Australian R&D spend ¡®heading for 1980s levels¡¯

¡°Business as usual¡± practices risk relegating Australian research and development spending to 1980s levels and jeopardising national prosperity, 바카라사이트 country šs research-intensive universities have warned.

A Group of Eight (Go8) says Australian R&D investment cannot meet global norms without ¡°substantial¡± change to policies that saw investment levels decline from a peak of about 2.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 to less than 1.7 per cent today.

The report says 바카라사이트 current trajectory is for R&D spending to slump to about 1.2 per cent by 바카라사이트 end of next decade ¨C a level last experienced in 바카라사이트 late 1980s. This would counter 바카라사이트 trend across 바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where investment has risen steadily for about 30 years.

The OECD average is now above 2.7 per cent. An ¡°optimal level¡± for Australia would be almost 3.7 per cent, 바카라사이트 report says.

In a 10-year ¡°roadmap¡±, 바카라사이트 Go8 outlines mechanisms to boost spending levels to 3 per cent of GDP. They include tweaks to tax incentives and skilled visas, measures to encourage R&D investment by pension funds and a ¡°life-cycle¡± approach to national research infrastructure funding.

Australia should also increase PhD stipends, boost funding for STEM degrees, join global research collaboration schemes and revise 바카라사이트 ¡°template agreements¡± governing intellectual property arrangements between businesses and universities, 바카라사이트 report says.

In 바카라사이트 longer term, 바카라사이트 report recommends a new future fund for non-medical research, free access to government-funded research publications and programmes to foster 바카라사이트 co-location of universities and businesses.

But 바카라사이트 first step would be to formally adopt a 3 per cent target by 2035 and report annually on progress towards 바카라사이트 target. Go8 deputy chief executive Matt Brown said 바카라사이트 ¡°ambitious time frame¡± was ¡°definitely doable¡±, but not without ¡°fundamental restructures¡± and lots of work. ¡°We need to be pulling as many different levers as we can.¡±

Australia ranks relatively lowly on R&D spending and is easily 바카라사이트 worst performing OECD nation in Harvard University šs , which assesses 바카라사이트 diversity and sophistication of each country šs export industries. Dr Brown said economic complexity was a proxy for economic robustness and resilience.

¡°Less demand for digging things up out of 바카라사이트 ground ¨C coal and things like that ¨C is going to impact every Australian family [unless we] develop sophisticated, high-tech industries ¡­ which are by and large reliant on innovation and research,¡± he said. ¡°It šs going to be really difficult if [we] don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 R&D base to support that sort of high-tech industry.¡±

While 바카라사이트 governing Labor Party has had a longstanding aspiration to lift R&D spending ¡°closer to¡± 3 per cent of GDP, it has never articulated how it intends to achieve 바카라사이트 goal. Last year it considered dropping 바카라사이트 target from its policy platform and quietly withdrew from negotiations to join Horizon Europe, 바카라사이트 world šs biggest research collaboration scheme.

According to figures published last year, R&D investment as a proportion of GDP is at a 17-year low and 바카라사이트 government šs share is 바카라사이트 lowest on record. Higher education is 바카라사이트 only sector to substantially increase its contribution, boosting its R&D spending by about one-third between 2014 and 2022, but its major source of research funding has now been jeopardised by 바카라사이트 government šs crackdown on international education.

The Go8 says 바카라사이트 report is 바카라사이트 product of over six months of research and workshops with experts. ¡°The bulk of 바카라사이트 work was done before we had this possibility of caps on international students,¡± Dr Brown said. ¡°Clearly, that šs going to make things worse.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com