The ARC's Future Fellowships Program in Jeopardy? (July 16, 2013)

The Group of Eight (Go8) today released a statement noting that "The Government has provided funding for only one more round of Fellowships.

Professor Field, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research at the University of New South Wales says:"Ceasing the Future Fellowships scheme will seriously reduce our capacity to compete for the best mid-career researchers. Unless we can fill the void created by the loss of the Future Fellowships, research capacity in Australia will wind back during the next few years. The Future Fellowships have brought 200 researchers a year into the research sector, building a critical mass in research areas, addressing national challenges and helping Australia secure its position in a globalised knowledge economy.

"The Future Fellowship scheme really has delivered by supporting the development of world-class research groups and capabilities in a range of disciplines and applications, from quantum computing and photovoltaics to climate change and sustainable materials. Much of this talent would have otherwise gone offshore."

In what sounds like despair Professor Field concludes:  "Having seen a cohort of inspiring researchers reap the benefits of the scheme, it seems the only real flaw in its design was that it was conceived only as a five-year plan. Research, however, is a long-term undertaking."

 In a booklet of near 100 pages the Go8 highlights some of the important work the Future Fellowships have supported. The projects cover a wide range, from 'green steelmaking', to examining the reliability of forensic techniques in the courtroom, to developing a treatment for malaria.

And finally: Australia needs a critical mass of top researchers to underpin its research and innovation effort. There is fierce international competition for recruiting talented researchers.

But are those who are responsible for investing the public's money really listening?