KEY POINTS
All developed, and the most dynamic developing countries, recognise the importance of international science and research engagement to national prosperity. The ever-increasing complexity and cost of scientific discovery and technological development, coupled with the acceleration of globalised commerce, trade, finance and information flows, means that participation in global science and technology is seen as essential to the maintenance of living standards and a nation’s global competitiveness.
Australia, like almost all countries (with the notable exception of the USA) is a net importer of technology and, in global terms, produces only a very small proportion (3 percent as measured by publication rates) of new knowledge. It is for this reason that successive governments have recognised the importance of international collaboration and established specific programs to enable Australia to engage bilaterally and multilaterally.
International science and research engagement contributes directly to the achievement of the goals articulated in Powering Ideas: an innovation agenda for the 21st century.
Through its international science engagement function, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) has a unique role within the Australian Government as it is responsible for instigating and playing a lead role in intergovernmental science and research relationships across the whole spectrum of science and research. While other departments pursue bilateral and multilateral agreements in specific thematic areas (e.g. energy or climate change) for which they have portfolio responsibility, only DIISR pursues international science and research engagement on a broad, strategic front.
This work enables Australian researchers and research agencies to establish productive partnerships with leading international researchers and institutions and contributes to the Government’s National Innovation and National Research Priorities.
The Department pursues international science engagement in a strategic and targeted manner through:
- the initiation and management of productive bilateral and multilateral relationships with key countries and international organisations at the government to government level;
- developing and managing bilateral S&T agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOU);
- managing involvement by the Australian Government within key multilateral S&T policy forums, notably the OECD and APEC;
- managing two funding programs - International Science Linkages (ISL) and the Australia-India Strategic research Fund (AISRF) - that provide the platform for supporting the activities that give substance to the commitments made under various science and technology treaties and MOUs;
- developing policy advice for government on international science and research;
- developing high-level visits to and from a wide range of countries;
- maintaining dedicated science and technology staff at key overseas posts;
- maintaining a wide range of stakeholder relationships; and
- collecting information and data and undertaking analyses to support the development of evidence-based policy and to respond to parliamentary questions on international science issues.