NSW-Deputy-And-Pro-Vice-Chancellors-Research-Committee

NSW Deputy & Pro Vice-Chancellors’ (Research) Committee Committee Chair Committee Executive Officer

Professor Isak (Sakkie) Pretorius Donna West Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) The Chancellery Macquarie University University of Newcastle SYDNEY NSW 2109 CALLAGHAN NSW 2308 Tel: (02) 9850 8645 Tel: (02) 4921 6061 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

13 March 2015

Department of Industry and Science Review of the National Survey of Research Commercialisation By email: [email protected]

To whom it may concern: REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF RESEARCH COMMERCIALISATION The NSW Deputy and Pro Vice-Chancellors’ (Research) Committee welcomes the invitation to provide feedback to the Review of the National Survey of Research Commercialisation. We note that the objectives of the review are to streamline ways in which data is collected, to manage and organise data in a way that is more accessible and useful for analytical purposes by a number of stakeholders, including alignment with emerging policy directives, and to try to ascertain where the disconnects are between research and translation to adoption and implementation by industry. The Committee notes that individual universities will provide their own views on this through independent submissions, and will address detailed, technical issues with the current process. However the Committee is in agreement that the following key, higher level issues and principles should be addressed in the outcome of the review if the objectives of the review are to be met, and the future use of the NSRC is to provide a comprehensive picture including pathways to commercialisation:  There is a need to clearly define the purpose of the NSRC, and ensure that the data collected are fit for that purpose, and that the data are used only to inform that purpose.  Data are only robust and fit for benchmarking and policy direction if complete, and all parties provide a full set. Incentives to participate would include focussed surveys, ease of use, relevance to all stakeholders, and a value proposition of outcomes for those providing data.  Data should be validated by external sources where possible.  Reducing questions and data sets is welcome, providing those that remain are clearly targeted, and are deliverable readily by universities.

NSW D/PVC (RESEARCH) COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Australian Catholic UniversityAustralian National UniversityCharles Sturt UniversityMacquarie UniversitySouthern Cross UniversityThe University of New South WalesThe University of SydneyUniversity of CanberraUniversity of New EnglandUniversity of Newcastle University of Technology, SydneyUniversity of Western SydneyUniversity of Wollongong  Ensure that any new measures do not duplicate other government data collections.  Ensure the questions provide the critical data needed meet the purposes of the survey.  Seek similar data from industry to verify commercial value.  Protocols and agreements for the collection and use of data should be in place, and sign-off through appropriate, high level channels at university level should be mandatory.

It is of critical importance to note that seeking to include, or measure, research impact using these limited measures will not provide an accurate picture and could in fact be misleading and result in the introduction of perverse incentives that skew behaviour towards meaningless and time consuming activities. Achieving measurable impact from research is complex, and often occurs over a long time-frame involving many different stakeholders. As research impact, and ways to measure this aspect of research has been a matter of discussion between the universities and the Department of Education over a number of years, we would recommend that this matter be reserved for a separate discussion that can fully assess the complexities and potential consequences of attempting to develop a meaningful measure of research impact. Lastly, the Committee is strongly supportive of the government’s agenda to reduce red tape and the reporting burden on Universities. It is important that this principle is a primary consideration when proposing any changes to the NRSC including to the type of data collected and the frequency of collection. The Committee members welcome the review and the willingness of the NSRC to adjust its current processes to collect relevant and available data, and to engage with the university sector to enhance the outcome of the review.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sakkie Pretorius Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Macquarie University cc: NSW D/PVC (Research) Committee

NSW D/PVC(R) Committee – Submission to the Review of the National Survey of Research Commercialisation 2