Greater investment in research and development (R&D) is essential for Australia’s long term economic prosperity, security and wellbeing. The government’s Strategic Examination of Australia’s Research & Development system is a critical piece of work to achieve this goal.
Group of Eight (Go8) Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said the scope of the review demonstrated the government’s commitment to lifting R&D intensity and rightly addressed key issues such as the importance of driving greater R&D investment by industry.
“We commend the Government for embarking on this forensic review of the national R&D landscape. We need to better understand and address the barriers holding back investment in R&D. This is a nation building exercise and it must be a national priority. Investment in R&D is an investment in the future of Australia.
“Each and every day, Australians benefit from the R&D that our universities undertake in partnership with industry.
“Australia’s R&D intensity has been in decline for over a decade at a time when productivity growth has been patchy and competitor countries have been investing heavily in R&D. This review is long overdue and urgent.
“Universities – in particular our research-intensive universities – have picked up the slack and expenditure by the higher education sector on R&D has steadily increased from 0.40 per cent of GDP in 2000, to 0.61 per cent of GDP. But there’s a limit to how much our universities can contribute to R&D, given our reliance on international student fee revenue to fund that research.”
“The Go8 has long advocated for a bipartisan National Research Strategy to grow R&D and build a more resilient and dynamic economy– a strategy that sets a dedicated framework to support research in Australia for generations to come.”
“The Go8 has also recommended the adoption of a target to lift Australia’s R&D intensity to 3 per cent of GDP by 2035. In consultation with leading business and industry groups we developed a Report to the Australian Government: Australia’s research and development (R&D) intensity: a decadal roadmap to 3% of GDP which sets out 12 evidence-based and fiscally responsible recommendations to lift R&D intensity, particularly business sector R&D.
The Go8 looks forward to working closely with the expert review panel to develop a research system that delivers Australia the capability to meet complex policy challenges and set the nation up for a prosperous future.
The Go8 universities are Australia’s leading research-intensive universities and are major stakeholders in Australia’s national R&D system, contributing over 20 per cent of total R&D investment. Go8 universities are responsible for 70 per cent of the research conducted by Australian universities, investing $8.5 billion annually.