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ACADEMIES CONCERNED AT PROPOSED CUTS TO R&D FUNDING (A JOINT MEDIA RELEASE WITH THE AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING)
27 March 2002

The Presidents of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering today expressed concern at a report in the Australian Financial Review on Monday that the Federal Government may be considering reducing expenditure supporting key areas of Australian innovation, in particular the R&D Start program.

The President of the Academy of Science, Professor Brian Anderson, said, ‘One of the challenges facing the Australian innovation system is the low business investment in research and development (BIRD). The reduction a few years ago in the tax concession in the interests of fiscal efficiency resulted in a downturn in BIRD.’

The President of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Mr Tim Besley, went on to say, ‘A reduction in the R&D Start program would have an even more deleterious impact on Australia’s R&D performance because it is targeted at the earlier stages of the R&D program, in particular small start-up companies.’

The Academies expressed confidence in the IR&D Board’s assessment process for R&D Start grants. If, as the Australian Financial Review suggests, there has been ‘heavy overspending’, this would seem to indicate that the government’s innovation programs are working even better than expected, with more small to medium enterprises looking to commercialise outcomes for the benefit of Australia.

An evaluation of the R&D Start program undertaken in the first half of 2000-01 demonstrated ‘the effectiveness of the program in increasing the level of research and development activity in Australia that is commercialised to the benefit of the Australian economy.’

The Academies believe that the significant benefits to Australia outlined in the evaluation indicate that the R&D Start program is making a considerable contribution to the commercialisation of research in this country.