Why set national research priorities?
Setting priorities provides a vision of where research can contribute to Australia’s future prosperity and well-being. Australia produces about three percent of the world’s research. It cannot do everything nor can it spread its research resources too thinly. National research priorities complement and enhance existing priority setting processes within research agencies and funding bodies. The research needs of the nation in health, security, energy, the environment, and industry need to be supported by a significant focussing of research effort.
How will national research priorities affect individual Australians?
The four broad thematic research priorities reflect many of the values important to Australians as they think about the early part of the 21st century - critical values such as a competitive, robust economy, and the security of the nation.
All Australians can see the effects of research in many areas of their lives, such as the high standards of health care we enjoy now with numerous advances such as microsurgery or antibiotics.
Priorities will help focus research towards well defined goals and more effective outcomes, leading to more opportunities for all Australians, including innovative industries, healthier lifestyles, and a more secure Australia.
Does all research have to be in these four priority areas?
No. The Government will continue to support a wide range of research through its publicly funded research agencies and its funding programmes.
How do these priorities relate to other Australian Government priority setting processes?
The four national research priorities are a highly tangible means to support the Government’s nine strategic policy issues, such as a sustainable environment, energy, or national security. National research priorities also build upon and enhance the priorities formulated or implemented over the last decade by individual research agencies and funding bodies.
The Australian Research Council’s four priorities for the 2003 funding round fit neatly within the national priority theme of frontier technologies for building new industries. The NHMRC priorities are consistent with the national theme of promoting and maintaining good health. Similarly, the seven Flagship programs of CSIRO are consistent with the four national themes.
These four themes are consistent with interests of the States and Territories in many areas, such as sustaining our unique natural resource base or growing a competitive advantage in ICT.
These synergies, and the leverage they promise, bode well for building critical mass in key research areas.
Why isn’t the Government providing any new money for national research priorities?
The Government already provides around $5 billion per year for research and development. The priorities were foreshadowed as the next phase of its $3 billion initiative to foster research and innovation over five years.
Specific research effort addressing the priority themes will be achieved through better coordination and increased focus across Australia.
The four research themes provide national leadership and direction to research agencies and researchers thinking about their future research proposals.
While there may be some costs associated with implementing priorities, these are not expected to outweigh the significant benefits that both researchers and society can expect to gain from the four thematic priorities. Ministers will monitor priorities to ensure that agencies implement them.
How will the enabling sciences be affected by national research priorities?
It is important to recognise that success in the four themes will depend on Australia maintaining a broadly based high quality research system - committed to excellence – and a strong focus on the enabling sciences, such as mathematics, physics and chemistry.
For Australia to be “environmentally sustainable”, for example, we will need research from a number of areas, such as environmental chemistry, geophysics, or statistics. The “enabling sciences” can provide this. They are fundamental to advances in national security, or frontier technologies. It will be up to the implementing research bodies to define the specific research requirements relevant to the “enabling sciences” or other disciplines and provide an appropriately balanced research portfolio.
Our world research publication outputs are above average in number and impact in disciplines like mathematics and astrophysics. In mathematics our Australian papers are cited 17% more than the world’s mathematics papers are cited, a strong indicator of their impact on overseas researchers.
What is the relationship between a priority and a priority goal?
A priority identifies a very broad theme and is aspirational. A priority goal is a specific area within this broad theme to which research can be expected to make a significant contribution.
Why has the Government chosen such broad themes?
These four themes are broad enough to appeal to the wider community by providing a vision for the future of Australian research. They are also focussed enough through the priority goals to deliver real outcomes for Australia. The implementation of priorities will focus on research that builds critical mass and enhances collaboration.
What’s to stop researchers in ‘non-priority’ areas from rebadging their research so that it appears to fit?
Researchers will have the opportunity to re-orient their research in directions conforming to the priorities and so benefit the thematic outcomes in the longer term.
However, it is in no-one’s interest to try artificially to fit research into priority themes. Peer review processes should help prevent rebadging.
Which research and research funding bodies will participate? Which competitive grant programmes?
All Australian Government research and research funding bodies are expected to contribute to the national research priorities, within their existing mandates and missions. This is in keeping with the initiative’s “whole of Government” approach. Industry R&D programs and university block grants are not included.
Why will national research priorities be applied to such a broad range of research and research funding bodies?
The priorities are broad and indeed the multidisciplinary nature of the envisaged research covers the interests of all federal research bodies and funding bodies. It may prove of benefit to smaller research bodies to tap into and collaborate with larger ones such as CSIRO.
Why didn’t the Government adopt a more prescriptive approach to implementation?
The government supports a flexible and diverse approach to research. It expected that implementing bodies would develop a wide variety of approaches to priorities such as CSIRO’s Flagship Projects, or the Australian Research Council’s Centres of Excellence Programme. Research bodies have a different capacity to respond to priorities compared with funding bodies.
The Government has assessed the adequacy of implementation plans and is pleased with the commitment demonstrated by the implementing bodies to support the national research priorities.
Why didn't the Government set financial targets like it did for the ARC?
New funds were provided to the Australian Research Council as part of the Backing Australia’s Ability package to boost research in areas that Australia enjoys or wishes to develop a competitive advantage. These new funds were to be directed in the first year to four discipline based areas. Increased research effort through competitive project grants, and new centres of excellence, will ensure that Australia maintains excellent research in these enabling sciences.
How will the priorities be reviewed in around three years?
Progress within each priority will be reviewed in about three years. This review will be to determine whether there is any need to fine-tune or wind down existing priorities, or to incorporate any new priorities. It would also be an opportunity to examine the barriers to progress and to find ways around these. Details of the review process will be developed in consultation with the research community and other stakeholders.
How will the Government ensure that Australia can benefit from the research performed in priority areas?
The Government has a suite of programs targeted at strengthening the national innovation system, including early stage seed funding, venture capital programs, and a strong patent system. These together ensure a strong innovation system to translate knowledge flowing from the priority themes into economic growth and social well being.
Why is research supported by State and Territory governments not included?
The priorities embrace a vision for research for all Australia. The Australian Government will work with State and Territory Governments to implement the priorities.
Why are R&D programmes that support industry outside the scope of the priorities initiative?
We need to maintain a balance between research directed at particular themes and research that maintains a broadly based and diversified base in Australia to meet new opportunities as they arise in the future. Industry-driven R&D responds to market signals and is best left to be initiated by businesses.
We must also realise that national research priorities are a new step for Australia, and need to be managed carefully from the outset in order to maintain a diversified research system in Australia.