Innovation is an integrated blend of science and governance. Regulation is an integral part of the innovation cycle; however, it is crucial that these regulations be efficient and economical. In the global economy it is crucial that Canada have a competitive regulatory framework as multinational corporations can move fiscal resources to jurisdictions with more efficient regulatory frameworks. The optimization of the regulatory framework for genomic editing technologies will greatly contribute to facilitating international trade in the resulting products. Genomic research is one of the tools needed to address food security concerns, yet due to a variety of governance challenges, namely that regulations can be used to restrict trade and adoption of these innovative technologies, it will take more than scientifically-derived yield increases to minimize the challenges of dealing with food insecurity.

Another important component of the research chair is quantifying the improvements in environmental sustainability that have occured in Canadian prairie agriculture over recent decades. Changes in management practices, including reducing tillage passes and shifting away from summerfallow towards continuous cropping, have been facilitated by a variety of innovations, including improvements in farm machinery and input technologies. However, the introduction and widespread adoption of genetically-modified herbicide-tolerant cropping systems and complementary chemicals, such as glyphosate, have greatly improved farmers' ability to adopt more sustainable cropping practices. Quantifying the environmental benefits contributed by farmers' adoptions of sustainable management practices and communicating these results to policymakers is vital to ensuring that Canada's agricultural and environmental policy framework recognizes farmers' contributions to meeting Canada's climate change goals. 

The third component of the research chair is improving communication of research surrounding food production and agricultural innovation to the public. Research in these areas are often targeted to academics and often only available in academic journals not accessible or digestable to the general public. In a world where misinformation surrounding food production is abundant, this chair aims to make credible information surrounding food production easily accessible to consumers, helping them to make informed decisions about the food they eat.