Science funding in Australia is mortally wounded! | Leanna Read | TEDxFlindersUniversity
The presenter argues that the Australian research ecosystem suffers from unsustainably competitive grant funding and a tendency to focus on siloed, bottom-up science, advocating for a shift toward outcome-driven, multidisciplinary collaborations and stronger university-industry linkages to diversify the economy. Evidence for this includes the low 15% success rates for major research grants and the fact that only 6% of funding for core programs comes from industry linkage grants. ## Speakers & Context - Presenter (Unnamed): Addressing the state of Australian science funding, particularly in the university sector. - Context: Discussion framed by the poor state of science funding nationally, referencing the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and general system struggles. ## Theses & Positions - The current research funding system is unsustainably competitive, evidenced by low success rates for grant applications. - The research focus is too bottom-up, prioritizing individual "pet areas of research" over solving large, real-world problems that require scale. - The system needs a fundamental shift toward outcome-driven, multidisciplinary collaboration that incorporates end-user involvement. - Australia must urgently diversify its industry base and economy away from reliance on resource exports by strengthening linkages between universities and industry. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Bottom-up approach:** Focus on individual research projects driven by academic interest, lacking coordination for large-scale global problems. - **End-user involvement:** Integrating the needs of the ultimate implementer or industry partner into the research design from the outset. - **Linkages with industry:** The necessary connection and collaboration between universities and private companies to translate research into economic activity. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Therapy manufacturing (CIC example):** Focuses on *how* to grow and expand cells for therapeutic use, rather than just the underlying biology of the cells themselves, addressing cost-effectiveness for medicine. - **Impact of industry partnership:** The presenter's colleague working on projects in the CIC found that about half of their intended key challenges would be irrelevant without the industry partner's input. - **Diversification:** Shifting the national economic foundation away from the resources sector toward new, innovative industries. ## Timeline & Sequence - Funding trends: Dramatic increase in grant applications over the last 5 years, while funding remains constant, causing the success rate to drop significantly. - Historical funding distribution: Linkage grants (for NHMRC/ARC) currently account for only 6% of total funding. ## Named Entities - **NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council)** - **ARC (Australian Research Council)** - **CIC (Centre for Innovative Cell Therapy)** - **Adelaide** — Location of the CIC. ## Numbers & Data - NHMRC/ARC grant applications: Numbers have increased dramatically over the last 5 years. - Success rates: Down to a "dismal 15%" for core programs like NHMRC/ARC grants; Discovery Grants are around 20%; Career Fellowships are slightly below that. - Funding breakdown: About 20% of total ARC/NHMRC funding goes to program center Grants. - Industry linkage funding: Only 6% of NHMRC/ARC total funding comes from linkage grants. - ARC Linkage Grant success rate: 36% (contrasting with the 15% baseline). - Economic dependency: About 60% of Australian exports are in the resources sector. ## Examples & Cases - **The CIC/Cell Therapy:** Showed as an example of success, focusing on the *process* of making cells cost-effective for medicine, requiring expertise from surface technology science through to regulatory understanding. - **University/Industry Collaboration Weakness:** Australia is "at the bottom of the pack" in its relationship and collaboration between universities and companies. - **Researcher Distribution:** Only 7% of researchers are in the University sector versus 30% in companies. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Current System:** Highly theoretical, producing unscaleable research due to lack of end-user focus. - **Alternative:** Shifting efforts to industry-adjacent, multidisciplinary collaboration that solves tangible problems and builds economic resilience. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - Prediction: The presenter predicts that more NHMRC funding is *not* coming in the near future due to the economic situation. - Limitation: Addressing primary school training is outside the scope of the current discussion. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - Focus research effort on outcome-driven, multidisciplinary collaboration to build scale. - Diversify funding sources by improving linkages between universities and industry. - Prepare graduates for the industry sector through increased entrepreneurship training and staff exchange. ## Implications & Consequences - Economic stability is tied to diversifying the industrial base beyond commodities and resources exports. - Innovation and strong university-industry linkages are "the absolute crucial way to go" for Australia's future. ## Verbatim Moments - *"a severe case of arthritis if nothing else now"* (describing science funding). - *"the success rate is dropping quite substantially"* (when referencing grant applications). - *"we think of ourselves as more in individual research projects than in solving big problems for the world"* (describing the bottom-up approach). - *"it goes from surface technology science through to scale up type expansion of those resources clean room facilities preclinical animal expertise clinical expertise regulatory understanding"* (listing the required expertise for cell therapy). - *"we have to focus on the second one [industry linkages] and you've all seen this slide"* (emphasizing the shift in focus). - *"if these two sectors don't get together we're in the proverbial"* (warning about the current university/industry gap). - *"Australia is a Commodities resources export focused Nation"* (stating the current economic model). - *"the way forward is clearly related to Innovation and therefore the linkages between universities and getting that technology out into that sector"* (final directive).