Australia’s chief scientist has lamented the nation’s research sector as “not fit for purpose” and chasing rankings rather than quality in a major criticism of the industry.
Launching a new report into research on Wednesday, Dr Cathy Foley said a large overhaul was needed to improve confidence in the sector.
“The current system for assessing research careers for hiring, promotion and funding is not fit for purpose,” she said.
“Assessment practices tend to focus on how many publications a researcher has, the number of citations and journal status, as well as success in grant funding rounds.
“While there are good reasons for this, the system has evolved over time to be self-perpetuating, reinforce the status quo, and make it more difficult for women and other groups to flourish in research careers.”
The research assessment report, commissioned for Foley and conducted by the Australian Council of Learned Academies, surveyed more than 1,137 workers, the majority in universities, to analyse current practices and international alternatives.
It found Australia recognised high-quality research, however, there was broad concern about how researchers were assessed.
The report said assessment failed to recognise the capabilities of workers, did not support diversity or incentivise innovation and multidisciplinary research and presented barriers to career opportunities and mobility between sectors.
It said performance was typically tied to publication numbers, citations and track records in attracting grant funding rather than impact and community contribution.
Australia’s universities have become increasingly reliant on cross-subsiding research with funds from international student fees amid historically low federal government spending, placing greater pressure on researchers to source grants.
National spending on research and development dropped to just 1.68% of GDP in the most recent reporting period, continuing a 14-year-downward trend and below the OECD average of 2.71%.
Foley said the system had given rise to an “unhelpful nexus” between universities, publishers, funders and global ranking agencies, as researchers and their institutions chased higher international rankings through publication numbers.
“Rankings take on an outsize level of importance,” she said.
“Narrow research metrics create perverse incentives and a publish or perish mentality. Researchers may be incentivised to … chase citations, rather than focusing on quality.
“The current practices do not incentivise innovative or multidisciplinary research, nor recognise the breadth of roles in a healthy science and research system.”
Seventy per cent of respondents said the amount of time and effort required from researchers in assessment activities was not reasonable, and just 33% believed current practices encouraged innovation.
The report also found 61% of university workers had considered leaving the research sector due to funding pressures and desire for a greater work-life balance, rising to 65% among woman.
It follows the release of the Times Higher Education’s 2024 global rankings in September, which saw almost all of Australia’s top universities tumble, prompting a “red light warning” for the sector.
The lead author, Prof Kevin McConkey, said the report pointed to the “need and the opportunities for Australia to do things much better”.
“Everyone likes to be rewarded and recognised,” McConkey said. “But the information in the report underscores that narrowly chasing reward and recognition by focusing on the short-term and by playing it safe is not consistent with ensuring research of quality, value and impact.”
The report comes as the federal government conducts research into university governance and funding mechanisms, including those set by the Australian Research Council (ARC).
McConkey said in the interests of Australia’s next generation of researchers and need to “stimulate innovation”, a broader and fairer system was needed.
“We need to do much more to bridge the skills, values and cultures of different research sectors to encourage greater mobility,” he said.
