National Research Priorities

The House of Representatives Industry, Science and Innovation Committee has announced an inquiry into the contribution that Australian universities make to Australian research training, and the challenges those universities face in recruiting, training and retaining quality research staff.

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations is wary of the decision of the Minister for Education to abolish the Australian Research Council Board.

"Minister Nelson already has shown his willingness to use his powers under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 and reject peer approved research funding applications.

"Now, the peer review approval process for research funding is in greater jeopardy, because an important element of independent scrutiny has been removed," stated CAPA President Stephen Horton.

The Introduction of the Knowledge and Innovation reforms has had a substantial impact on postgraduate students studying at Australian universities. Whilst it is to soon to see this impact reflected in the broad demographic data gathered each year by DEST, our constituent organisations--postgraduate associations and committees based at universities--have provided us with strong anecdotal evidence of these changes. We have also made substantial reference here to evidence gathered from institutions' Research and Research Training Management Plans.

In August, the Department of Education, Science and Training announced its long-awaited review of the policy package Knowledge and Innovation, which incorporates the Research Training Scheme (RTS). This Briefing Paper is intended to assist CAPA constituents who wish to make a submission to the review, but may not be familiar with the background and details of the RTS. The inquiry's terms of reference are included at the back of this document, followed by a brief list of web resources.

Background

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Government's proposed framework for establishing national research priorities. We applaud Minister McGauran's decision to incorporate public consultation into the priority setting process. We submit the following response to the Minister's issues paper, Developing National Research Priorities, on behalf of all students enrolled in Australian postgraduate degrees.

The Federal Minister for Science, Peter McGauran, has released an issues paper, Developing National Research Priorities, calling for public involvement in the setting of future national research priorities. The paper was launched on 22 May 2002 and can be downloaded at .

CAPA endorses the twenty-fifth recommendation of the Senate Committee Report, Universities in Crisis, that the Office of the Chief Scientist be made a full time position.

"The Chief Scientist plays an extremely valuable role in public life, most importantly as a source of independent, expert advice for the Government," commented CAPA President John Byron.

"The current Government has a particularly narrow view of the role of scientific research. It is predominantly concerned with the commercial exploitation of scientific discoveries and the income this can generate."

CAPA welcomes the twenty-fourth recommendation of the Senate Committee report, Universities in Crisis, that the Government upgrade the Science, Engineering and Innovation Council into a Council with responsibility for providing expert advice across the widest range of disciplines, including sciences, engineering, the humanities and social sciences.

CAPA salutes the twentieth recommendation of the Senate Committee report, Universities in Crisis, that Australian Research Council grants schemes be reviewed to more effectively meet our national research objectives across the board.

"The measures recommended by the Committee will, when implemented by a government with vision, ensure that Australians are getting the most from our investment in research," said CAPA President John Byron today.

Postgraduate Higher Degree Research students - PhD's, Masters by Research and Professional Doctorates - are the engine that drives Australia's research capability. They perform about 60% of the research and produce about 30% of publications in universities.

In December 1999, the government released the White Paper on research and research training. One of the key elements in the implementation of the White Paper, is the government's plan to reduce up to 3,500 higher degree research places.