24^th Meeting of  Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) Issues 2^nd Communiqué. (July 17, 2012)

On January 20, 2012 the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard announced a set of revised arrangements to "keep PMSEIC relevant and able to maintain the best connection between scientific advice and policy". They included PMSEIC to meet thrice annually and a revised membership "to ensure it remains relevant and able to respond quickly". It's membership is stated to include:

• Prime Minister (chair)

• Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research (alternate chair)

• Minister for Industry and Innovation

• Other Ministers relevant to the meeting, at invitation of the Prime Minister

• Australia's Chief Scientist

• CEO of the Australian Research Council

• CEO of the National Health and Medical Research Council

• Six individual standing members, chosen for their contributions to science and research:

  • Dr Megan Clark, Chief Executive of CSIRO;

  • Dr Cathy Foley, Chief, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering;

  • Dr Ben Greene Executive, Chairman Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited;

  • Professor Robert Saint,  Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne;

  • Professor Fiona Stanley AC, School of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Western Australia and

  • Professor Graeme Turner, Director of the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies University of Queensland.

The 23^rd PMSEIC meeting (the first under the revised scheme) was held on March 30, 2012. The full communiqué from that meeting reads:

The 23rd meeting of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) was held in Sydney on 30 March 2012. The meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, was the first since new arrangements for the Council were announced by the Government in January this year.

The meeting was attended by Senator the Hon Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research; standing members of PMSEIC; as well as Australia’s Chief Scientist, who is Executive Officer of the Council.

The Council considered two main items at the meeting.

The Council heard a presentation from the Office of the Chief Scientist on the preliminary findings and recommendations of a report on the Health of Australian Science. The report is a comprehensive analysis of the state of national science research and education effort, science teaching, science workforce and international research collaboration. The report was made publicly available on 23rd May 2012 and is available from the website of Australia's Chief Scientist.

The Council also considered its future work program for the year ahead and agreed on a number of topics to be brought forward for further consideration at its next meeting. These addressed broad priority themes where science could be brought to bear on matters of key policy importance for Australia.

The Council also noted areas of research that would be undertaken by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACoLA). The four learned academies will work with the Chief Scientist to provide strategic advice to PMSEIC to inform public policy on matters vital to the future of the nation, the funding for which was announced by Government in January 2012.

PMSEIC will meet again on Monday, 9 July 2012.

_________________________________________

On July 9, 2012 PMSEIC 24 did meet in Brisbane. TFW understands that the Prime Minister chaired the entire meeting -- others present haven't been identified.

Its communiqué reads:

The 24th meeting of the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) was held Monday, 9 July in Brisbane where members gathered for the second time this year.

The main focus of the meeting was a discussion on the future of Australian science, technology and innovation. Among other matters, the Council considered whether doctoral research programs in Australia were adequately preparing graduates for working as researchers either in the business sector or closely with the business sector; and the importance of international research collaboration with key partner countries to ensure Australia benefits from strong research impact.

Council agreed to consider existing policy models internationally and develop a strategic approach to implementing targeted priorities for Commonwealth research expenditure. It was also agreed to undertake targeted consultation to determine the top ten breakthrough actions necessary to achieve strong links between research and industry that would drive innovation and productivity growth for Australia. Progress on both activities will be presented at the next council meeting.

Members also defined the Council’s three-year forward work program which will include consideration of reports prepared by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACoLA) under the overarching theme of ‘Securing Australia’s Future’.

ACoLA will be covering agreed topics such as Australia’s comparative advantage with regard to our environment, biodiversity, location and culture; the place of Australian science in the Asian Century; the role of science in lifting Australian productivity; new technologies; and engineering energy which is intended to explore unconventional gas options.

PMSEIC will reconvene again later in the year.

It would seem that the mills of PMSEIC grind exceeding slow; whether or not they will grind fine or with purpose remains to be seen. For example, there is no reference to the presentation [given at the last meeting] from the Office of the Chief Scientist on the preliminary findings and recommendations of a report on the Health of Australian Science while there appears to have been a rerun of considering what PMSEIC believes should be considered.