FOREWORD

The National Literacy Secretariat is pleased to publish this report on our Policy Conversation on Literacy Research, which was held in Aylmer, Quebec on February 5-7, 1996.

The theme for the Policy Conversation was "Defining a Research Strategy for Literacy in Canada". This Policy Conversation was a chance for a group of knowledgeable individuals to share with the National Literacy Secretariat their hopes and concerns, their dreams and visions about a number of key issues relating to literacy research in Canada. Participants had a chance to explore the topic without the need to reach conclusion.

This publication is a compilation of a variety of documents - some were available at the event, others have been prepared to summarize the Policy Conversation itself. The section entitled A Conversation About Developing a Literacy Research Strategy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is a guide to the conversation and the ideas expressed at the meeting.

We hope that you find this publication informative and useful and that you will have conversations on this topic yourself, in your own organisations and jurisdictions. Please inform us of the results of those conversations. We hope that this report will be useful to you because all individuals and organizations connected to literacy have a stake in the development of a vibrant, successful literacy research enterprise. We look forward to continuing our work in this area, with our partners to strengthen literacy research in Canada.

Feel free to distribute copies of this report to anyone you think may be interested in the subject of literacy research. We will making it available widely both in hard copy and electronically over NALD (National Adult Literacy Database) and Alphacom (formerly CoSy - Ontario Literacy Communications Network).

I would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for making the Policy Conversation on Research such a success:

• Carol MacLeod, Carol MacLeod & Associates
• Burt Perrin, Burt Perrin Associates
• Liz Kane, Elizabeth Kane Associates
• Joanne Godin, Words That Matter Inc.
• Château Cartier Sheraton, Aylmer, Quebec
• Bernard Deschênes, Tran-script Enr.
• StenoTran
• Nancy Brady
• The Policy Conversation participants

And the dedicated NLS staff who made the meeting the success it was.

James E. Page
Executive Secretary
National Literacy Secretariat