Jane Marceau

CONDUITS OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE ASIA PACIFIC

The global demand for scientists and engineers has increased the imperative for large transnational firms, cities, and nations to train, attract and retain highly skilled scientific personnel. Scientists move in and out of many laboratories, cities and countries through their training, careers and occupational activities. In doing so, they create research networks (dispersed knowledge networks). These networks endure long after they have moved on elsewhere. In this article we argue that it is not so much current location that is important for ‘brain-drain’ or ‘brain-gain’ but rather the places scientists have been and the networks and ‘scientific conduits’ they have laid down in their travels. There is potential for developing countries exporting skilled scientists to cities elsewhere to enhance science capability by ‘plugging in’ to these networks. We use empirical data from a survey of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from the Asia-Pacific to investigate and map this network building process.

Innovation for a carbon constrained city: Challenges for the built environment industry

Abstract The built environment, especially that of our largest cities, faces substantial change in the next twenty years if it is to meet the increasing demands for carbon neutrality, reduced water consumption and more efficient resource consumption. The industries that design, build, retrofit, manage and maintain the built environment face equally significant changes in organisation, working practices and skills development, approaches to design and construction and materials development if they are to meet these challenges. Equally, the institutional and governance structures within which they operate will need to undergo fundamental changes, not least in terms of changed regulatory and incentive structures to stimulate innovation and adaptation of new sustainability goals and outcomes. This paper reviews the key drivers of change facing the built environment and analyses the major challenges facing the built environment industry, broadly constituted, in adapting to these drivers.

Scientists across the Boundaries: National and Global Dimensions of Scientific and Technical Human Capital (STHC) and Policy Implications for Australia

Globalization of higher education, finance and industrial production has contributed to the internationalization of scientific and technical human capital (STHC). STHC is generated by and includes research and development (R&D) personnel, but also includes the knowledge, know-how and learning capacity embedded in their knowledge networks. As science and technology (S&T) personnel develop their careers and networks, they draw upon and contribute to the development of dispersed knowledge networks and consequently STHC. Drawing on a recent survey of publishing scientists and an analysis of publication patterns in the biological sciences, this article seeks to document and reveal the policy implications of dispersed knowledge networks for Australian science and innovation capacity.

The Knowledge Tree: CSIRO in Australia's Innovation Systems

This special issue of IMPP is devoted to presentation and consideration of the important aspects of CSIROs roles in Australias innovation systems. The recent Productivity Commission review of public support for science and innovation in Australia included CSIRO in its review but only briefly considered the nature of the context in which CSIRO operates. The review was broadly favourable to the Organisation as it has altered over the last few years, although it made no judgement on the level of funding appropriate to enabling CSIRO to maximise its contribution to innovation in Australia. The recent Budget, however, was more sympathetic to CSIRO; on the one hand it increased the funding cycle to four years and on the other allocated a significant increase in real terms and provided extra for the Flagships.

Innovation Agents and Innovation Tracks: CSIRO Research Scientists and Their Peers

Summary Ultimately it is people who innovate; these innovators are often scientists and technologists. This paper presents data from a 2003–4 study of careers followed by research scientists working in areas of traditional strength in Australia – agriculture, earth sciences, life sciences and medical sciences. Carried out via the web and targeted to scientists who were publishing in journals located in the Web of Science, the study received usable responses from 515 research scientists covering principally country of education, field of research, five major positions held and motivations for changing jobs, salaries, time spent on research as careers progressed. Respondents were working largely in the public sector, mostly in higher education but with a significant sub-sample working in Commonwealth agencies, notably the CSIRO. The paper presents the experience of the general population of respondents and compares it where possible with that of CSIRO.