The Howard government is currently ducking and weaving amid criticisms regarding falling levels of Australia's research and development investment in the corporate sector.
Back in 1991, the then-Hawke government established the first ever cooperative research centres (CRCs), in an attempt to stave off such criticisms.
Currently a Fellow at the Australian National University (ANU), Richard Eckersley was an advisor to the then Federal Minister for Science, Simon Crean.
"It was one of a number of initiatives, including a 150 percent tax rate which were all part of the Clever Country push," Eckersley explains. "The CRC program was designed to form a link between government-funded research, the universities and the private sector."
Although the research and development tax rebate didn't fare so well when the 1995 federal election saw John Howard take power, funding to CRCs was maintained and has even been increased in recent years. While the research focus of the centres has varied with time, the broad objectives have remained fairly stable.
According to Geoffrey Vaughan, chairman of the CRC committee the program has four fundamental objectives.
- To develop the cooperative research opportunities of different research facilities for better outcomes.
- To create a path for technology transfer between research facilities and the private sector.
- To provide first-rate technical and commercial preparation for research students.
- To ensure the involvement of technology users in the process of research management.
Eleven years, seven funding rounds and AU$7.337 billion in cash and kind after the initial launch, the number of Australian CRCs has grown from 16 to 62. Moreover, the bipartisan support and internationally recognised success of the program has provided sufficient stability to make a CRC investment increasingly attractive for the private sector.
According to the most recent project review, the ratio for government-to-private sector funding has increased from 1:2.1 to 1:3.7. Vaughan believes this increased interest from the private sector, combined with the government's commitment to continue to augment the project's funding, may well lead to more or larger centres.
While only seven of the centres have a specific focus on information technology or communications research, Vaughan points out CRCs in sectors as diverse as meteorology and mining also contribute to, and rely on, technological development.
"There is an IT element in virtually every CRC, whether in the form of compiling the research and market analysis, modelling or creating industry-specific technologies."
