News & Views item - January 2007

 

 

UK Think-Tank Demos Issues a Cautionary Note Regarding Scientific Progress in Asia. (January 25, 2007)

   The UK think-tank Demos calls itself  "The Think Tank for Everyday Democracy".

 

On September 15 last year it finished the first of four reports on the advancement of science in Asia, The New Geography of Science. It's now been followed by three reports dated January 17, 2007 -- China: the Next Science Superpower?, Korea: Mass Innovation Comes of Age, and The Atlas of Ideas.

 

Nature summarises the overall conclusions:

Surges in markets, state funding and a flow of native talent heading home are boosting science and innovation in China, India and South Korea to an unprecedented extent that is too little appreciated elsewhere. That's the main conclusion of four reports surveying these countries, published last week by the UK think-tank Demos.

The reports also note the countries' weaknesses, including a need to establish more confidence in ethical frameworks and to develop home-grown creativity. Nevertheless, Demos says, a fundamental shift in the geography of scientific ideas and their impacts is under way.

Demos warns governments in the West not to react in a defensive way to this growth. Instead the group proposes schemes by which Britain, in particular, should increase its engagement with the three countries.

Well, just maybe with the apparent threat that Labor's Kevin Rudd is posing the federal Coalition in challenging for the right to govern Australia, the nation's intellectual sector may be the recipient of support and resources it requires to maintain, perhaps even improve, the quality of life of its citizenry.

 

But so far Labor remain bereft of a policy statement on support for education and research and development while the federal Coalition has just announced CSIRO will receive $2.56 billion over the next four years as baseline funding which The Canberra Times' Rosslyn Beeby reports "sources say will curb expansion of crucial national research programs and lead to further job cuts and research closures... [T]he amount is substantially less than the organisation requested and is about a 2 per cent increase on the organisation's current funding level of $2.43billion over three years roughly $600 million a year", and substantially below the expected rate of inflation.

 

According to Ms Beeby's informants, "the organisation's executive team initially submitted a detailed funding bid, asking for an extra $100 million a year over the next three years, which was to be 'rushed into national flagship programs' covering key areas including food sciences, health, water and renewable energy". Cabinet essentially told the organisation to take a hike and think again.