Research in Australia

Australia has fallen behind
The Cutler Report makes a number of bold statements about the state of research in Australia and they are not positive. It states that:

• Australia is falling behind both developed and emerging economies in commitments to investment in research across universities, public research agencies (for example, CSIRO) and throughout government and private sector organisations that conduct publicly funded research.
  
• There are both financial and structural deficiencies within the government research funding systems. That is, there are insufficient financial resources and a fragmentation of effort due to the existence of too many research agencies and in situations.
• We therefore have too much money spent on duplicating infrastructure and expense and not enough on core research capability.

A change to funding models
The recommendations of the Report regarding research relate primarily to the way in which government should fund research and the ways in which publicly funded research agencies (PFRAs) should collaborate with each other and with other national and international research organisations. The development of centres of excellence and strengthening the ability of the PFRAs to achieve maximum research benefits from their funding are central to these recommendations.

However, the Report focuses on providing better resourcing of the existing research funding system and proposes only minor structural changes where it considers such changes appropriate.
In summary, the Report advocates:

• The transition of and the funding mechanisms to an allocate mechanism based on full costs, the promotion of excellence and specialisation, and the matching of the best research students with the best researchers.
• The restoration of public funding of research as a share of GDP to 1993/94 levels by 2010 at an estimated initial cost of $2.2 billion per annum. Over the longer term, funding for research as a percentage of GDP should match the leading economies of the OECD.

The role of universities
Interestingly, the Report also call for universities to be the producers of research and not investors in research. That is, universities should not have to cross‑subsidise research from fees which has the effect of lessening the amount universities have for teaching and other services.

In addition, the Report considers that universities should not, except in some cases, be involved in the commercialisation of their research. Where they are, they should do so in partnership with an appropriate commercial stakeholder.

Conclusion
The Report also acknowledges that there are other reviews and initiatives that are relevant to the issue of publicly funded research and that this will be an ongoing issue for Australia.

That said, the Report does highlight effectively that Australia has fallen behind in its spending on research and that this has resulted in a decline in our overall ability to innovate and reap the rewards of that innovation. In essence, we have clever and capable people involved in research, but the structures around them and the limited funding available are not providing the right environment for maximum benefit.