Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
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President's Report
Leon Mann
Research priority setting in the social sciences
If you were set the task of establishing a list of research priority areas for the social sciences in Australia, what would they be?
Generally, social scientists - and scholars in other disciplines - are strongly opposed to the idea of priority setting in research. The prospect immediately reminds us of the hazards of trying to pick winners, the trap of supporting the established, safe research agenda rather than the untried or unconventional; and the persistent call to move 'scarce' resources into useful /relevant /'applied' /'commercial' research and away from 'esoteric'/ 'blue-sky'/ 'theoretical' research, Worst of all, perhaps, is the prospect that research administrators may judge disciplinary areas to have outlived their usefulness. These concerns are not limited to those in the social sciences and humanities - understandably nervous when talk of research priority setting is in the air - but also among scientists and technologists who fear that their long-standing research programs may be under threat.
The question of research priority setting in the social sciences became a real issue in July this year. The Howard government's Innovation statement 'Backing Australia's Ability' promised an increase in funding of $2.9 billion to support research and innovation. It stipulated that the emphasis in increased research funding to ARC would be on 'areas in which Australia enjoys, or wants to build, a competitive advantage'. The government extended the idea of identifying and targeting ARC 'theme based research priorities' to other research agencies, such as CSIRO and NHMRC. It also asked for advice on how to introduce a priority setting process to ensure coordination and flexibility between agencies and avoid duplication.
The Chief Scientist, Dr Robin Batterham, established a working group of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) to develop a list of about twelve national priority areas to send to Prime Minister and Cabinet. The principal research agencies, ARC, NHMRC and CSIRO, together with the four Academies, were invited to contribute their suggested 'theme-based research priorities' to be collated and considered by the working group for inclusion in the top twelve.
The request was discussed by our Academy's Executive Committee at its July 2001 meeting. The first point raised was the danger of priority setting in research and whether the Academy should even be a party to the exercise. It was conceded however, that if ARC, NHMRC, CSIRO and the other three Academies all agreed to participate in the exercise, this Academy could not afford to ignore the opportunity to advise and help influence government policy. After all, that is one of the major objectives of our Academy. For the next two hours the Executive Committee meeting resembled a social sciences think-tank as members brainstormed, argued and negotiated a list of eight social sciences priority areas to be sent to the PMSEIC working party: To make the task manageable suggestions were organised under three main categories of social sciences research. First, broad themes, second, areas of special Australian interest or expertise; and third, areas of cross-agency and joint Academies interest.
Before you read further you might like to pause to consider your own list of preferred social science research priorities (please justify!) and then check the degree of overlap between your list and the one generated at very short notice by the ASSA Executive.
Broad themes
The well-being of children
The way a society raises its children is a measure of its humanity, its sense of fairness and its investment in its future.
Research: focus on studying social, emotional, health and learning-education problems and formulating strategies and interventions to prevent problems.
Effectiveness of governance
The style and substance of governance, and how these factors operate to guarantee the health, well-being, and security of individuals and institutions can be improved.
Research: focus on how this can be accomplished most effectively.
Quality of life
Technology and market forces are driving economic reform and real incomes. There is evidence, however, that quality of life for many is diminishing. The symptoms are increased insecurity, greater exposure to economic risk, dismantling of parts of the security net, growing inequalities and greater time pressures.
Research: focus on the role of these factors and community responses to address them.
Special Australian interest or expertise
Indigenous Australian culture and well-being
It is important to ensure engagement of Indigenous Australians in the social and political fabric of the nation. Research: focus on understanding and protecting Aboriginal culture and society and fostering community health and well-being.
The nature of the Australian population The size, structure, dynamics and distribution of Australia's growing population is central to all policy and planning considerations.
Research: focus on an integrated understanding of population dimensions including growth rates, ageing, immigration/emigration and other factors and their relationship to the quality of community life and social and economic sustainability.
Australia in the Asia-Pacific region
The social and geo-political relationships between Australia and her Asia/Pacific neighbours are a key concern of this nation.
Research: focus on understanding and predicting the options and opportunities in the region.
Across agencies and between-academies interest
Technological/economic changes and their impact on society
Rapid technological and economic changes are producing mixed effects; increased GDP but also insecurity and resentment among many in the community and globally. The justification of technological change is to advance well-being: Is this being realised? Do some groups experience more damage than gain? Can policy improve the sharing of the benefits of technological change?
Research: focus on the conditions underlying the uptake of the new technologies and resistance to them.
The relationship between environment change and human responses
The complex interactions between the social and physical environments are of concern in times of climatological change. The interactive and cumulative effects of human behaviour and the biophysical processes will determine the quality of future life. What will these interactions be and how can they be managed to the benefit, not the detriment, of Australia?
Research: special focus needed on vulnerable rural and regional communities. The Academy Executive may have arrived at a somewhat different (but, I suspect. not substantially so) list if it had time and opportunity for wider consultation One test of whether the list has credibility is to ask whether the Academy itself backs workshop programs, research projects, symposia and publications in the social science areas it identified as priority areas. I believe the record shows that the Academy has been, or is currently, involved in most of the eight priority areas on the list.
One test of whether the list has credibility is to ask whether the Academy itself backs workshop programs, research projects, symposia and publications in the social science areas it identified as priority areas.
The challenge to identify research priorities is a powerful incentive for each of us to think about the work we do or have planned, and the extent to which our pet topics and projects make a difference to the way we understand the world and contribute to its greater well-being. Meanwhile in September the PMSEIC working party met to consider the dozens of suggestions it received and to finalise a list of twelve research priority areas to be sent to Government. Bear in mind that the research priority setting exercise stemmed from the Prime Minister's 'Backing Australia's Ability' innovation policy statement and a call for increased research funding to be directed toward areas of 'competitive advantage'. It is therefore unrealistic to expect that ASSA's eight priority areas - many of which do not proclaim 'competitive advantage' - will take precedence over such hot new developing science and technology areas as medical genomics, photonics research and research on new energy systems. At the time of writing this column (5 November) the Government has yet to announce its list of twelve. My hunch is that possibly three of the twelve research priority areas decided by the government will have substantial social science interest and focus. Watch this space for further developments.
Leon Mann
2001
Last modified: 2 November 2009.