Chubb announces plan for national research strategy

Australia’s Chief Scientist Ian Chubb has announced that his office will be developing a draft national research strategy to be presented to the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council later this year.

In a public lecture last week at the University of Western Australia, Chubb said Australia must urgently develop a cross-government vision for a stronger national science culture or risk being outperformed on the global stage.

The draft strategy would be built on four pillars, Chubb said. They are: the importance of basic research in answering fundamental questions affecting our daily lives; the national role of innovation; the need to embed science more fully in society; and the potential impact and influence of science in shaping Australia’s international stature.