Benchmarking Australian Science Performance Michael West Laura Kusa Joanne Banks Phillippa Smith OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

Setting Standards ERA 2010 OUTCOMES NATIONAL OVERVIEW Approximately 65 per cent of the units of evaluation assessed in ERA were rated at world standard or above (i.e. received 3s, 4s or 5s) for ERA.

Our Analysis 1.Do we “punch above our weight” in terms of the volume of research we produce with a small population? 2.Is the quality of our research at a world-class standard? 3.Which countries are the world leaders, and are there lessons we can learn from them? Comparison to: – Countries with similar governance in Europe and North America – Countries in Asian Century Citations used as a measure of quality Comparison uses Elsevier Scopus database, academic publications from , in science and technology fields

Volume of Research Top 15 countries (within our set) in publications per capita:

Australia in Context

Performance Comparison (Top 12)

Performance Comparison (Next 12)

UK Research is Efficient UK has far fewer researchers than larger countries, such as the US and China, but is more efficient in terms of output per researcher. Of the top 5 research nations (US, China, UK, Japan and Germany), UK researchers generate: – More articles per researcher – More citations per researcher – More usage per article authored

UK Researchers are Mobile Effectiveness in attracting productive and internationally mobile researchers to work in the UK. Researchers returning after an extended time abroad are significantly more productive in terms of articles published. Almost 63% of researchers affiliated with UK institutions have also published articles while working at institutions outside the UK.

UK Researchers Collaborate Internationally Articles that have co-authors residing in more than one country are more highly cited. In 2010, 46% of UK researchers published articles with non-UK researchers. This accounts for the UK’s high number of citations per researcher. It is a far higher proportion than most other research- intensive nations.

Key instruments of Government to increase mobility 1 1.The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Code of Practice 2.Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers The Government also funds dedicated fellowship schemes 2, that seek to attract the best early career researchers from around the world to UK institutions. The British Council - bilateral exchange programmes with France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Poland and Portugal. Fostering Mobility and Collaboration

Wellcome Trust Supports outstanding researchers to establish a research career in European academic institution Supports collaborations between researchers in developed market economies and those in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Photograph of Henry S. Wellcome in canoeing costume, c from a photograph album in the Wellcome Archive.

Research Councils Invests ~£3 billion pa in research. Part of remit is to foster international collaborations. Individual UK Research Councils have bilateral arrangements which allow for grant portability. For example, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) mobility and networking agreement. The Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) supports internationalisation.

European Commission The UK also strongly supports the careers and mobility pillar of the European Research Area initiative (ERA). One of the main tools to enhance researchers’ mobility is the EURAXESS Researchers in Motion initiative. Part of initiative - facilitate admission, residence and work procedures for researchers from countries outside the EU. Key area – 3 month Scientific Visas help researchers to obtain permission to enter, stay and work in EU Member States to carry out scientific research.

Sweden sits above the European citation average across all 18 scientific fields measured. Produces 1.31% of the world’s science publications

Research priorities Every four years the government presents a research and innovation bill that deals with the Government’s priorities for the following four years. The overall policy of the Swedish government is to strengthen Sweden’s position as a research nation and thereby increase its scientific competitiveness in a globalised world. This is to be achieved three ways: 1.Strengthening independent research 2.Promoting research to the highest quality 3.Ensuring that research is increasingly leveraged

The Swedish government also uses three criteria to determine the strategic areas to be given priority: 1.Research that can contribute to finding solutions to important global problems and issues 2.Areas in which Sweden already carries out world-class research. 3.Areas where companies in Sweden are carrying out their own research and development, and where state investments reinforce the development and competitiveness of the business sector in Sweden. Research priorities

Strategic Investments The Government is investing SEK 4 billion in research and innovation to strengthen Sweden’s position as a prominent research nation in the long term. In total, the investment will involve SEK 11.5 billion over the years Focus of investments include – –Life sciences –Strengthened basic funding for universities and other higher education institutions –Frontier research –Research facilities –Research results to lead to new products and services.

The US has the largest aggregate publication volume and citation impact Its strongest field of research is Computer Science The weakest field of research in the US is Energy

Basic Research The US has the world’s strongest university system –ARWU rankings: 17 of the world’s top 20 universities are from the US –Basic research concentrated in research universities Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU),Shanghai Jiao Tong University Basic research – “the source of new ideas for the long term” –Across all R&D private sector funded 62% and performed 71% of all US R&D –Basic research primarily funded by federal government

Basic Research Australian GERD: Basic 20% Applied 38% Development 41% Australian Basic Research Expenditure: Higher Ed 59% Govt 18% Business 17% Non-profit 9% National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012ABS

US federal funding for R&D Federal funding for R&D, FY 2009 National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012 Australian Gov-ERD: Basic 43% Applied 45% Development 11% Federal funding is directed by priority setting: – but more funding does not necessarily result in higher research impact ABS

Corporate support for basic research National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012 “It is federally sponsored research that provides the truly ‘patient’ capital needed to carry out basic research and create an environment for the inspired risk taking that it is essential to technological discovery” Norman Augustine, CEO of Lockheed Martin, et al., An Open Letter to President Clinton, 1996

The United States of America World-leading universities A balance of basic and applied research Strong corporate support for basic research

Summary 1.Do we “punch above our weight” in terms of the volume of research we produce with a small population? To some extent, but not much different to many others. 2.Is the quality of our research at a world-class standard? Defining the ‘world-class standard’ is important. Perhaps not quite as competitive with our key partners as some previous assessments have indicated. Many fields of relative strength. 3.Which countries are the world leaders, and are there lessons we can learn from them? UK: Efficiency, including through mobility and collaboration. Sweden: Setting strong research priorities. US: Basic research with corporate support.