The Canada Foundation for Innovation, Sociology of Knowledge, and the Re-engineering of the University

Using the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) as an example, we show how Canadian science policy is influencing patterns of stratification both within and between universities. Substantial differences in CFI funding for certain knowledge fields have produced an increasing inequality in the support that scholars can accrue to fund their research. Further, this differential support has reinforced patterns of financial and organizational change that are reshaping how universities operate. We conclude by discussing some of the wide-ranging implications of a science policy that is re-engineering higher education in Canada.