industry & research campusreview. com. au
A measure for the market
Sector takes a look at a metric for identifying and rewarding researchers whose work is most likely to connect with industry.
Alan Finkel interviewed by Antonia Maiolo
Calls for a more refined way to measure the impact of research are getting louder.
There is growing acknowledgement that the Excellence in Research for Australia( ERA) model has limited ability to encourage the translation of research into commercial viability, and many are now saying a better system needs to be in place, a leading expert has said.
Speaking at the Universities Australia 2015 conference in Canberra recently, Monash University chancellor and president of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering( ATSE) Dr Alan Finkel said it was vital to reward activities by university-based researchers directed at innovation.
“ The ERA recognises and rewards scholastic achievement, but in some cases, without intention, it deters engagement by researchers with industry, or with key communities such as hospitals,” he told delegates.
Finkel outlined the work ATSE was doing to develop what he described as a knowledge engagement metric that could be published alongside ERA.
The new metric – dubbed‘ Research Engagement for Australia’( REA) – would foster collaboration and knowledge exchange, which Finkel said would encourage research translation and impact. Finkel said researchers were too often essentially forced to choose between
research and commercial careers, rather than being able to nurture their discoveries and innovations to market successfully. He argued that in too many cases unless researchers were able to take time away from their careers to focus on the commercial realisation of their work, their innovations would fail. On the other hand, he said if they did take the time away from their research careers, it became increasingly difficult to re-enter the sector.
Finkel spoke with Campus Review about how REA could help identify the value of work that existing metrics might not recognise.
CR: One of your key points is that Excellence in Research for Australia recognises scholastic achievement but in some cases can discourage collaboration within industry. Why is this happening and what effect is it having on research and innovation?
AF: The ERA is truly a robust quality measure of research excellence. We don’ t question that at all, but because it’ s the only measure out there, researchers and their managers at universities are focused on doing well in that measure.
It’ s intended to encourage researchers to elevate themselves in research excellence, but, inadvertently, it occasionally dissuades researchers from engaging with industry and nurturing the fruits of their research into the market because they are under pressure
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