The Group of Eight Views the Draft Implementation Framework of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. (March 17, 2005)

    A couple of weeks ago the Group of Eight released its response to the "Draft Implementation Framework of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Advisory Committee".

Its emphatic conclusions are stated with powerful simplicity:

For Australia to remain economically competitive in the 21st century, it is vital that it maintains a strong capacity for the generation of new knowledge and ideas. To do this it is essential that Australian researchers have access to world-class research facilities and that Australia’s universities are adequately resourced to transfer knowledge and skills between generations and to the wider community.

 

The driving principle of the NCRIS should be to fund and provide access to cutting-edge research infrastructure to support excellent Australian research.

In December 2003 TFW reported:

Fully ten years ago (August 1993) the National Board of Employment, Education and Training reported to the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, Kim Beazley, on Higher Education Research Infrastructure and concluded that it was in urgent need. The Board recommended an immediate increase of $167 million to the existing Commonwealth funding of $456 million (figures updated to 2002 dollars) – a 37% increase. It should be kept in mind that this was the amount that would have been required to maintain university research infrastructure of the 1995 university system let alone improve it, i.e. the year the changes were recommended to commence. The Keating Labor Government was replaced by John Howard's Coalition in March 1996. The Board's recommendations were all but ignored and here we are 8½ years later and Dr Nelson, having just finished a mapping exercise, is waiting on his report from the National Research Infrastructure Taskforce so that he and Cabinet can begin to consider what they might do.

    Gives you a nice warm feeling that the government really cares about the state of our universities as the foundation of a knowledge economy.