PMSEIC Releases Three Reports to the Public Through Chief Scientist's Website. (May 13, 2013)

Although the website site for the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) still has not listed the 26th meeting of the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) held on 16 April 2013 on its "Previous meetings" web page, the Chief Scientist summarised the event a couple of days later.

Last Wednesday the URL's for three reports that were presented at the April 16 meeting were added

The Case for An Australia Science & Technology Strategy (4-pages)
International Science and Innovation Systems (4-pages)
International Science Policy Analysis (50-pages)

The question that Australia's government and citizenry is faced with is

just where in the pack should we want the nation to be?

 As for The Case for An Australia Science & Technology Strategy it states its aims are to achieve the following key outcomes:

1.  A STEADY STREAM OF NEW IDEAS

2. GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIES

3. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY AND COORDINATED CAPACITY TO TACKLE SOCIETAL CHALLENGES

4. SCIENCE LITERACY EMBEDDED IN AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY

5. AN INTERNATIONALLY INFLUENTIAL AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE ENTERPRISE

The report concludes: "Following a targeted consultation process in May and June 2013, the Office of the Chief Scientist will deliver a draft strategy to the next PMSEIC meeting" which will be shortly before the forthcoming federal election.

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With regard to International Science and Innovation Systems the paper "presents a comparison of the science and innovation systems of a group of research-intensive countries with whom Australia partners and competes. It includes summary figures comparing: research expenditure, publishing performance and national science and innovation performance."

For example figure 1 below shows Australia's R&D governmental and higher expenditure to fall in the middle within its cohort but woeful when it comes to support from business.

The paper makes no recommendations. Nevertheless it is a useful summary of data on comparing support for science and innovation of Australia's cohort nations although much of the data are somewhat dated.

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The International Science Policy Analysis is a catalogue of the policies of thirteen nations and the grouped European Union

Below are the key data summarised by the report: