A Strategic Plan for Information and Communication Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ICSET) in Australia |
1. Scope
This strategic plan covers the full extent of information and communication sciences and engineering, their sub-disciplines, and their related technologies. By its nature, information and communication has always, and will continue to, underpin most human endeavours: this plan cannot usefully attempt to cover the whole array of ICSET’s implications for society so focusses on the role of ICSET in the future of scientific and engineering research in selected other disciplines. The role of ICSET in the future of social science research and the humanities is also considered. It also extends to the supporting environment for ICSET: infrastructure, education and training, business, public policy, the innovation system.
While the future of ICSET will affect all Australians—there are very, very few people who are unaffected in some way by ICSET in the world today—this strategic plan is not aimed at the general public. It is aimed specifically at:
· Public policy setters in all fields: progress in ICSET is an inescapable part of policy context, regardless of the field.
· Research planners and managers, including universities and funding agencies: not limited to those with ICSET programs because of the far-reaching implications of ICSET for the future of research.
· Forward-thinking researchers in all disciplines.
This plan is not intended to make predictions about the future.
2. Objectives
Despite the broad acceptance of the importance of ICSET, Australia lacks an overarching strategic vision or roadmap for its ICS and ICT capabilities and priorities. It also needs a robust strategy for facilitating the flow of ICS innovations into ICT products and services to ensure Australia is well positioned to capitalise on comparative and competitive opportunities that will arise in the changing global ICSET environment, and to effectively plan to meet capability requirements in the future.
This strategic plan has multiple objectives: it will assist in policy development, help to identify future investment needs in research, infrastructure, and education aimed at achieving an increase in Australia’s scientific impact in ICSET and its translation into skills, innovation, public benefit and commercial success. It will also be useful to research funding bodies such as the ARC and provide guidance to strategists and policy makers in a variety of organisations, including state departments of innovation, state and federal education departments, the federal department of industry and science, university research policy managers, and research organisations such as CSIRO and the DST Group.
The consultative process of developing the plan, jointly led by two independent learned academies, is intended to develop a shared, sector-wide understanding of the challenges and opportunities for ICSET in Australia. Coupled to a shared, sector-wide commitment to respond to the challenges in a systematic way, this itself would be a considerable success.
This strategic plan covers the full extent of information and communication sciences and engineering, their sub-disciplines, and their related technologies. By its nature, information and communication has always, and will continue to, underpin most human endeavours: this plan cannot usefully attempt to cover the whole array of ICSET’s implications for society so focusses on the role of ICSET in the future of scientific and engineering research in selected other disciplines. The role of ICSET in the future of social science research and the humanities is also considered. It also extends to the supporting environment for ICSET: infrastructure, education and training, business, public policy, the innovation system.
While the future of ICSET will affect all Australians—there are very, very few people who are unaffected in some way by ICSET in the world today—this strategic plan is not aimed at the general public. It is aimed specifically at:
· Public policy setters in all fields: progress in ICSET is an inescapable part of policy context, regardless of the field.
· Research planners and managers, including universities and funding agencies: not limited to those with ICSET programs because of the far-reaching implications of ICSET for the future of research.
· Forward-thinking researchers in all disciplines.
This plan is not intended to make predictions about the future.
2. Objectives
Despite the broad acceptance of the importance of ICSET, Australia lacks an overarching strategic vision or roadmap for its ICS and ICT capabilities and priorities. It also needs a robust strategy for facilitating the flow of ICS innovations into ICT products and services to ensure Australia is well positioned to capitalise on comparative and competitive opportunities that will arise in the changing global ICSET environment, and to effectively plan to meet capability requirements in the future.
This strategic plan has multiple objectives: it will assist in policy development, help to identify future investment needs in research, infrastructure, and education aimed at achieving an increase in Australia’s scientific impact in ICSET and its translation into skills, innovation, public benefit and commercial success. It will also be useful to research funding bodies such as the ARC and provide guidance to strategists and policy makers in a variety of organisations, including state departments of innovation, state and federal education departments, the federal department of industry and science, university research policy managers, and research organisations such as CSIRO and the DST Group.
The consultative process of developing the plan, jointly led by two independent learned academies, is intended to develop a shared, sector-wide understanding of the challenges and opportunities for ICSET in Australia. Coupled to a shared, sector-wide commitment to respond to the challenges in a systematic way, this itself would be a considerable success.
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