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National Innovation System Review Green Paper released

The Review of the National Innovation System commissioned by the Federal Government has found that Australia is stalling when it comes to innovation and "requires an urgent re-appraisal and re-structuring."

The report, Venturous Australia, has concluded that Australia's existing national innovation system is now a generation old, and that our understanding of innovation has since changed and innovation policies must change accordingly.

The Chair of the Review, Dr Terry Cutler, said that the competitiveness of the Australian economy depends on the capacity of businesses to embrace innovation and use it to capitalise on new markets and to satisfy changing customer demands.

"Today, innovation is more than just research and development and technology. It is also about improving the capacity of firms to modify technologies and services in response to customer demand," Dr Cutler said.

The report has 72 recommendations that range across the components of the innovation system, focusing on innovation in business, strengthening people and skills, excellence in national research, information and market design, and taxation.

Some of the recommendations include:

Urgent restoration of funding levels for publicly funded research agencies (PFRAs), and in the short term, increasec funding both for the PFRAs and the university research system to at least match the proportion of GDP that was allocated to them in the mid-1990s. In the longer term the goal should be to match investment levels of leading OECD economies.
extend funding for a successor program to the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (NCRIS) for 10 years including capital and operational support of $150 to $200 million per annum. The remit of such funding should explicitly include support for the humanities, social sciences and creative arts as well as the sciences.
new incentives around national challenges, including water, carbon emission reduction and related climate change and environmental initiatives needs to avoid further fragmentation of responsibilities and encourage consolidation.
APA annual student stipend should be raised to at least match the current APA(I) stipend of around $25,000 — and then indexed by average earnings; at the same time, the length of support provided under an APA should be increased to 4 years
A Competitive Innovation Grants Program should be introduced to assist innovative firms, with limited access to capital, in the high risk, proof-of-concept and development stages. This program would be targeted at projects addressing identified national priorities for innovation. Successful firms would be required to repay grants from the royalties or earning streams accruing from commercial success. The program would seek to assist 200 innovative firms annually at a cost of $150 million per year.
An overhaul of the R&D Tax Concession to terminate the International and Premium schemes and convert the basic conession to a 40 percent tax credit. For small firms the review proposed increasing the rate of assistance as well as lifting the turnover threshold which defines 'small firm' from $5 million to $50 million, and removing the expenditure threshold on R&D.
Adopt the principle of fully funding the costs of university research activities and implement through adjustments in funding to block and competitive grant schemes, without compromising grant success rates. Lessons from overseas and current government investigations should provide evidence for the full costs of university research and allow rapid transition to a full-cost funding model.
Base the distribution of research block funding to universities on success in winning national competitive grants and on evidence of excellence in research, such as the research quality rankings to be produced by the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative.
To build concentrations of excellence, encourage collaboration and achieve better dissemination of knowledge, introduce additional funding support for university and other research institutions to partner with each other and with other research organisations (national and international). Discussions about additional levels of support should occur during the projected round of compact negotiations.
Funds currently distributed under the Research Training Scheme and Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) schemes should be allocated to institutions on the basis of demonstrated excellence in research based on the research quality rankings that will be produced by the Excellence in Research for Australia Initiative.
Establish a National Research Infrastructure Committee to advise on strategic directions in funding of national research infrastructure including landmark infrastructure.

In an address to the Committee of Melbourne, theMinister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, said that the report provides "a platform from which we can see the next frontier – a frontier beyond the one we defined in our ten-point plan". He said the government will respond to the review with a policy white paper by the end of the year.

Commenting on the main recommendations of the report, Senator Carr said the call to restore Commonwealth funding for science and innovation to the 1993-94 levels was "a big ask given the worldwide economic slowdown, the pressures on the budget, and the government’s priorities in other areas, such as health, education and pensions."

"Whether we can reach the review panel’s target for Commonwealth spending on science and innovation will depend on budget circumstances."

Senator Carr said that the review panel's proposal for changes to the R&D tax concession would "restore Australia’s support for business R&D to the levels of the eighties and early nineties. It would also bring us into line with what our competitors are doing today."

