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Professor Andrew Francis quit the ARC ’ s Council of Experts in December . Picture : Supplied .
A self-censorship process could potentially take place .
‘ A very difficult decision ’
ARC experts resign in protest of political meddling .
By Eleanor Campbell
Calls to secure the independence of the Australian Research Council ( ARC ) has sparked a fierce debate around academic freedom and government interference in independent research .
In late December , acting minister for education and youth Stuart Robert vetoed six humanities research grants that were peer-reviewed and recommended by the ARC .
The decision sparked an international backlash , prompting the release of a petition which has gained over 2000 signatures , including Nobel Laureate John Coetzee and American literary critic Fredric Jameson .
After four years on ARC ’ s College of Experts , Professor Andrew Francis and his colleague Professor Aidan Sims resigned from their positions in protest of the minister ’ s actions .
“ This was a very difficult decision . The difficulty is that being on the college gives you a career highlight , it ’ s a big thing for us ,” Francis told Campus Review .
“ It ’ s very difficult to be committing a lot of time to a process and asking other people to commit a lot of time and expertise they ’ ve garnered over decades to make very difficult judgements , [ and then have ] have somebody who doesn ’ t know about the area make a snap judgement .
“ The sense is that we ’ re doing our job , which is to judge the excellence of the research proposals , for the government and for the good of the country , and science .”
Francis , who is the Deputy Dean of Western Sydney University ’ s School of Computer , Data and Mathematical Sciences , said there needs to be a case made for the separation between government and academia .
“ There ’ s a lot of effort that goes into assessing research proposals because there are always many more grants that are a very high quality that should be funded but we have limited resources to fund ,” he said .
“ The minister , on the other hand , doesn ’ t have access to that expertise in making that judgement .”
In an open letter , 63 of Australia ’ s most eminent professors have called to remove ministers ’ powers to cancel funding applications .
The letter calls for Australia to adopt an idea based on the Haldane Principle , which leaves the assessment of proposals to those working at the centre of a research field .
The process is used across global agencies including the German Science and Research Foundation and UK Research and Innovation .
“ It makes a lot of sense because in Australia we are very proud of our expertise across the board . We ’ ve had our excellence in research improving for over a decade or so , as measured by the Excellence in Research for Australia ( ERA ) process ,” Francis said .
“ It ’ s not an accident . It ’ s the product of government investment in our research ecosystem , and it ’ s good practice to use that expertise .”
The last time the government vetoed ARC grants was in 2018 when former minister Simon Birmingham blocked 11 research projects in the humanities and arts .
The possibility of a ministerial veto may encourage researchers to select what they propose to research based on government interests , Francis said .
“ It ’ s going to be a self-censorship process that could potentially take place .”
“ People in those areas that are thought to be controversial or likely to attract a veto by a particular government , of whatever flavour , are going to be careful about what they choose to research .”
He said political meddling also affects the degree of work and time researchers invest in the assessment process .
“ It takes the people on the College of Experts many , many hours to assess grants and it ’ s not only time , but it ’ s also emotionally demanding ,” he said .
“ If there are going to be political judgments about what ’ s important or not , away from expertise , people may say no . They will choose not to put in those hours to assess a grant .”
With a federal election on the horizon , Francis said fundamental reform to the research grants process should be a principal decision between all parties .
“ I just want to make a case that the right thing to do for Australia ’ s national interest is to separate those powers , and politicians , I know generally are motivated by good things ,” he said .
“ I ’ m hoping that all sides could bring themselves to just commit to that for the public good case , rather than a narrower voting calculating case .” ■
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