For sale: Refurbished National Research Priorities

Image source: DIICCSRTE

Back in 2002, the Howard Government announced four National Research Priorities (NRPs) to focus investment on research in key areas that could deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits to Australia.

The Australian Government has just unveiled 15 new Strategic Research Priorities; the result of a long-awaited and thoughtful refurbishment.

Australia's current spending on science research and development



Source: Mount Stromlo Observatory

 The awarding of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics to Professor Brian Schmidt, an Australian National University (ANU) professor of Astrophysics, for his role in the discovery that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, is a significant achievement not only for ANU but also for Australia. It is the first time in almost one hundred years that an Australian has won a Nobel Prize in Physics – William and Lawrence Bragg, a father and son team, were the last Australians to win a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915 – and it is the sixth Nobel Prize to be won by an ANU researcher.

In light of this great achievement, it is pertinent to ask about the broader state of health of Australian science as measured by its funding. How much goes to science research and development (R&D) and is this level of funding adequate? This article will not address the question of adequacy of the current levels of R&D science funding, but instead examines Australia’s current and past R&D science expenditure, and what sectors of the economy provide the funding.