RSNZ PAR Report 2003
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND PROGRESS & ACHIEVEMENTS REPORT OCTOBER 2003 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................1 Disclaimer................................................................................................................................................4 THE ROYAL SOCIETY - PART OF THE INNOVATION LANDSCAPE .................................................5 The Royal Society within the innovation spectrum.............................................................................5 The Royal Society within the Growth and Innovation Framework......................................................9 POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE INVESTMENT PRIORITIES ................................................12 MARSDEN FUND .................................................................................................................................16 SUPPORTING PROMISING INDIVIDUALS.........................................................................................32 James Cook Research Fellowships .................................................................................................32 Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowships..........................................................34 PROMOTING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION.....................................................................................41 Management of the Science and Technology Promotion Programme.............................................41 Contestable Fund for Science and Technology Promotion ..............................................................47 Fostering Talented Young New Zealanders.....................................................................................51 New Zealand Science and Technology Medals ...............................................................................54 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PUBLICATIONS................................................................................56 Journals published by the Royal Society of New Zealand ...............................................................56 Alpha and Gamma series .................................................................................................................65 INTERNATIONAL .................................................................................................................................67 International Science and Technology (ISAT) Linkages Fund .........................................................67 Other international activities .............................................................................................................72 OPERATING PRINCIPLES...................................................................................................................74 APPENDIX I......................................................................................................................................81 Marsden Fund - quantitative indicators and qualitative achievements ........................................81 APPENDIX II.....................................................................................................................................89 Marsden Fund contribution to issues of public interest................................................................89 APPENDIX III....................................................................................................................................91 Areas of strength in Marsden-funded research............................................................................91 Areas under-represented in Marsden Fund-funded research......................................................92 APPENDIX IV ...................................................................................................................................93 James Cook Research Fellowships .............................................................................................93 Appendix V........................................................................................................................................94 Characteristics of Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellows...............................94 APPENDIX VI ...................................................................................................................................95 ISAT Linkages Fund.....................................................................................................................95 APPENDIX VII ..................................................................................................................................97 International Scientific Union and subscriptions...........................................................................97 APPENDIX VIII .................................................................................................................................98 International financial support for travel .......................................................................................98 APPENDIX IX ...................................................................................................................................99 International financial support for seed funding of international symposia/workshops ................99 APPENDIX X ..................................................................................................................................100 Contestable Fund for S&T Promotion ........................................................................................100 Appendix XI.....................................................................................................................................104 Journals published by the Royal Society – submission trends ..................................................104 Appendix XII....................................................................................................................................107 Journals published by the Royal Society – subscription trends .................................................107 Appendix XIII...................................................................................................................................110 Electronic publishing of the RSNZ Journals...............................................................................110 Progress and Achievements Report – October 2003 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Royal Society contributes to New Zealand’s social and economic growth and development in two distinct, but complementary ways. In its first role it operates as an independent agency, established under an Act of Parliament to promote a critical awareness of science and technology issues in New Zealand societal and business affairs and to contribute to the science and technology education of New Zealand’s young people. As an independent agency, it also provides professional services to scientists in the form of courses, support materials, and a code of ethics. In its second role as a purchase agent, the Society administers government funding amounting to some $60m per year. Of that, $41m comes via the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology for the delivery of a range of programmes covering research chosen for its excellence, international linkages, support for outstanding teachers and researchers, and promotion of a culture of innovation. In this report we highlight our contractual responsibilities to the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, demonstrate how all of our activities align with New Zealand’s Growth and Innovation Framework and, even more broadly, how they fit into an innovation spectrum which begins with the social, economic and infra-structural conditions necessary to inspire young people to embrace new knowledge. The Main Points in this Report The Royal Society believes that much work remains to be done to build a sound foundation for the appreciation and use of knowledge in New Zealand. The Society devotes much of its own limited resources to pursuing this goal. We also believe that the professions of science and technology need rebuilding to a healthy and aggressive state. From a professional’s point of view, satisfying careers imply status, stability and salary – and science and technology in general possess none of those characteristics. Our own resources are also channelled into support for the profession. We put excellence to work for New Zealand, in the form of Marsden Fund grants for excellent research, and, as embodied in the Academy Council of the Royal Society, Teacher Fellows, James Cook Research Fellows, Award winners and outstanding young people. Each of the recommendations below has a priority assigned to it. Priority 1 Scientists need professional support, and the Society publishes, on behalf of government, a suite of learned journals. While costs of publication have been contained, government input to its own journals has reduced by 36% in real terms over the decade, to the extent that the journals face severe financial difficulty. Nevertheless, the Society sees scope for a vibrant publishing activity, with titles being added in environmental science, social science, and biotechnology/food systems. We recommend a shift to “open access” publishing, where publication charges are met by author pay plus government coverage of the remaining deficit, and papers are then released free on the Web. Priority 2 The Marsden Fund Council continues to be able to Fund only a fraction