As part of the Australian Government’s 2025 Strategic Examination of Research and Development, six issue papers were released and feedback requested about the impact of research, development and innovation (RD&I).
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia submitted a response to Paper 1: National coordination (National coordination for RD&I impact) on 25 September 2025.
The Academy’s full submission is available to read here.
The Academy welcomes the Australian Government’s decision to engage in a comprehensive examination of Australia’s RD&I system and the opportunity to respond to the reform proposal set out in Paper 1.
In principle, the Academy supports the model for improved coordination of RD&I and a governance structure that seeks to overcome fragmentation, enhance the impact and efficiency of RD&I spending, and deliver on a broad range of economic and societal goals. However, the proposed approach reveals a tension between these highly instructive processes and a desired culture of agility, innovation and risk-taking in RD&I initiatives if these are to quickly and successfully grasp new opportunities.
Indeed, the transformation of Australia’s RD&I system demands bold action and change. Yet many aspects of the proposed model reflect the continuation of traditional rather than transformative approaches to addressing our national challenges. The model is also overly directive, lacking the flexibility for timely responses to technological, societal and geopolitical developments as they occur.
It was pleasing to that the Paper recognised the importance of basic and applied research and the necessity of core funding for investigator-led inquiry. However, the Academy believes that there is too much emphasis on the primary value of research as a pathway to product development or commercialisation.
This narrow set of outcomes could discourage researchers, universities and other research institutions from taking risks or exploring new ideas. As a result, Australia could lose the fundamental knowledge and blue-sky thinking that leads to major discoveries and future innovations. Over time, this would compromise innovation and weaken national research capabilities , with Australia falling behind other countries in an increasingly competitive global RD&I landscape.
As a national learned academy representing Australia’s best social scientists, the Academy’s response to Paper 1: National coordination includes four recommendations:
· Ensure selection criteria that measure the ‘improvement of social and economic outcomes and prosperity for all Australians’ as evidence of RD&I impact that extends beyond a narrow commercialisation framework
· Develop focus areas that respond to technological and societal developments, with RD&I initiatives integrating social sciences research to achieve real-world outcomes
· Create a diverse, cross-disciplinary, and expert-led cross-sectoral advisory group to ensure that the selection of focus areas is informed by robust and varied perspectives
· Expand the remit of the Office of the Chief Scientist to include a complimentary appointment of Chief Social Scientist to ensure an integrated approach is taken to addressing national challenges through RD&I