Government funding for blue sky research should be protected by a legislated ring-fence in order to reverse decades of decline and to “feed the very beginning” of the innovation pipeline, research groups have told an inquiry into reform at the Australian Research Council (ARC).
In submissions to the bill that will bring about governance and process changes at the ARC, both the Group of Eight (Go8) universities and Science and Technology Australia (STA) call for a legislated ring fencing of 65 and 70 per cent, respectively.
This portion would only go to grants for the ARC’s Discovery programs, safeguarding the funding as other sources drop, and making it harder for a government to reduce support for blue sky research.
The Go8 said funding drops had meant that the overall university research effort dedicated to basic research had dropped from 55 per cent of total university research in 2000 to 37 per cent in 2020.
To reverse the trend, or at least arrest the decline, the Go8 wants the funding split between Discovery and Linkage programs legislated through the proposed bill. It is currently determined through a legislative instrument not updated since 2017.
With potential caps on international student numbers or even a levy on them, this would be a stronger protection for the alternative funding source and ensure at least $580 million of the nearly $900 million the ARC will invest in research this year goes to fundamental work.
The Go8 said it would be a smart investment for the government, with rates of return being between 20 per cent and 50 per cent for privately funded basic research and even higher for publicly funded.
Science and Technology Australia (STA), representing around 115,000 scientists and technologists, says the share should be even higher, recommending the bill be amended to legislate that a minimum 70 per cent of National Competitive Grant Program funding be allocated to the ARC’s Discovery Program.
“Australian Government funding for research is at a 4-decade low – at just 0.49 per cent of GDP in 2022-23 – and much of this funding is directed towards applied research and commercialisation initiatives in collaboration with industry,” the STA submission said.
“As crucial as that funding is, without a strong underpinning discovery research capability Australia’s ability to diversify the economy and drive future innovation will be stopped in its tracks – discovery research is essential to feed the very beginning of the pipeline.”
Both groups joined other stakeholders in recommending other changes to ensure the new ARC board is diverse.
