Vision for a Science Nation on the right track, says academy

The Australian Academy of Science has broadly endorsed the Australian Government’s consultation paper for boosting Australia’s capability in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Vision for a Science Nation.

In its submission to the paper, the academy provided detailed recommendations about which proposals will have the most impact on the sector and on the Australian community. In particular, the academy welcomed the following proposals:

• A commitment to a whole-of-government framework and approach to STEM in Australia.
• A funded and government supported international science engagement strategy.
• Development of a 10-year plan for Australian research and research infrastructure.
• A policy to govern open access to publicly funded research outcomes.

“After a long time being the only country in the OECD without a national science strategy, it’s great to see political commitment to creating a long-term plan for science in this country,” said the academy’s secretary for science policy, Professor Les Field.

“If we get this strategy right, it could help deliver transformational breakthroughs in scientific discovery and research application that will improve our quality of life and drive completely new industries in the future.”

But while Professor Field said the paper overall responded well to the Australian Chief Scientist’s proposed STEM strategy, he noted that there were still some concerns over clear mechanisms to increase public and private science funding and a lack of focus on professional development for current science and maths teachers.

He also said that many of the difficult issues such as funding and tax incentives have been pushed out to future reviews and that, in the long term, new funding will be needed to ensure the strategy achieves its targets.

“We also need to make sure that both applied and basic research are adequately supported in the new strategy — you can’t do one well without the other,” Professor Field said.

The academy recommended:

• Stronger incentives for researchers to become involved with industry and vice versa.
• Establishing a new program to direct funding to Australian businesses operating in areas of national research priority.
• Ensuring an appropriate balance between basic and priority-driven research.
• Not making STEM subjects compulsory at senior school levels.
• Strengthening teaching and learning in core mathematics and science disciplines in primary and high schools.