The Australian Council of Deans of Science calls for a $2.4bn fund, “to translate research outcomes into community benefits”

The council speaks in support of calls for a translational fund in the budget, including from Science and Technology Australia, (CMM February 23).

Such a scheme, “will enable the great work by university science … to contribute to global challenges like food and water security, climate change, renewable energy and smart materials.”

A translational research fund would also “encourage better coordination of currently available schemes,” the deans suggest, mentioning CRCs, rural R&D and the Industrial Transformation Training Centres.

Good idea, unless of course the government rebadged some of the funding for such schemes as translational funding – which would mean such a scheme could exceed the $2.8bn the science community wants without all that much new money.

Perhaps this is why the CRC Association has not joined the translational research pile-on in its budget submission (CMM February 25).