There is a long road to travel before South Africa’s scientists live up to the grand expectations to encourage solutions to the country’s problems and boost the economy.
Academic metrics are only problematic if they’re poorly implemented. If they’re used carefully, they can be a powerful tool to allow talent to rise to the top.
The government has proposed changes to how Australia’s publicly funded research agencies are supported and how their performance is managed to boost the commercialisation of research.
Metrics are changing the way research is conducted and funded, and for the worse. They need to be radically revised to measure genuine scientific output.
Paul Komesaroff, Monash University and Ken Harvey, Monash University
The University of Sydney’s announcement of a role funded by the Blackmores Institute raises perennial questions about whether industry-funded research can be truly independent.
While I can’t fault Carrie Bickmore for trying to get attention for the disease that prematurely killed her husband, her move does raise questions about how research should be funded.
The government’s announcement of a national science strategy is good for Australia, particularly for promoting engagement between science and industry.
Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute & Professor of Medical Biology, and an honorary principal fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Previous Vice President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and DSI-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics, Professor in Genetics, University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria