Where to for Questacon? (September 19, 2009)

The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Kim Carr, today released the  review of Questacon, Australia's National Science and Technology Centre which was presented to him in July.

Questacon opened in 1988 as a joint Australia-Japan Bicentennial Project with the governments and business communities of Australia and Japan co-funding the cost of Questacon's building.

This year, Questacon marks its 20^th year as a national institution.

The review examines Questacon's role, priorities and resources, its governance and options for sustainable future funding within a national and international context.

The panel consisted of:

Of the 11 recommendations one ought to be seen as essential:

Recommendation 5
That to support the achievement of its mission, the Government establish Questacon as a statutory authority as part of a broader strategy to achieve an expanded and better resourced Questacon.

However, one other is particularly worrisome for the wiggle room it offers the government:

Recommendation 6
That, should support and/or funding for Questacon to operate as a statutory authority be unlikely in the short to medium term, the Government consider integrating Questacon into CSIRO by integrating the science education and communications activities of the two organisations. Integration of the organisations should be subject to measures including appropriate legal safeguards, which ensure:

that the distinct identity of Questacon as the National Science and Technology Centre and its unique brand be preserved in any such integration

 that integration be subject to the development of a business plan demonstrating how Questacon’s mission could be furthered through integration and setting out transition, operational and governance arrangements into the future.

Merging Questacon with CSIRO will be, to paraphrase former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, like having it go to bed with an elephant.

For starters here is a table, provided by the review, of Questacon's funding:

CSIRO's lists its total expenses for 2007 as $972,700,000.