University research funding and international collaboration

Transcription

1 University research funding and international collaboration Australia-Thailand Research and Innovation Symposium 2016 Virginia Hart, Branch Manager Research Funding and Policy Department of Education and Training

2 Presentation outline Overview of Australia s research policy, strengths and funding arrangements Research policy changes under the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) Australia-Thailand Research Collaboration 2

3 A$ millions Gross Expenditure on Research and Experimental Development (GERD) components by sector and type of research (latest year) 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 Total GERD ( ): $33.5 billion (2.11% of GDP) 6,000 4,000 2,000 A$1= 27 Thai Baht 0 ( ) (2012) ( ) ( ) BERD HERD GovERD PnP Pure basic research Strategic basic research Applied research Experimental development Source: ABS Research and Experimental Development data *Figures are in nominal terms 3

4 A$ millions Business Expenditure on Research and Experimental Development (BERD) by type of research, to ,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 A$1= 27 Thai Baht Pure basic research Applied research Strategic basic research Experimental development Source: ABS Research and Experimental Development data *Figures are in nominal terms 4

5 Higher Education Expenditure on Research and Experimental Development (HERD) by type of research, % 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Pure basic research Strategic basic research Applied research Experimental development Source: ABS Research and Experimental Development data 5

6 Government investment in science, research and innovation by sector, This year, the Government is investing A$9.7 billion in research and development Source: SRI Budget Tables (DIIS) 6

7 Government investment in science, research and innovation by portfolio, Industry and Science: $5 billion Health 10% Other 10% Education and Training 30% Industry and Science 50% Education and Training: $3 billion (focused on the higher education sector) Health: $1 billion The remaining $1 billion is spread over 10 portfolios (e.g. Defence, Agriculture, Environment) Source: SRI Budget Tables (DIIS) 7

8 The Australian Government s approach to investing in research The Australian Government invests in research and innovation through various funding mechanisms, including: competitive grants block grants direct grants tax incentives annual government appropriations co-investment schemes The dual funding system for university-led research. 8

9 The dual funding system for university-led research Competitive Research Grants In , A$790 million is being provided through the Australian Research Council (ARC) and A$846 million is being provided through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Funding is awarded via a peer review process International researchers can receive funding where they collaborate with an Australian university Research Block Grants (RBG) RBG will provide A$1.81 billion funding for Australian universities in 2016 Funding supports the indirect costs of research and research training The RBG programme also provides funding for the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) Changes will commence 1 January 2017

10 Assessing research performance Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) - ERA is a comprehensive quality evaluation of all research produced in Australian universities against national and international benchmarks - Administered by the Australian Research Council (ARC) - The unit of evaluation is broadly defined as the Field of Research (FoR) within an institution - Indicators include a range of metrics such as citation profiles and peer review of a sample of research outputs - Ratings (1-5) are determined and moderated by committees of distinguished researchers, drawn from Australia and overseas A new research engagement and impact measure will commence in 2018 as a companion to ERA 10

11 2015 ERA top performers by Field of Research (FoR) ERA digit Field of research results Ratings: 5: well above world standard 4: above world standard 3: at world standard 2: below world standard 1: well below world standard N/A: not assessed due to low volume COHORT 01 Mathematical Sciences 02 Physical Sciences 03 Chemical Sciences 04 Earth Sciences 05 Environmental Sciences 06 Biological Sciences 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences 08 Information and Computing Sciences Institution Melbourne Go Queensland Go Sydney Go New South Wales Go n/a Monash Go n/a ANU Go n/a 5 n/a n/a Adelaide Go Western Australia Go n/a Macquarie N/A n/a UTS ATN n/a n/a n/a n/a Griffith IRU n/a n/a n/a Tasmania N/A n/a Newcastle N/A n/a 3 4 n/a La Trobe IRU n/a n/a Curtin ATN n/a QUT ATN n/a n/a n/a Deakin N/A n/a n/a 4 n/a Western Sydney N/A n/a n/a Wollongong N/A n/a 3 4 n/a n/r n/a Flinders IRU n/a Engineering 10 Technology 11 Medical and Health Sciences 12 Built Environment and Design 13 Education 14 Economics 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services 16 Studies In Human Society 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences 18 Law and Legal Studies 19 Studies In Creative Arts and Writing 20 Language, Communication and Culture 21 History and Archaeology 22 Philosophy and Religious Studies

12 Australia s research strengths Australia contains 0.3 percent of the world s population In 2015 we provided 3.8 percent of the world s research We are ranked 7 th in the OECD for research output We provide 6.9 percent of the top-cited research publications world-wide an increase of 75 percent over ten years We will invest A$11.2 billion (through the Education and Training portfolio alone) over the next four years to support Australian universities and national research infrastructure facilities 12

13 National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) Launched by the Prime Minister on 7 December 2015 The NISA contains measures worth A$1.1 billion over four years to create a culture of entrepreneurship, coinvestment and collaboration that will help transform promising ideas into social and economic benefits Innovation.gov.au

14 National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) Key changes: The Research Block Grants system will be streamlined in 2017: -Research Support Programme (A$885 million in 2017) -Research Training Programme (A$948 million in 2017) -An additional A$127 million will be given to reward industry engagement From 1 July 2016, ARC Linkage Projects will open to continuous applications from domestic and international applicants A new research engagement and impact measure will help drive collaboration between universities and industry. Pilot in 2017 before full roll-out in 2018

15 Key changes: A$2.3 billion will be invested over 10 years from 1 July 2017 in national scale research infrastructure. This includes sustainable operational funding for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) From November 2016, a new provisional 457 Entrepreneurs Visa will be available for international entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to Australia The pathway to permanent residence in Australia for international postgraduates with STEM qualifications will be enhanced National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA)

16 Australia-Thailand collaboration In 2015, just over Thai international students were studying in Australia The Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and the CSIRO all have long-standing, collaborative research links with Thailand In 2015, the ARC has allocated A$2.7million for projects where researchers have identified an intention to collaborate with Thailand in research proposals and these projects are exciting and potentially ground breaking The Cooperative Research Centres programme (through the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science) also has strong business links with Thailand and in there has been collaboration in the Oral Health and Automotive sectors 16

17 Collaboration with Thailand by research discipline Source: ARC 17

18 Australia-Thailand collaboration Number of Publications Australian-Thai joint publications by field of research Field of Research Source: InCites

19 Australia-Thailand collaboration Top 15 Australian universities by joint publications with Thai researchers Name Journal Articles, Book, Book Chapter and Conference Proceedings Proportion University of Queensland % University of Melbourne % University of Sydney % University of New South Wales % Monash University % University of Western Australia % University of Wollongong % Deakin University % Charles Darwin University % University of Adelaide % Australian National University % James Cook University % Murdoch University % Curtin University % University of Newcastle % Source: InCites

20 The way forward There are a number of research priorities in common between our two countries Future collaboration focus could include: - agriculture and food production - energy and climate change - health and medicine - materials science, nanotechnology, engineering - information technology Research partnerships between universities in Australia and Thailand create ways to explore new research opportunities and deliver benefits to both nations 20

21 Thank you 21