Keeping Australia at the cutting edge: how the way we fund science matters
Science Victoria Edition
Principal Consultant, Research Strategies Australia
Its time to allow funding to flow more easily across our research ecosystem
From the invention of the stump-jump plough to the development of precision agriculture, from world-leading mining technologies and medical breakthroughs like the cochlear implant to making Wi Fi universal, Australia’s prosperity has been built on science and innovation.
Be it in agriculture, mining, medicine or manufacturing, our most successful industries have grown from public investment in the skills, research and technologies necessary to help them develop. Our universities, research institutes, and government agencies have all helped turn our natural assets and best ideas into global industries that benefit the whole nation.
It is well documented that to remain competitive in the race to develop new ideas and industries, Australia needs to lift its investment in science significantly [1]. Just as critical though, is the need to change how this funding is spent, in order to deliver the most value from each public dollar we invest.
Unlike previous decades, collaboration across institutions involving multiple co-investigators and industry partners is now the expectation, rather than the exception. This includes collaboration with international allies and peers who can bring with them expertise, facilities and funding that we could not otherwise access.
Unfortunately, collaboration internally across our research ecosystem is a lot harder than it should be, and any funding for international collaboration is dependent on foreign contributions or is limited to small pockets of strategic government funding.
To keep our science at the cutting edge we need to allow the funding we put into it to flow more easily across, and into, our research ecosystem.
Why collaboration matters more than ever
Modern research is increasingly a high-stakes team sport. It benefits from attracting key skill sets, knowledge and talent from the best institutions, agencies and industries in Australia and elsewhere. Large global challenges, from climate change to digital technologies, require multidisciplinary teams with diverse skills. The most significant scientific discoveries of recent decades typically involve researchers from many institutions and countries working together.
Australia’s role in the global effort to detect gravitational waves illustrates the power of this approach. First detected in 2015 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US [2], this breakthrough in physics confirmed a century-old prediction of Einstein’s theory of relativity. Australian contributions to this discovery, including the development of specialised instrumentation and advanced data analysis, continue through OzGrav, the ARC funded Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. Established in 2017, the Centre links Australian researchers with a global network of thousands of gravitational wave researchers, their facilities, and LIGO itself.
Another iconic Australian success story is Wi Fi technology, pioneered by scientists at CSIRO in the 1990s. Their work on solving the problem of radio interference in indoor environments underpins the wireless local area networks now used in billions of devices worldwide. Turning that scientific breakthrough into a global standard depended on engagement with international standards bodies and partnerships with overseas manufacturers [3].
These examples show how major breakthroughs depend on global networks. Yet in Australia, the criteria set by many public funders make it difficult to share resources directly with international partners, even when their contributions are essential to research that we lead, and want to succeed.
The global reality: Science without borders
Globally, research is becoming more interconnected every year. The most highly cited scientific papers are now overwhelmingly coauthored by researchers from multiple countries. Studies of publication data confirm that papers with international coauthors tend to have higher impact than those produced within a single country, even after accounting for differences in quality, journal and discipline [4].
Other nations have redesigned their funding systems to support cross border collaboration more smoothly. The European Union’s Ꞓ93.5 billion ($A159 billion) Horizon Europe program was designed to encourage participating countries to pool resources for large-scale missions that no single country could achieve alone [5]. Australia has a long history of collaboration with European partners, but its absence from such major shared-funding frameworks has been viewed by many scientists as a missed opportunity, particularly as competition for talent and partnerships intensifies [6].
Without more flexible funding pathways, Australian researchers risk being less competitive in attracting and retaining international talent and in participating fully in global research initiatives that deliver scientific, economic and educational benefits. This is not simply an issue for universities, it also affects companies seeking to co-develop products with overseas partners, hospitals working on multinational clinical trials, and startups building to global standards in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and clean energy.
The case for smarter, more flexible funding
There is significant scope to update the way science funding works in Australia so that it actively supports cooperation. The country would benefit hugely from clearer and more consistent funding rules that welcome participation from industry partners, from greater flexibility to fund collaborators who can add value to a project across sectors and borders, and from simpler arrangements for funding international collaboration [7].
Many countries already use funding models that allow money to flow to trusted collaborators regardless of location, subject to appropriate accountability. This approach increases the likelihood of breakthroughs and innovation because the best partner for a given problem is not always in-house.
Australia has the institutional capability to do the same. We already administer complex infrastructure programs, cooperative research centres and international scientific facilities. The task now is to make those strengths more routine across a wider portfolio of grants.
How rules can heal a fragmented system
One potential lever for ecosystem change is the Government’s own Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles. This document governs how Australian funding bodies and agencies design and manage Australian Government funded grants. These rules provide mandatory standards and principles across all portfolios [8].
Although recently updated, the rules could be applied more effectively to clarify that eligible recipients can use public funds to build collaborative projects and programs that span sectors and borders. For example, funders could provide guidance that explicitly allows international and industry-based researchers to be financed as co-investigators, with mandatory due diligence, risk management and reporting.
This kind of change is a low-cost but straightforward way to help shape a more collaborative and dynamic ecosystem while maintaining strong accountability. It would create greater transparency about the contributions made by collaborators, while encouraging industry partnerships alongside academic excellence. It would also make it easier for Australian teams to join major international initiatives by clarifying when and how Australian funds can be used to support overseas researchers in studies that we prioritise and fund. Indeed, used creatively, these rules could be applied to support development of new funded programs with Australia’s strategic international partners.
Opening our system, from fences to green fields
Australian researchers should not be forced to choose between national priorities and international engagement. Allowing our researchers to use public funding to sustain collaborative projects with the co-investigators they need to succeed, would make us more adaptable, and have greater impact, in a world of increasing economic, technological and geopolitical uncertainty.
Victoria’s experience shows how quickly ecosystems can grow when the right connections are supported. The state’s biotechnology cluster, medtech manufacturing capabilities and clean energy and advanced manufacturing precincts have all been built on a mix of strong public research, entrepreneurial firms, targeted infrastructure and skills initiatives.
Policy settings that supercharge these networks more directly, with funding we already have, would accelerate our successes and put science back on top of the investment agenda for future Australian governments, our industries and our strategic international partners [9].
Conclusion: Allow science funding to free range across our ecosystem
Australia’s research system is full of talent and potential. The main constraints are not the quality of our science, the capability of our industries, or the value of our international partnerships. It’s a funding system that has not adapted to how today’s impactful science is generated across research providers, industries and borders.
Many of the steps we could take represent relatively straightforward changes in policy and program design. These changes could have a profound effect on how our research ecosystem evolves over the coming decades including strengthening its ability to attract new funding from industry and international investors.
If we can build a modern ecosystem that has greater access to the best domestic and international talent, then Australia, and Victoria in particular, can continue to be a place where science underpins industrial success and delivers long-term prosperity to our small, but innovative, corner of the world.
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References
[1] Federal Budget must mark turning point for Australian R&D investment | Australian Academy of Science
[2] https://www.arc.gov.au/arc-centre-excellence-gravitational-wave-discovery
[3] https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/it/wireless-lan
[4] Wang, J. et al. (2024) International collaboration leading to high citations: Global impact or home country effect? Journal of Informetrics, 18 (4) doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2024.101565
[5] https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/horizon-europe_en
[7] https://researchstrategiesaustralia.com/insights
[8] https://www.finance.gov.au/government/commonwealth-grants/australian-government-grants-framework
[9] Why Australia Needs a Smarter Way to Fund Global Collaboration
[10] Banner image used underlicence from Shutterstock
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