Budget 2009 Reaction
January 30, 2009 10:30 AM
Filed Under: Mikenomics
It is tough to be the Communications guy sometimes. When the Federal Budget came down on Tuesday I was in Toronto and didn't get a chance to look it over until the next day. No mention of our umbrella organization Genome Canada receiving any funding. Hmmm... not good. Then on Thursday while driving in to the office what should I hear but a report on the radio about the lack of funding, followed soon after by a phone call from a radio station. By the time I got into the office I realised there were some newspaper stories to read as well.
What to do ?
Fortunately my years in the media kept panic at bay. The other thing that experience taught me was that once it was on the front page of the Globe it was a story no matter what anyone else thought or what the facts of the matter really may be. Time to turn the tables on this one.
First point to keep top of mind is that local media want a local story. No one is likely to call me about how the budget will affect Genome Canada and though the Globe story is the trigger, the local media is not going to ask what I thought of a National newspaper story.
Which reminds me of the second thing. What is the story and what is the human face I'm going to put to it?
Got it.
Genome Alberta has pumped upwards of 23 million dollars in salaries into the Alberta economy and spent more than 8 million dollars on consumables since our first full year of operation in fiscal 2006.
Now find a researcher who is articulate and can speak on camera about why his work in important and what the ramifications are IF he loses funding. The key being IF because even though Genome Canada was shut out of the budget all projects currently underway remain solid and will carry on.
Got him.
Now return the phone calls, initiate a couple, and wait for the phone to ring. I started my last live interview at 4:20 in the afternoon. First question was "what is genomics", followed by a question about how Genome Alberta fits into the picture.
The interview was all about us.
The facts of the matter proved to be quite easy to get out. I was truthful about the fact that Genome Canada got no money in the budget. No sense trying to cover it with corporate-speak. That being said we have had some good years of funding from Industry Canada so it was equally easy and truthful to talk about that as well. Money for projects underway is safe and nothing needs to be canceled. There are other sources of funds out there even in tough times and I was able to honestly say we would be looking at those. Reporters aren't dumb and there is no sense treating them as such, so when the interviewer points out that it is tough to get funding back once it is cut, why not agree and say we'll be lobbying to make sure we're on the federal Christmas list next year. Transparency will rule the day.
Finally what does this mean long-term if funding is not restored or maintained? Of course it will be a problem. I used the example of the Bioinformatics platform our researchers developed and maintain at the University of Calgary. By sheer coincidence there was an announcement this week about a breakthrough to develop a live BSE test. We didn't fund the Prion-related research, but the project did rely on our Bioinformatics platform. Ongoing funding cuts could jeopardize the platform and not only would it disappear, but along with it any project (no matter how it is funded) that relies on that Bioinformatics infrastructure.
A well-placed friend in the media said this in a note to me:
"You guys must feel powerful with the front page of the Globe 2 days running eh?" This was followed almost immediately by a note from a planner with one of the provincial governments that said "Lovely work, Mike. Very nice indeed."
Unfortunately not everyone felt that way because not everyone looks for the proverbial lemonade in the lemons.
No question that as disappointed as we were about being shut out, it was a great opportunity to make some points about Genome Alberta and we didn't have to poke a stick at anybody to get the job done.
A busy day but one that worked out well.
Posted by Mike Spear at January 30, 2009 10:30 AM