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The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) welcomes the Report of the Review of the National Innovation System chaired by Dr Terry Cutler.
It has many sound recommendations and will provide a timely signal to government and industry in Australia that the nation needs to reinvigorate and better fund innovation, which has seen government funding diminish considerably in the past decade.
ATSE welcomes the recommendations for substantial increases in funding by government and is encouraged by the Government’s acknowledgement that Australia should move quickly to reverse the decline in innovation investment.
“ATSE particularly supports Dr Cutler’s emphasis on the importance of international links, strong collaboration between the public and private sectors, increased support for entrepreneurial companies and the minimisation of the ‘silo’ mentality in relation to innovation,” said Professor Robin Batterham, ATSE President.
“The recommendation that Australia should revert to at least the level of innovation funding of a decade ago is worthwhile, but ATSE believes that an even higher level of investment is necessary.
“The report contains many worthwhile recommendations that will take us all time to digest, but it presents the Government and the nation with a real challenge and a timely call to reposition Australia as a leader in innovation thinking and funding,” Professor Batterham said.
ATSE supports the Competitive Innovation Grants Program but questions the requirement to repay grants from royalties because of administrative requirements which will make the cost benefit questionable.
Recognition by the Cutler Review of several of ATSE's recommendations is welcome, along with the recommendation to establish a Research Coordination Council.
However, ATSE also believes it is essential to recognise the high costs and risks in later stages of technological innovation and provide assistance measures that will address this need. The Government should take account of this issue in administering the innovation-promotion programs recommended by the Review.
In a submission to the Cutler Review, ATSE said there was an urgent need to strengthen Australia’s national innovation system and called for a 10-year strategic plan to increase Australian innovation.
A priority was to develop a strategic national intelligence capability that explores critical emerging issues through horizon scanning, technology roadmaps and foresight – and provides findings that can be understood and acted on.
ATSE also suggested that Australian support for innovation was too focused on assisting research. New mechanisms were required to support innovation and promote collaboration between research providers and the users of research outcomes.
ATSE’s submission called for a new class of research funding through the establishment of a mechanism to fund collaborative research for projects that were smaller (and involve shorter time frames) than a CRC, but bigger than Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant funding provided.
ATSE also called for an increase the numbers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates from Australian universities by mechanisms such as reducing fees in these disciplines. It also recommended better teaching of STEM disciplines in Australian schools by making teaching more attractive to STEM graduates and providing better teaching resources.
Click here to view the ATSE submission (April 2008) to the Cutler Review.
The Academy (ATSE) is an independent, non-government organisation dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes.
An opinion provided by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
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