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‘ Crisis ’ for research
University research to lose estimated $ 7.6b , 11 per cent of workforce by 2024 .
By Dallas Bastian
Australian universities face a research
support shortfall of up to $ 7.6 billion in the next five years , according to a new report from UniMelb . The prediction comes with the warning that , as a result , the sector will lose between 5,100 and 6,100 research student and staff researcher positions – up to 11 per cent of the current research workforce .
The former deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne , Professor Emeritus Frank Larkins , and honorary principal fellow at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of
Higher Education , Ian Marshman , estimated that the decline in international student fee revenue will see a shortfall in discretionary income available to support research over the next five years to 2024 of between $ 6.4 and $ 7.6 billion .
Writing for The Conversation , Larkins and Marshman said : “ Universities spent A $ 12.2 billion on research in 2018 . Discretionary income used to fund Australian university research that year amounted to $ 6 billion , of which $ 3.1 billion came from international student fees .
“ This means international student fees made up 51 per cent of all the externally sourced research income .
“ We have estimated the loss of international student revenue due to COVID-19 will mean the discretionary income available to support research will decline to less than 30 per cent of external funding for 2020 and beyond .”
The pair singled out 13 universities who are particularly vulnerable due to the size of their research effort and international student programs .
They include the Group of Eight universities , which account for 70 per cent of the predicted research funding and staffing shortfalls .
Five others make up 18 per cent of the shortfalls , while the remaining 12 per cent is shared across 25 universities .
The University of Technology Sydney and Deakin and Macquarie Universities are in the high-risk category because they are currently committing more discretionary fee income to fund research than externally sourced research funds .
The risk is lower for the Universities of Sydney , Melbourne , New South Wales and Queensland , QUT and Griffith University “ but still will be very high ”, and “ moderately high ” for Monash University , the University of Adelaide , Australian National University and the University of Western Australia .
Beyond quickly identifying savings in other expenditure areas and finding additional revenue sources to reduce the predicted shortfall , Larkins and Marshman said the sector would benefit from enhanced university-industry collaboration opportunities , but added this “ will be limited because of the low level of business research and experimental development ”.
The pair added there was merit in the establishment of a “ research and innovation council ” representing private research institutes , universities , publicly funded government research agencies and industries .
In the article , Larkins and Marshman said government also has a role to play and “ needs to acknowledge there is a crisis in university research funding ”.
“ To date , a coordinated policy response has been muted . While the government has established a research sustainability working group – made up of vice chancellors and others who are to provide advice to the education minister – no other initiatives have been announced .
“ Undoubtedly , the most vexed issue is the under-funding of the indirect costs of research linked to competitive grants and contracts . This is a critical unresolved policy issue sought by universities for at least two decades .” ■
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