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- Boosting innovation and science
- Co-hosting the Square Kilometre Array
- Increasing international collaboration
- Industry growth centres
- Industry Innovation and Science Australia
- National Measurement Institute
- Optical astronomy in Australia
- Participating in the digital economy
- Promoting innovation precincts
- Science in our department
- Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Energy
Resources
Northern Australia
Trade
Business support
Measurement services
Government to government services
- Regulations and standards
Emissions reduction
Energy
Resources
- Applying to export rough diamonds
- Applying to export uranium and controlled ores
- Offshore mineral exploration and mining
- Offshore oil and gas exploration and development
- Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release process
- Regulating offshore oil and gas in Australian Commonwealth waters
- Regulating the Ranger Uranium Mine
- Taxes and royalties on minerals and petroleum
Measurement
Trade
Space industry
Building industry
Business support
- Funding and incentives
Emissions reduction
Industry innovation and science
- Australian Square Kilometre Array Fellowships Programme
- Business Research and Innovation Initiative
- Business-research collaboration
- Collaborating with Asia-Pacific on science, research and innovation
- Collaborating with China on science and research
- Collaborating with India on science and research
- Cooperative research centres
- Enabling international space investment
- Industry 4.0
- Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia
- International research collaboration
- Moon to Mars: opportunities for Australian businesses
- Prime Minister's Prizes for Science
- Research and Development Tax Incentive
- Supporting advanced manufacturing
- Supporting business and innovation
- Supporting space infrastructure growth
- Transitioning Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry
- Venture capital
Resources
- About us
COVID-19
Jobs
Who we are
- Our Ministers
- Our Executive team
- Organisation chart
- Our portfolio agencies
- Overseas engagement
- Anti-Dumping Commission
- Anti-Dumping Review Panel
- Australian Radioactive Waste Agency
- Australian SKA Office
- Australian Space Agency
- Critical Minerals Facilitation Office
- National Measurement Institute
- Office of Innovation and Science Australia
- Office of Northern Australia
- Office of the Chief Economist
- Office of the Chief Scientist
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- Assurance and Audit Committee
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Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia

Inspiring Australia contributes to the government’s vision to engage all Australians with science.
Inspiring Australia science engagement activities are connecting with people nationwide to:
- build an awareness and appreciation of science
- celebrate the excitement of science and scientific discovery
- enhance the focus on capability and skills
- improve science communication skills
Our department:
- administers grants and prizes to support community-wide participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
- facilitates national networks to enable regional engagement in science
- manages National Science Week, Australia’s largest celebration of science and technology
Inspiring Australia Science Engagement Programme
We administer the Inspiring Australia Science Engagement Programme which provides grants and prizes to eligible schools, organisations and individuals.
There are 5 measures:
- National Science Week Grants: supports individuals and organisations to deliver science engagement activities during National Science Week.
- Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science: annual awards outstanding achievement in science and science teaching.
- Maker Projects: Community STEM Engagement Grants: supports collaborative initiatives that deliver interactive and hands-on STEM-related activities to youth under 18 years of age.
- Citizen Science Grants: supports community participation in scientific research projects that have a national impact.
- Sponsorship Grants for Student Science Engagement and International Competitions: supports students under 18 years of age to participate in science engagement activities.
Early work informing Inspiring Australia
Inspiring Australia started in 2009. The initiative is informed by earlier work to identify best practice approaches for science engagement in Australia.
Read key insights in these publications:
- Inspiring Australia: a national strategy for engagement with the sciences [1MB PDF] [333KB DOCX].
- Framework of Principles for Science Communication Initiatives [83KB PDF] [23KB DOCX]: this supports a consistent approach to policy and program design to achieve goals.
- Final reports from the Expert Working Groups: these explored how science communities can work together to improve science engagement.
- Inspiring Industry to Inspire Australia—Business and Science Outreach [278KB PDF] [76KB DOCX]: short case studies on how industry is inspiring Australia to think about science.
Read more
- Find out about Inspiring Australia Managers in your state or territory.
- Access resources for communicating science and promoting STEM engagement.
- Find out about annual activities to celebrate science on the National Science Week website.
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Last updated: 8 December 2020
Content ID: 45881