blog lacks quality (just collects links)
– Eco Can
• http://www.eco-can.ca/
• This blog has a good focus – the environment

6. Focus (Main Idea)
• We are filling a niche by providing focus and quality
• We have several key sectors – these sectors align with NRC's
key sectors
– Each and every article pertains to a key sector
– Frequency - at least one article per month
• Quality posts
– unique content
– generated by field experts

7. Strategic Alignment
• CISTI
– Increases commercialization activities of NRC and Canadian
SME's
• NRC
– Contributes to competitiveness of Canadian Industry in Key
Sectors
– Strengthens Canada's innovation systems
• Government of Canada
– Increases online collaboration and consultation with Canadian
public

8. Technology
• Powered by Wordpress
– Open Source (free)
– Fully Customizable
– Easy to Maintain
• Our Blog (Prototype)
– Already implemented
– Let me show you!
– http://132.246.83.130/htdocs/wordpress/
– http://132.246.83.130/htdocs/wordpress/wp-login.php

9. Issues
• CLF compliance
• Bilingual
• Controlling content (Posting rules and Monitoring)
– Liable/Slander issues
– Copyright
– Confidentiality
– Disclaimers against advice etc.
• We’re early, but not the first:
– http://blog.privcom.gc.ca/
– http://blog-blogue.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/marsville09/

10. Estimated Resources
Required
Human Resources
Task Resource Hours Quantity Cost
Initial Set-up & Development Programmer $2,500
Web Designer $2,500
Content Development TBA 25 12 $20,000
IS 10 12 $5,000
Other
Content Editing Editor (Blog entries) 2 12 $1,000
Audio & Video Editor 5 6 $1,000
Administration & Maintenance Administrator / Moderator 5 12 $3,000
Legal NRC Legal Services $20,000
Total (Year 1) $55,000
Other Costs
Microphones for podcasts x 12 $1200
Podcast software Free
Audio / Visual equipment – available through most institutes Free
Video editing software - Windows Movie Maker Free
Translation $10,000

11. Postscript: The New
Reality
• Although designed to be delivered by CISTI, NRC Key S&T
Sectors Canada could easily be administered by IRAP

12. Conclusion
• This product fulfills a niche
– Canadian Science Blog with quality content
– Contributes and facilitates body of knowledge in each key
industry sector
• The implementation of this blog is fully feasible
– Practically already completed
– Can be deployed in a few short months
• This product will carry on into the future
• Science Watch Canada, Scientific American, Key Sectors
Canada– imagine - that can be us