Its appointed Board of Directors is accountable to the Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation.

[1] In 1921, the government created the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta (SIRCA).

[2] SIRCA's mandate was to support economic development through applications of scientific and engineering expertise and, in the process, improve life in rural and urban Alberta.

It would document Alberta's resources for industry through technical divisions such as fuels, road materials and a geological survey.

Clark's research focused on the potential to use bitumen as a paving material and eventually lead to the development of the Alberta oil sands.