Humanities and Social Sciences help us understand innovation

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.

"In a time when harnessing the economic benefit of research in universities has become a necessity, emphasis is often placed on the disciplines of science, engineering and technology (SET) and the humanities and social sciences often find themselves overlooked," said CAPA President Mr John Byron.

The Research Training Scheme (RTS) emphasises the generation of research income funding through a formula which rewards universities for the amount of funding dollars they attract. As the humanities and social science areas are not great generators of research income, the universities are often forced to redirect their research efforts away from these areas.

"The focus on disciplines with commercialisation potential ignores the important contribution that university-based research in the humanities and social sciences makes to an understanding of culture and our society," said Mr Byron.

"Research in these areas is essential if we are to respond to the many social and economic challenges that Australians will face in the future.

"This knowledge of our people, our ethics and our morals, and research into our unique Australian social, economic and cultural problems should not have a dollar value put upon it," said CAPA Vice President, Angela Pratt.

"Research in the science and technology areas is being emphasised because of its functional and utilitarian nature, but these developments do not exist in isolation. New technology can have a profound impact on our society.

"The social sciences and humanities create knowledge of the people of the nation as a whole, and help to formulate an understanding of how this innovation will affect our nation." said Mr Byron

"Both areas are essential to the future of our nation and should be treated as equally important. The expansion of a Council on innovation which includes science and engineering, to also include humanities and social sciences is certainly a step in the right direction," he concluded.