an interactive web site offering students, educators and the general public an introduction to the workings of the fed and the nation's banking system. the goal is to offer consumers a clearer picture of how, for example, the federal reserve's decisions influence the economy and consequently impact their monetary choices. the federal reserve also has a keen interest in encouraging and measuring the effectiveness of financial literacy programs. last year, for example, we hosted a forum at the federal reserve board in washington on credit education that focused on identifying the most effective tools and techniques. more recently, we have asked for studies that evaluate the impact of such training initiatives in our call for papers for the community affairs research conference scheduled for the spring of 2003. measurement of the quality and long - term success of these efforts will be particularly useful to the federal reserve system as we develop and distribute financial and economic literacy products through our community affairs and public affairs offices. i hope our efforts in this regard will be of assistance to you as well. in closing, let me reiterate that the pace of technological change and competitive pressures in the economy can only increase. these changes will affect both financial and nonfinancial institutions around the world. we cannot know the precise directions in which technological change will take us, but the role of banks and other providers of financial services will continue to be significantly affected by the same basic forces that guide the real economy. building bridges between our educational institutions, the business sector, and community organizations will no doubt be an essential aspect of our efforts to increase familiarity with new technological and financial tools that are fundamental to improving individual economic well - being. such efforts, and educators like you, will have a critical bearing on how well we meet the challenges of an increasingly knowledge - based global economy.

’ s truer now than ever. what i ’ ve learned since joining the bank of canada over 14 years ago is that we need to be deliberate in reaching out to people beyond our own four walls. we do it through consultations with the public and market participants. we also talk to about 100 firms every quarter as part of our business outlook survey to get a sense of what entrepreneurs see on the ground. as part of our plan, we devised new ways to reach out. first, we ’ ve recently launched a program in which outstanding scholars will work with bank researchers. 18 we will benefit from this injection of outside leading - edge thinking. we ’ re also hosting conferences on the most important economic and financial issues facing canada. earlier this year, we held a conference on disappointing global growth rates. and we ’ re getting ready for others, on e - money and inflation targeting. in edward de bono ’ s thinking systems approach, the black hat is one of six thinking modes and focuses on how things could go wrong. see e. de bono, six thinking hats, ( new york : back bay books, 1999 ). tobak, s. “ facebook ’ s mark zuckerberg – insights for entrepreneurs, ” cbs moneywatch, 31 october 2011. j. m. keynes, the general theory of employment, interest and money, 1936. more information on the bank ’ s visiting scholar http : / / www. bankofcanada. ca / research / visiting - scholar - program. bis central bankers ’ speeches program can be found at second, we ’ re engaging domestic and international counterparts more than ever. it ’ s important that people outside the bank understand what we ’ re working on when it ’ s still in the early stages, not when it ’ s all baked into policy. that ’ s why, this week, we ’ ve expanded the range of work we post on our website. we ’ ve started publishing staff research papers under a new process that ’ s independent of governing council. these papers are works - in - progress that will eventually be submitted to peer - reviewed journals. we ’ re also publishing staff analytical notes and discussion papers on timely and topical issues. 19 that way, people can benefit from our analysis while it ’ s fresh. we expect that this kind of work, at times, will show results that are not fully aligned with the views of the bank ’ s governing council. that ’ s okay. the innovation process demands that researchers have the intellectual