The report is available here.

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Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure released

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, has released the Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure outlining Australia's research infrastructure needs over the next five to 10 years.

The Roadmap was developed by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy committee in consultation with the research community and State and Territory governments.

The Roadmap builds on the 2006 Roadmap, and presents a renewed view of where strategic infrastructure investments should be made over the next five to 10 years. It reaffirms that the 12 capabilities progressed from the 2006 Roadmap continue to represent priority areas for investment.

Increased emphasis is placed on eResearch in recognition of the "pervasive and underpinning relevance" of ICT to research. "As collaborative research increases, eResearch is providing the most influential and effective way of enabling institutions to work together, using shared infrastructure, resources and policies."

A new capability in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) has been identified in recognition of the wide ranging contributions these disciplines make to the national interest. Investment in this area would relate to a HASS eResearch infrastructure including data creation and digitisation of research materials.

Insufficient funds were available in the NCRIS program to progress four areas from the 2006 Roadmap. With regard to these areas, this updated Roadmap:

Reaffirms the need for investment in Translating Health Discovery into Clinical Application;
Supports investment in a redefined capability relating to Disaster and Hazard Testbeds; and
Supports further scoping of investment needs relating to A Sustainable Energy Future and Heavy Ion Accelerators.

In addition, the Roadmap has identified a need for investment in research infrastructure relating to the Built Environment.

The Roadmap is available here.

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New chief executive of CSIRO appointed

Dr Megan Clark, currently the Vice President Health, Safety, Environment, Community and Sustainability at BHP Billiton, has been appointed as Chief Executive of CSIRO for a five year term commencing in January 2009. She will succeed Dr Geoff Garrett who will complete his term as Chief Executive on 31 December 2008. She will also be a member of the Board of CSIRO.

Dr Clark began her career as a mine geologist and subsequently worked in mineral exploration, mine geology, R&D management, venture capital and technical strategy areas with WMC Resources over a 15 year period.

During 2001-2003 she served on the Board of NM Rothschild & Sons (Australia), as Director of Arrow Capital Investors Pty Ltd, and CEO and Executive Director of Rothschild Australia E-Fund Investors Limited. From 2003 to June 2008, Dr Clark was the Vice President Technology, BHP Billiton. Since July 2008 she has been Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment, Community and Sustainability, BHP Billiton.

Dr Clark is currently on the Advisory Board of the Ian Wark Research Institute and a member of the St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation Board. She previously served on the Boards of the A J Parker Co-operative Research Centre, the Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing, the Australian Research Council Collaborative Grants Committee in the areas of engineering and geosciences, and the CSIRO Minerals Advisory Council.

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Major water information research project launched

A new joint initiative between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO has been launched that will be the largest water information research project in the southern hemisphere.

The Water Information Research and Development Alliance (WIRADA) is a five-year, $50 million research partnership between the Bureau and CSIRO. It aims to provide a state-of-the-art, national database on Australia's water resources.

Through the new WIRADA initiative, CSIRO will perform research specifically for the Bureau that will be integrated into the way its water monitoring, analysis and prediction systems are developed.

Water for the Future has four key priorities: tackling climate change, using water wisely, supporting healthy rivers, and securing water supplies.

WIRADA will assist the Bureau to deliver on new water information responsibilities, including:

Storing and managing all of Australia's water data;
Reporting on the status of Australia's water resources, patterns of water use and forecast future water availability;
Maintaining a comprehensive set of water accounts for the nation;
Setting national standards for water use metering and hydrologic measurements;
Influencing and supporting state-based investments in water monitoring and water use metering programmes; and
Procuring special data sets to enhance our understanding of Australia's water resources.

Further information is available at http://www-cluster.bom.gov.au/water/wirada/

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New laureate fellowships scheme launched

Outstanding researchers from Australia and around the world will be attracted to work in Australian universities under a new Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme, announced recently by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr.

