University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Business and Law 1-1-2004 Science for life: an evaluation of New Zealand's health research investment system based on international benchmarks Samuel Garrett-Jones University of Wollongong, [email protected] Tim Turpin University Of Western Sydney Brian Wixted Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers Part of the Business Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Garrett-Jones, Samuel; Turpin, Tim; and Wixted, Brian: Science for life: an evaluation of New Zealand's health research investment system based on international benchmarks 2004. https://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/846 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Science for life: an evaluation of New Zealand's health research investment system based on international benchmarks Abstract During the past decade there have been major developments in the way that research investments have been monitored and evaluated. While there are differences in the ways governments fund research around the world, and a diversity of approaches to evaluation, there are a number of common themes that can be observed in national experiences. As the importance of evaluation increases, the gap between current practice and best practice becomes more significant, and the need for comparative study and methods development grows. Current international ‘better-practice’ approaches to research evaluation and performance indicators reflect two important considerations. First, they make a clear distinction between input, output and outcome indicators and assessments of impact. Only limited refinements have occurred in recent years in input and output performance indicators. However, quite considerable developments have occurred in relation to the development of indicators and approaches for assessing the outcomes and impact of research.1 Second, evaluation and reporting mechanisms vary considerably according to the intended audience for the reporting. In particular, as nations move toward strategically targeting limited government research resources reporting demands at the programme level, and for specific stakeholder groups becomes all the more pressing. Keywords system, investment, benchmarks, science, health, evaluation, international, research, zealand, life Disciplines Business | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Garrett-Jones, SE, Turpin, T and Wixted, B, Science for life: an evaluation of New Zealand's health research investment system based on international benchmarks, Wellington, New Zealand: The Ministry of Research Science and Technology, 2004. This report is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/846 Science for Life An Evaluation of New Zealand’s Health Research Investment System based on International Benchmarks Final Report Sam Garrett-Jones Tim Turpin Brian Wixted The Australian Expert Group in Industry Studies (AEGIS) AEGIS research focuses on elucidating the dynamics of industrial growth and development, mapping product systems so as to analyse and reveal the drivers of innovation in different industries. AEGIS focuses on exploration and analyses of innovative capacity in industry, including both technological bases and organisational arrangements, and the relationships between such capacity and economic growth. The aim is to provide a more effective basis for public policy development so as to assist with Australia’s shift to the knowledge-intensive economy the nation needs in the twenty- first century. AEGIS has successfully managed numerous consulting research projects for Australian business, Australian Commonwealth and State Government clients, international agencies and foreign national government ministries. AEGIS uses a multi-disciplinary approach, principally sociological and economic but also human geography and management. AEGIS has always operated as a national network of researchers skilled in different aspects of industry analysis but with a small core of researchers in Sydney. AEGIS researchers are currently involved in four major themes. • Industry Innovation • Research systems • Research into Knowledge Intensive Businesses • Econometric Modelling and Forecasting of E-Commerce Diffusion’ The authors of this report are Associate Professor Sam Garrett-Jones, Professor Tim Turpin and Brian Wixted. AEGIS can be contacted at: Level 8, 263 Clarence St Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box Q1287 QVB PO NSW 1230 Phone: (02) 8255 6200 Fax: (02) 8255 6222 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.aegis.uws.edu.au Science for Life ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to Mark Dingle and Cameron Wood of the New Zealand Ministry of Research, Science and Technology for their assistance in helping us with the details of the New Zealand research system, providing us with data and for their comments and suggestions in preparing this report. Staff of the Health Research Council of New Zealand were very helpful in putting us in touch with contacts in health research councils internationally, and with organising a list of high profile medical researchers within the New Zealand system. The presentations by staff on the activities and processes of the HRC and in answering all our queries were also very helpful. In particular we would like to thank Dr Bruce Scoggins and Dr Patricia Anderson for their valuable assistance. We were fortunate to benefit from the experience of a significant number of people from different parts of the research system in New Zealand and to discuss their opinions of the various aspects of the evaluation’s terms of reference. These conversations included staff of the Ministry of Health, the Auckland Hospital, purchase agents and researchers in the universities. Representatives of agencies in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the USA were particularly cooperative in providing published and unpublished data. Susan Cozzens from the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech pointed us toward the complex array of US data and their limitations and provided helpful comments in interpreting the medical research status of indigenous peoples in Canada and the USA. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the assistance of Celine de Bellis in producing the final report. We are most grateful to all those who have contributed to the development of this report, however, the opinions expressed here are those of the authors and the usual disclaimers apply. Science for Life iii CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................VIII OVERVIEW OF FINDINGS ..................................................................................................VIII RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................XI AN APPROPRIATE POLICY AND INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK.................................................XI THE FUTURE VISION FOR HEALTH RESEARCH .....................................................................XI THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT REQUIRED .............................................................................XII 1. INTRODUCTION: HEALTH RESEARCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY................ 13 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................. 13 Evaluation of Health Research.................................................................................... 13 SCOPE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE .................................................................................... 14 APPROACH TO THE TASKS................................................................................................. 16 NEW ZEALAND IN THE GLOBAL RESEARCH CONTEXT ....................................................... 17 2. NEW ZEALAND’S HEALTH RESEARCH INVESTMENT SYSTEM................. 19 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 19 RECENT EVOLUTION OF THE RESEARCH INVESTMENT SYSTEM.......................................... 19 THE HEALTH RESEARCH INVESTMENT SYSTEM ................................................................. 21 Non-government funding ............................................................................................. 26 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 26 3. INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS I: COMPARATIVE NATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH INVESTMENT SYSTEMS ....................................................................... 28 CHOICE OF BENCHMARK COUNTRIES ................................................................................ 28 HEALTH RESEARCH INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIA ............................................................. 28 Policy directions.......................................................................................................... 28 Research priorities and collaboration......................................................................... 31 Indigenous health research ......................................................................................... 33 Infrastructure and overheads ...................................................................................... 33 Commercially Oriented Medical Research ................................................................