Australian research infrastructure ‘needs a workforce to go with it’

University and science groups have praised a new “road map” for Australia’s nationally significant research infrastructure, along with Canberra’s renewed commitment to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on facilities such as supercomputers, research vessels and ion accelerators.

But critical research infrastructure counts for little unless there is a skilled workforce to operate it, commentators have stressed. And they have warned against stripping current funding from key research facilities to bankroll new endeavours.

The road map outlines a five-year plan for the 27 major research installations supported through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), in areas from neutron scattering, microscopy and accelerator science to population health, ecosystems and phenomics.

The report includes recommendations to strengthen the network by boosting collaboration among the facilities, encouraging industry engagement and providing “continuity and long-term funding”.

It follows the government’s 2015 pledge to end years of uncertainty for NCRIS facilities by guaranteeing them A$1.5 billion (£858 million) over a decade. By 2021 this promise had been upgraded to A$4 billion over 12 years.

A 2018 “investment plan” attracted criticism that the bulk of the money would not be forthcoming until after 2022, beyond the scope of the four-year spending commitments locked in through budget cycles. However, the government proved good to its word, outlaying more than A$1.4 billion in the 2021 budget and a further A$450 million in the 2022 budget unveiled last week.

Acting education minister Stuart Robert said the funding certainty would give researchers a platform to “innovate on a macro and micro level”. He said that the government was also considering “further investment” in areas flagged as “future opportunities” in the road map.

They include “cutting-edge” infrastructure for climate adaptation, synthetic biology and digital research.

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering said these areas should not be supported at the expense of the existing NCRIS-funded facilities. And CEO Kylie Walker stressed the need to address workforce gaps, including a projected shortage of 40,000 engineers by 2025, so that research infrastructure could “be used to its full capacity and potential”.

“Workforce training should take place hand-in-hand with investment in infrastructure,” she said. “Facilities such as the heavy ion accelerator are used not only for basic and applied research output, but also as part of the research training system. The level of funding available to research facilities should reflect training as well as research funding.”

The road map acknowledges the need for properly trained workers: “The human capital required to operate the national research infrastructure is as important in achieving research outcomes as the assets and facilities.”

It says an “expert advisory group” should be established within the next few months with a brief to develop a workforce strategy, among other tasks.

Mr Stuart said the government would “respond fully” to the road map recommendations in an investment plan due later this year.

Critical research infrastructure road maps are produced each five years. Former RMIT University chancellor Ziggy Switkowski, who chaired the expert working group that drafted the latest version, said the half-decade horizon was appropriate.

“As someone who has worked closely with technology in both academic and commercial settings, I know how difficult it is to predict the future beyond five years – especially when you are trying to future-proof for decades,” Dr Switkowski writes in the report’s foreword.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com