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Media release: Go8 blueprint for research excellence will drive Australia’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery

September 9, 2020

The Group of Eight (Go8) has released a blueprint for reform aimed at preserving the excellent research capacity and capabilities of Australia’s world-leading universities, essential for our economic recovery.

Enabling Australia’s Economic Recovery Through Supporting Research Excellence sets out three achievable, logical recommendations to enable the continuation of research excellence, which has never been more vital to Australia’s future.

  • Supporting excellent research at scale to maximise benefit for the nation
  • Sustainable translation and research infrastructure funding across national priority issues (funded targeted priority research at scale)
  • Transparent and full costing of research to ensure effective expenditure (ensuring transparent bang for taxpayer buck)

Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said:

“The Go8 recommendations aim to deliver the best research, with the maximum impact for the community and the economy in a cost effective, transparent and sustainable way. They are deliberately pragmatic and look to ‘future proof’ both our research and the nation’s research workforce.

“Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stated publicly that research excellence is essential to ensuring Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and Education Minister Dan Tehan rightly recognises the importance of financial support to achieve this end.

“The Go8 has accepted this ‘call to action’ and delivered recommendations that will arm the nation’s research-intensive universities for the challenges of the future. We haven’t over-reached, far from it. We are working to ensure that the bulk of the nation’s research excellence at scale that resides within Australian universities is utilised for the national good.

“With seven of our eight members ranked in the world’s top 100 universities for our research strengths, the Go8 is committed to leading the contribution of excellent research to the nation.

Key to this is sustainable research funding that builds and maintains areas where Australia has significant research capability, such as chemistry, computer science and engineering, and which drives collaboration with industry to contribute to national productivity.

It is our remarkable research strength which is the bedrock on which innovation and translation occurs in industries that are vital to our future, including advanced manufacturing, health, energy, defence and transport.

“The Go8 looks forward to working in partnership with Government and the COVID Commission on this path of reform to establish ourselves post COVID-19 as a very different, more independent, productive economic entity in the world order.”

Contact: Vicki Thomson Group of Eight Chief Executive on +61 438 047 155