The new model is about command, control and cash

“Universities will be directly challenged to respond to research opportunities that are specific, measurable, focused on industry needs and driven by explicit national goals, the University Research Commercialisation Plan, released yesterday, states.

The long-awaited document adds, the challenge “will drive a culture change within the higher education sector, through a focus on translation and outcomes rather than the dominant model of ‘publish or perish’.”

While the research translation process to be introduced under the $1.6bn Australia’s Economic Accelerator has dominated discussion, the new system includes changes for the way universities manage research.

Early-stage projects funded by Accelerator will have a priority manager expert in the relevant National Research Priority (resources and critical minerals, food and beverage, medical products, recycling and clean energy, defence, plus space).

They will report to an eight-member board advising the education minister.

The advisors and board will “foster and formalise connections with industry partners” and “provide coaching support to researchers who might benefit from an improved understanding of the commercial environment.”

The new model also requires changes to existing research funding and governance.

“Reforms to the core funding for university research and the grants process managed by the Australian Research Council will boost incentives for university–industry collaboration and drive a new focus on the national interest,” the plan states.

They include;

* “adjust $2 billion in existing university research funding to better incentivise commercialisation”

* encourage universities to align researcher remuneration and promotion to research commercialisation outcomes.

* “reforms to the core funding for university research and the grants process managed by the Australian Research Council will boost incentives for university–industry collaboration and drive a new focus on the national interest,”

* ARC funding will be focused by measures announced by Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert in December, notably, “application of a strong national interest test and assessment process to all research grants,” industry representation on the ARC College of Experts, 70 per cent of Linkage Grants allocated to National Manufacturing Priorities projects and “robust assessment of the quality and impact of research” in the ARC’s two research performance reviews

*  “refinements” to the Research Block Grants process to “support incentives for industry engagement”.

The plan acknowledges, “basic research is an essential part of the knowledge spectrum on which commercialised or translated products and outputs depend” but wants it to serve an applied purpose, “there is scope to drive a greater share of research funding to the translational phases of the technology readiness level scale to support research with