Future of Research

1
(No Transcript)
2
National Research Context

• Campbell Thomson
• Director Research Services UWA

3
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

4
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

5
Context

• Innovation is critical to Australias growth and
  preparedness for emerging economic, social and
  environmental challenges
• Government plays a major role in the innovation
  system by supporting the education and training
  of scientists and engineers, and in funding high
  value research
• Public funding support of science and innovation
  - 6 billion in 2004-05

6
Context (Cont.)
7
Context (Cont.)

• Australia makes a significant investment in
  science and innovation, reaching 4.12 of GDP in
  2002
• This places Australia among the top 50 of OECD
  countries, but below the average of 5.2 of GDP
• In 2002 countries such as Sweden, Unites States
  and Finland had more that 6 of GDP

8
Context (Cont.)
9
Context (Cont.)

• Funding of higher education research accounts for
  40 of government investment
• Dual funding arrangement
• - block funding (1100 million)
• - competitive schemes ARC and NHMRC
• (700 million)
• Competitive grants encourage researcher to
  compete on quality and impact block funding
  provides a base research funding to allow
  institutions to make strategic choices

10
Context (Cont.)
11
Context (Cont.)

• DEST block grants are currently allocated on a
  formulae basis
• - IGS 60 research income, 30 HDR load,
  10 publications
• - RTS 50 HDR completions, 40 research
  income, 10 publications
• - RIBG 100 Australian Competitive Grants
• No direct peer review or assessment of economic,
  social and environmental benefit

12
Context (Cont.)

• Acronyms, acronyms, acronyms.
• The DEST HERDC reports HEPs ACGs and other
  research income, excluding ARC LIEF and SII
  grants, which are ineligible for RIBG, IGS or RTS
  on the basis that they already fund
  infrastructure.
• But this will all change with the RQF!

13
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

14
Research Quality Framework

• RQF to introduce measures of quality and impact
  to distribute block funding
• UK research assessment exercise (RAE)
• - Departments
• NZ performance based research fund (PBRF)
• - Individuals
• Lesson learned is there is significant compliance
  costs

15
RQF (Cont.)

• Why implement a RQF?
• Public investment is tax payer investment. There
  is public interest and Government decisions are
  being driven by the votes defense, health
• Researchers should be held more accountable for
  the benefits and relevance of their research
• It is the responsibility of all researchers to
  engage with their communities and to be stewards
  of their discipline

16
RQF (Cont.)

• What is the RQF?
• Quality measured by peer review of four best
  outputs over the period 2001-2006
• Individuals aggregated by Research Groups defined
  by RFCD code other metrics such as research
  income
• Quality and impact measured by separate 5 points
  scales
• - minimum quality score of 2 to rate on impact

17
RQF (Quality)
18
RQF (Impact)
19
5 Minute Break

• Group discussion
• and
• Questions

20
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

21
Research Priorities

• National Research Priorities (2003)
• - environmentally sustainable Australia
• - promoting and maintaining good health
• - frontier technologies for building and
  transforming Australian industries
• - safeguarding Australia
• (humanities and social sciences?)

22
Research Priorities (Cont.)

• CSIRO Flagships
• - energy transformed
• - food futures
• - light metals
• - climate adaptation
• - preventative health
• - water for a healthy country
• - wealth from oceans
• - minerals downunder

23
Research Priorities (Cont.)

• Funding agencies strategic plans
• Institutions own mission and goals
• Research is now more directive strategic vs
  investigator driven fundamental research
• (Blue sky)

24
Research Priorities (Cont.)

• Strategic commissioned research
• Competitive neutrality
• Fully costed research

25
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

26
Global Research Market

• Global competition for scientists
• - brain drain
• - EU anticipate 77,000 shortfall over
  next decade
• - China?
• Australia accounts for about 1 of the worlds
  research effort and 2 of research output
• Australia has 1.6 of worlds GDP but 3 of
  universities in top 500 (Shanghais Jiao Tong
  ranking)

27
Global Research Market (Cont.)

• Barry Marshall and Robin Warren (UWA)
• - 2005 Nobel Prize stomach ulcers
• Smug as a Bug article
• Ian Frazer (UQ)
• - 2006 cervical cancer vaccine
• Gods Gift to Women article

28
Global Research Market (Cont.)

• Australian research needs to be targeted and
  focused to have global impact
• Building capacity is important
• - Human capital ARC Federation Fellowship
  and NHMRC Australian Fellowships
• - Physical infrastructure NCRIS (542
  million)
• HE endowment fund?
• (6 billion)

29
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

30
Career Researchers

• Job satisfaction amongst researchers is falling
  because of concerns about poor career pathways
• Particular issues include
• - short-term contracts
• - non-research workloads
• - directed research
• Career researchers need to be equipped with new
  skills

31
Career Researchers (Cont.)

• In an environment of increased competition for
  research funding and increased levels of public
  accountability it is a reality that researchers
  must have skills in
• - grant writing
• - team building
• - project management
• - media liaison
• - leadership
• - building industry/community relationships
• Research management has emerged as a profession

32
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

33
Research Management

• Why do we need research managers?
• - post-award administration
• - compliance approvals and advice
• - accountability
• - finding funding
• - industry liaison
• - commercialisation/IP
• - strategic direction/positioning
• Herding Cats

34
Research Management (Cont.)

• Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS)
• - information sessions
• - professional development
• - global body of knowledge
• - sister societies in US, Canada, Europe,
  South Africa, UK
• IT system solutions management tools

35
Outline

• Context
• Research Quality Framework (RQF)
• Research Priorities
• Global research market
• Career researchers
• Research management
• Research ethics

36
Research Ethics

• Research is conducted within a regulatory and
  compliance framework
• - animals, humans, GMOs, biosafety
• New code on responsible research practices
• - integrity in research
• - meeting community expectations
• - handling allegations of misconduct,
  including plagiarism, misappropriation and
  misrepresentation

37
Research Ethics (Cont.)

• New code of research practice covers
• - how to manage research data and materials
• - how to publish and disseminate research
  findings (including proper attribution of
  authorship)
• - obligations in peer review
• - how to collaborate across institutions
• - how to manage conflicts of interest

38
Concluding Remarks

• So what does the future hold for research in
  Australia
• - researchers with a broader skill set
• - research managers in partnership
• - strategic research investment
• - specialised concentrations of
  excellence
• - stronger regulatory framework
• - boundaries continue to be pushed as
  community understanding grows
• - investigator-led blue sky research?

39
Final break

• Group discussion
• and
• Questions

40
(No Transcript)