New CRC P round (no, the p does not stand for pathetic)

Dan Tehan is a big fan of applied research – shame he does not run CRC funding

The Education Minister believes in research, “with a focus on turning ideas into jobs productivity gains and economic growth.”

Which must make applicants for Round Ten of the Cooperative Research Centre (Projects) programme wish that they were covered by Mr Tehan’s portfolio, not Karen Andrews, Industry, Science and Technology.

CRC Ps (three years max), combine industry, university and public sector researchers to “develop a product, service or process that will solve problems for industry and deliver real outcomes.” Just not many outcomes this time – the new Round Ten has just $10m to allocate, which is expected to mean just two or three projects are funded down from ten in Round Nine and 24 in Round Eight. And this round in restricted to recycling and waste management.

This upsets the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, which argues recycling is not the only national priority and wants, “an immediate, further and broad-ranging round of funding.”

“Business investment in research and development in Australia is declining, and if not corrected, will likely have a long-term detrimental impact on Australia’s ability to recover from the current COVID-19 pandemic and build our resilience,”