Patently obvious

Even as I write this editorial much of the practical detail is being worked out by officials at the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (soon to become the Ministry of Science and Innovation) in collaboration with CRI management.

CRIs must be careful not to waste the opportunities. As is often the case with complex systems, it is one thing to point out shortfallings, but quite another to come up with workable improvements.

Exactly what benefits accrue to an economy by investing in R&D is a much-debated subject. It is generally agreed that countries which invest more public funds in R&D tend to be wealthier but the exact relationship between R&D investment and the broader economy is less well understood.

Regardless, it is important to get the best out of any public funds invested in R&D and this is clear in the objectives of the CRI Taskforce. Also clear is the need for greater collaboration within the science system and between research institutions and firms.

While New Zealand has several advantages over many other developed economies, it is disadvantaged by its small size and distance from markets. Collaboration is key to overcoming these obstacles. It is encouraging that this necessity has been highlighted by the CRI Taskforce and that the government has picked up the ball and run with it.

We just need to look across the Tasman for evidence of how collaboration spawns innovation. My colleague, Deputy Director of the MacDiarmid Institute and IRL Distinguished Scientist Dr Shaun Hendy, cites a study by University of Waikato economist Philip McCann, that shows New Zealand collectively files approximately 40 per cent fewer patents per million inhabitants compared with our Australian neighbours.

This discrepancy is due almost entirely to the large metropolitan areas of Melbourne and Sydney, where patenting rates are significantly higher than smaller centres — the theory being that the larger the city, the more innovative it tends to be.

Dr Hendy asserts this is because bigger centres tend to have more people working in knowledge and innovation, whose disciplines are becoming increasingly specialised, thus requiring greater collaboration to make an impact. When Dr Hendy says New Zealand needs to think and act like a city of four million, I can see a certain resonance with the changes that are being made to the science system in New Zealand.

CRIs, universities and polytechnics are being asked to collaborate more closely in order to assist private enterprise in making better use of R&D investment. CRI Boards are being reshaped to reflect this new era of collaboration and IRL is pleased to welcome University of Canterbury Pro-Vice- Chancellor (Engineering), Professor Jan Evans-Freeman, to the IRL Board. Her research interests are directly relevant to the organisation and, coupled with her experience, will ensure she makes a valuable contribution to the Board’s governance.

In another major reshape of the science system, the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology is being merged with the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology to create a Ministry of Science and Innovation. Once this happens, it will be easier for industry to get access to funding and to take advantage of the services of public R&D institutions like IRL.

Despite the constraints on Crown expenditure, additional funding was allocated to science R&D in the 2010 Budget — evidence that the government is serious about lifting our economic performance through investment in R&D.

But as always, it is up to CRIs and other R&D providers to demonstrate how R&D can improve productivity and profitability. I hope as you read through this edition of IRL Solutions, you come across many examples of how IRL is doing just this.

Shaun Coffey
Chief Executive