Harris Centre allowed N.L. to research itself, and experts say its closure will have big impacts

Two veterans of the Harris Centre at Memorial University say the university has to reconsider its closing of the research centre, and that groundbreaking research being done in Newfoundland and Labrador could be gone without it.

"The Harris Centre was the mirror. It allowed us to look at ourselves," Mike Clair, a former associate director of the centre, told CBC News Tuesday.

"If faculty members are not incentivized to do research within the province, than we lose that part of the mirror. If the Harris Centre isn't out there bringing in money to do local research, than that research is not going to get done. And we won't be able [to], have reflected back at us, our realities."

The Harris Centre served as a hub for research and public policy analysis in St. John's. It also produced the annual Newfoundland and Labrador Vital Signs report — a tool to showcase the quality of life in the province.

Its operating budget was eliminated as part of job losses and economic cuts at Memorial in July.

Clair said the centre's original concept was to mobilize the university's resources to help develop the provincial economy and raise the quality of life. He believes the centre acted as a mediator between MUN's experts and the needs of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"It would take me too long to explain everything that the Harris Centre did, but all I will say is its disappearance is going to be a great loss to the province moving forward," he said.

WATCH | Mike Clair says losing the Harris Centre means N.L. won't be able to see its reflection in research: 

Closure of Harris Centre will mean big losses in N.L's research sector, experts say

6 hours ago

Duration 1:48

The Harris Centre served as a hub for research and public policy analysis in St. John's, but its operating budget has now been eliminated by Memorial University. Dave Vardy and Mike Clair, two men who have played key roles in the Harris Centre's development, say its closure will greatly impact the ability to do local research in Newfoundland and Labrador. They shared their thoughts with On The Go host Krissy Holmes.

Dave Vardy helped found the centre, and told CBC News he was shocked by the announcement.

He hopes the university will reconsider, given the mandate the university has to serve the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Vardy added he isn't sure who else in the province could do the work the Harris Centre did, especially when it comes to documents like Vital Signs.

"The university has a mandate to connect with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. The university is a reservoir of knowledge, and we live in a knowledge economy," Vardy said.

"The Harris Centre has the independence, the integrity, the access to resources that no other organization has … It has to be done. It's stuff that's required."

Clair said he believes the loss of the Harris Centre could also have major impacts on the research done about Newfoundland and Labrador by local researchers.

Much of the work was done through federal funding the centre could access, he said, adding the centre often brought in more money than it cost the university.

If the centre can't reopen, Vardy said he hopes a program can be developed to allow other institutions or Newfoundland and Labrador communities to access the Harris Centre's resources independently.

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