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Research the sales pitch
The competition for funding dollars is intense; the sector needs to do a better job of showing the public the benefits of investment in science.
By Deborah Terry
The recent federal Budget announcement of continued NCRIS funding for two more years was welcome, as was the government’ s commitment to considering a sustainable, long-term funding solution based on the findings of the current review of research infrastructure.
The recent threat to NCRIS funding, however, put the spotlight on the part the sector needs to play in promoting the importance of research infrastructure and the wider role of research facilities. Business Council of Australia( BCA) president Catherine Livingstone eloquently reminded us at the latest Universities Australia conference that we have to see the recent threat to NCRIS, at least in part,“ as a failing on the part of the research sector, including universities”. We need to lift our game.
The economic argument is sound but uninspiring. Value-added goods and services make up a steadily increasing proportion of world trade, as the relative value of raw materials steadily declines. Australia risks backing itself into an economic and technological corner if it continues to rely solely on primary resource exports and fails to transition to a knowledgebased economy. Knowledge assets and infrastructure are becoming the key drivers of success in the global digital age.
To thrive in the global economy, we cannot rely on being The Lucky Country, but must truly become The Clever Country. Continued investment in our research infrastructure is key to that transition.
The Square Kilometre Array( SKA) is a good example of the long-term benefits and profound impact that can result from investing in research infrastructure. The next-generation radio telescope is a global mega-science infrastructure project of the 21st century and it exemplifies our current predicament – most people have never heard of it, and would have no idea of how they could stand to benefit from it when it’ s completed. Yet it is the largest and most international scientific facility Australia has ever contemplated hosting. And even
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