Costing $239 million over five years the program will be run by the Australian Research Council (ARC) alongside Labor's new Future Fellowships scheme for mid-career researchers.

Up to 15 fellowships will be awarded every year. Each fellowship will be worth around $3 million over five years and will allow the Laureate Fellow to work with, and mentor, up to four postdoctoral and postgraduate researchers.

The scheme follows on from the Federation Fellowships and adds a focus on team work and building career paths for the best, emerging researchers.

The scheme is expected to be open from mid-October.

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NSW Scientist of the Year Awards

Professor Martin Green, Executive Research Director at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Photovoltaics at the University of NSW, has been awarded the inaugural $40,000 NSW Scientist of the Year Award.

The award recognizes Professor Green’s leadership in improving the performance of silicon solar cells by over 50 per cent, with his team holding a number of world records for solar cell performance. He also co-invented pioneering 'second generation' silicon on glass solar cells which offer enormous potential cost savings on traditional technology, resulting in the creation of a spinoff company CSG Solar.

The inaugural 2008 NSW Scientist of the Year Awards involved nine category awards each offering $5,000 prizemoney. Professor Green also won the Environment, Water and Climate Change Sciences Category.

Other category winners are:

Engineering Sciences Category Winner: Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Director at the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, at the University of NSW, who has invented an environmentally-friendly technology for the recycling of waste plastics in Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking and demonstrated on a commercial scale that coke and coal used in the production of steel can be replaced by plastics used in shopping bags and bottles.
Computer Sciences Category Winner: Dr Chris Nicol, Chief Technology Officer at National ICT Australia, who established the first Asia-Pacific Bell Labs Research facility in North Ryde and his team invented new circuit techniques that have been widely adopted and deployed in mobile phones and mobile network infrastructure around the world.
Chemistry Category Winner: Professor Gordon Wallace, Executive Research Director at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, and Director of the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute at the University of Wollongong, who established the world's first intelligent polymer research laboratory in NSW, is a pioneer in nanobionics which bridges nanotechnology and human biology, and has successfully used electrical stimulation to significantly enhance growth from nerve cells, offering great potential for repairing damaged hearing and spinal cords.
Plant and Animal Sciences Category Winner: Dr Peter Kirkland, Head of the Virology Laboratory at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agriculture Institute, whose expert and rapid response to the 2007 equine influenza outbreak helped eradicate the disease in record time, limiting its potentially devastating impact on Australia's multi-billion dollar horse industry.
Biomedical Sciences Category Winner: Professor Philip Hogg, National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Principal Research Fellow and founder and Director of the UNSW Cancer Research Centre, who has invented a class of cancer drugs that starve tumours of their blood supply by inactivating the cells that make the blood vessels in tumours.
Physics and Astronomy Category Winner: Professor Benjamin Eggleton, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Ultrahigh-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, ARC Federation Fellow and head of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS) at the University of Sydney. Professor Eggleton’s research with colleagues includes efforts to vastly increase the speed of the Internet by developing a photonic chip that uses light rather than electronic signals, replacing the need for routers that slow data transmission.
Mathematical Sciences Category Winner: Professor Matthew Wand, Research Professor in Statistics at the University of Wollongong, whose research has focused on the development of statistical methods to assist public health and medical researchers, and has been a pioneer in the use of "smoothing techniques" to statistically account for random variations in data.
Leadership in Secondary Science Teaching Category Winner: Dr Mark Butler, Head Teacher of Science at Gosford High School. Dr Butler’s programs have led to a 50% increase in the number of Gosford students taking senior science over the past decade.

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News Alerts

Announcements

Conferences & Events

Further Education

News Alerts

National Innovation System Review Green Paper released

Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure released

New chief executive of CSIRO appointed

Major water information research project launched

New laureate fellowships scheme launched

NSW Scientist of the Year Awards

Announcements

Expression of Interest: Research & Development Projects

Conferences & Events

31st ATSE National Symposium - Alternative Transport Fuels for Australia

Further Education

Biomedical Research Management - 4 day short course