Updated science priorities ‘won’t help without more funding’

Australian representative groups have embraced an embellishment to the country’s latest science priorities, but warned that they will achieve little without more funding and an implementation plan.

Science minister Ed Husic has replaced the nine priorities formalised in 2015 with a “more focused” group of five, rather than the four proposed last year. “Elevating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders knowledge systems” has been added to priorities to achieve a “net zero future”, “healthy and thriving communities”, a restored environment and a “secure and resilient nation”.

“The priorities…recognise the breadth of knowledge systems developed over 65,000 years on this continent by First Nations people, and seek to apply that know-how for our economic and social benefit,” Mr Husic said. “[They will] empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people particularly to have more of a say in advancing research that affects them.”

Speaking on ABC Radio, he said the priorities and a related National Science Statement recognised that “great ideas create great products and great jobs. They give us an edge to do things differently to nations that will be competitors of ours on the world stage.”

Chief scientist Cathy Foley, who led consultations over the updated framework, said Australians wanted indigenous knowledge and knowledge systems “at the centre of all we do”.

“Science is at the heart of almost every aspect of our lives, and is especially important as we tackle today’s challenges. These priorities are a great starting point, and I hope we can come together as a science and research community with industry and government to bring them to life,” she said.

Cooperative Research Australia said the incorporation of indigenous knowledge into the science strategy would “leverage the full richness of Australia’s potential”. The Innovative Research Universities (IRU) said the move “opens the door for new ways of thinking about innovation”.

IRU executive director Paul Harris said the government should “back up this priority” with new investment to support indigenous-led research, in line with a recommendation from the review of the Australian Research Council (ARC).

He said the government should adopt a target for indigenous researchers to be awarded 5 per cent of ARC funding, matching an existing target for National Health and Medical Research Council allocations.

Universities Australia warned that “declining government investment in research and development” would jeopardise economic development. “The government’s commitment before the last election to boost R&D investment to 3 per cent of GDP [gross domestic product] is a step in the right direction, but we must see measures in the near-term to support our research system.”

The Australian Academy of Science congratulated the government on having the “discipline” to identify research priorities but said they would be ineffective without a “robust implementation plan”.

It said previous science and research priorities had “lacked implementation, monitoring and evaluation and therefore did little to focus and scale up science and research in the identified areas”.

Academy president Chennupati Jagadish said Australia must “transition its economy to make it more complex and resilient to external shocks. This requires us to prioritise those activities only Australia can perform and those that we must perform to have a seat at the global decision-making table.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com