Leaders of the country’s most respected research academies and institutions are banding together to call for non-partisan support for long-term scientific research policy. By Aileen Macalintal
When Nobel Laureate professor Brian Schmidt and the president of Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) started a dialogue with various sectors, they found out they were not the only ones with the idea.
“Brendan Crabb from the AAMRI and I were discussing the lack of strategic planning across the science/research and development sector with respect to government funding, when we realised that the issues facing the sector were universal,” Schmidt said.
Like many research groups, he felt strongly about how important science is to Australia’s future.
Opportunities are lost, he lamented, “not because there isn’t enough money, but because of poor strategic planning on how the money we spend, is spent”.
“I hoped that by lending my voice as a high-profile researcher who is being directly affected by the short-term nature of scientific funding in this country, I could give currency to this important problem to a wider audience,” he said.
If the government fails to get a long- term research policy on board, the distinguished professor said Australia will miss capitalising on R&D investments. The absence of such policy will lead to “lower growth, poorer R&D outcomes – and a poorer, less well-off Australia in the long term”.
He cited other countries that have successful long-term planning and sufficient government backing for scientific research.
“The European Union has an impressive long-term way of managing scientific research,” he said. “The United States, despite the screws being tightened on research money right now, still has a long-term view on all of its programs.”
The group will thus keep on sounding the clarion call.
“The message is clear – we are just going to have to repeat it until we are heard, hopefully by politicians who are genuinely interested in doing the right thing for the country, and be willing to do business differently than has been done in this country in the past. It’s a change of culture, but an important one,” Schmidt said.
One call
Professor Les Field, chair of the Group of Eight, said, “It was quite remarkable for this group to come together with a single voice to highlight the fact that the research sector is an important driver for Australia’s future”.
Field, who is also secretary for science policy of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), said the united call of research groups for research policy support was ignited as various groups in the sector realised that they were all trying to send the same basic message to the government, whether current or incoming.
These messages focused on a strategic national research policy grounded on six fundamental principles, which the newly formed alliance has outlined in a media release.
Aside from Schmidt, Crabb and Field, other representatives of the alliance include professor Robert Williamson from AAS, Peter Laver from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and professor Tony Peacock from the Cooperative Research Centres Association. Universities Australia and Science and Technology Australia also signed on.
The alliance is pushing for the federal government to commit to planned, stable and appropriate investment in research over a long period. They believe this would result in a far more effective outcome when tackling complex problems.
“This will yield better results and ensure the best use of every dollar spent,” they said.
They also pressed for “bringing industry and academia together”. Field agreed that ongoing collaboration is important between industry, public sector, university and research institutes for the continuity of researches.
“Research doesn’t happen in fits and starts. The timeframe to tackle complex significant issues transcends the normal three-to-four year cycle of governments,” he said. “We need a stable, coordinated, long-term strategy for research in Australia with a focus on excellence and quality.”
He said this kind of strategy would foster collaboration between the different parts of the research sector, including universities and research institutes, and between the sector and industry. This will ensure that research is translated into industry and the wider community.
The alliance called for the government to ensure clear and reliable policy incentives for deep and sustained collaboration among the players. “This not only ensures that the benefits from basic research are translated into practice in Australia, but also harnesses national talent and creates knowledge, opportunity and new jobs,” they said.
Look to the future
The researchers also envisioned a productive system through a solid funding framework for research infrastructure, including buildings and equipment, as well as technical experts who operate them. Resources, in other words, will keep valuable facilities running.
“Again, this is part of the absolute need for a long-term vision,” Field said.
He said major research infrastructure has a typical lifetime of two decades or more. “Facilities such as our large telescopes, our Antarctic research vessels, the synchrotron in Victoria or clusters of microscopes need to be maintained, upgraded and supported for some considerable time,” he said.
Significant investment was used in setting up these facilities, so he argued, we need to plan for their entire lifecycle to reap the maximum benefit from that investment.
“Last year, the Australian synchrotron in Victoria – a $250 million facility, which works brilliantly from all accounts – was threatened with being switched off. So while we had managed to build the facility, there was no effective plan or stable working environment in which it could operate.”
“We currently have a stopgap solution to keep it operating temporarily – but like all our major research infrastructure it needs to be part of long-term plan,” he said.
On the world stage
The alliance is also keen on being at the top of its game. It wants to be seen as “being among and working with the world’s best” as well as “getting and keeping the best (research workforce)”.
Global collaboration, said the alliance, is “more necessary than ever with the rise of international research, commerce, communication and other systems that transform our lives and opportunities”.
“Many of the nation’s world-class researchers are stuck in a cycle of one- to three-year grants for their salaries and research materials,” the alliance said.
“This career uncertainty means many leave research or leave Australia to seek a stable future.”
Australia also needs to be an attractive place for international companies to do research, so they called for a strategy to survive in a highly competitive contemporary world.
“In research we know that the more the nation invests the more rewards we will all have to share for decades to come,” it said.
Supporters
The Australian Research Council has welcomed the alliance’s call.
CEO of the council, professor Aidan Byrne, said, “the ARC is committed to investing in research for a smart and innovative Australia”.
Byrne said their mission is to “deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.”
He said the ARC does agree that investing strategically and sustainably are crucial elements in a successful innovation system.
Another supporter is Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt, who has backed the call for a strategic national research policy to build a stronger, smarter nation.
“The Australian Greens wholeheartedly support the six principles outlined by the research and science community,” said Bandt, who is also the science and research spokesperson.
He said support for science and research is critical to continued prosperity and important in addressing many challenges.
“As recent cuts to research and university funding have shown, there is not a strong enough consensus on the importance of science and research,” he said. “I call on the old parties to get behind this timely push for consensus on a national research policy.”
He added that the Australian Greens want the government to set a national target of three per cent of GDP for research and development funding, “bringing us into line with the top research nations of the OECD”.
Prudent investment
Just as the group of research bodies came out with their call, the prime minister, together with tertiary education minister, research minister, and the chief scientist, released a comprehensive and long-term plan for Australian research.
The Strategic Research Priorities highlighted the role of university research in driving future prosperity.
Universities Australia’s chief executive Belinda Robinson said, “In a financially constrained environment the Strategic Research Priorities provide a focus to support prudent research investment decision-making”.
Robinson said this research plan will also help maximise the investment return to the nation.
These priorities, she said, will foster the development of a long-term strategic vision for science and research, as called by the alliance.
A national research strategy is needed to secure a skilled research workforce, world-class operational infrastructure, and a research environment that encourages global research collaboration.
“The Strategic Research Priorities is a critical part of the recently-finalised National Research Investment Plan that enables a coordinated and welcome whole-of-government approach to research investment planning.”
“This is an investment we can’t afford to ignore and must be pursued with focus, constancy and purpose and always with an eye to the most efficient allocation of the resources available,” Robinson said.