Analysis

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Research and development (R&D) personnel are instrumental in the advancement of R&D. This edition of the Science Statistics Bulletin reports on the number of full-time equivalent personnel performing R&D activities in Canada from 1999 to 2008. R&D personnel encompass a variety of occupations which are classified into three categories according to the International Standard Classification of Occupation (ISCO ): researchers, technicians and support staff. Researchers generally include scientists and engineers who engage in the conception and creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems. Technicians are individuals whose main tasks require technical knowledge and experience in R&D related fields such as engineering or physical and life sciences. Support staff encompass skilled and unskilled craftsmen, secretarial and clerical staff that participate in R&D projects. Additional details on these occupational categories can be found in the Data quality, concepts and methodology section of this publication.

International comparisons

This publication incorporates ISCO so that Canadian data can be compared internationally. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) disseminates international R&D personnel data in its publication Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI). At the time of this publication the latest volume available of MSTI was 2010/1 which provides comprehensive data for 2008.

In many countries the business enterprise sector is the largest employer of full time equivalent (FTE) R&D personnel when compared to the sectors of government and higher education. From a select group of OECD countries, the business enterprise sector employed the most R&D personnel in FTEs in Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden. However, in the United Kingdom the higher education sector is where the largest number of FTEs for R&D personnel are found. The United States does not report R&D personnel by sector to the OECD. (Table 3-1)

Total researchers per thousand total employment is an indicator of R&D intensity within a country. Employed persons are those who, during the reference week, did any work at all or had a job but were not at work. In 2008 both Japan and Sweden recorded 10.6 full time equivalent R&D personnel per thousand total employment in their respective countries. Comparatively, data from this publication places Canada at 8.8 R&D personnel per thousand employed. The United States of America recorded 9.5 for 2007 (the latest year of available data from the OECD). (Table 4-1)

Canadian Data

Researchers

In 2008, there were 148,980 researchers working in Canada. Compared to 2007, the change in number of researchers remained flat (-0.2%), while there was a 20.8% increase in researchers from 2003. (Table 4-3)

Researchers are the predominant R&D personnel group. In 2008 doctoral students formed 73% of the 49,300 researchers in the higher education sector. Fifty-four percent of these doctoral students focused on natural science and engineering work, while the remaining 46% worked within the social sciences and humanities sector. (Table 4-2)

Between 1999 and 2008 the count of researchers in the field of natural sciences and engineering increased 52.1%, while the number in social sciences and humanities increased 45.7 %. (Table 3-2)

Comparing all performing sectors in 2008, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia held the largest count of full-time equivalent researchers in the business enterprise sector. For the remaining provinces the higher education sector employed the most researchers. (Table 2-1)

The government sector employed 6.0% of total researchers in 2008. Eighty-two percent of government researchers work with the federal government. The National Research Council employed 1,635; the largest number of researchers among all federal departments. The majority of federal researchers, 90% in 2008, work in the natural sciences and engineering field. However, in the past decade the share of federal research personnel in the social sciences and humanities has grown from 4% to 10% in 2008. (Tables 1-2, 4-3, 7)

Technicians

In 2008, a total of 60,450 technicians worked in Canada, down 5.8% from 2007. Over the five year period from 2003 to 2008 the number of technicians increased 31.2%. (Table 2-2)

Over the past decade, the number of technicians in the field of natural sciences and engineering increased 81.2% while technicians in the social sciences and humanities field increased 25.1%. (Table 3-2)

The business enterprise sector employed the largest number of technicians among all provinces in 2008. (Table 2-1)

Other Support Staff

In 2008 a total of 33,250 R&D support staff worked in Canada, an increase of 4.8% from the previous year. Between 2003 and 2008 other R&D support staff increased 22.5%. (Table 2-2)

During the ten year period between 1999 and 2008, the number of other R&D support staff in the field of natural sciences and engineering increased 63.5%, while the count in the social sciences and humanities increased 31.8%. (Table 3-2)

In Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia the business enterprise sector employed the greatest number of support staff. In Nova Scotia the count of R&D support staff were the same in the business enterprise sector and the higher education sector. For the remaining provinces the higher education sector employed the most support staff. (Table 2-1)