Submission on the second phase of the Science System Advisory Group consultation process

^{NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr}

The Commissioner has provided comments to the Science System Advisory Group on prioritisation and funding of the science system. The key points in his submission are:

• Environmental research priorities should be based on the six enduring environmental outcomes published in the PCE’s 2022 report, Environmental reporting, research and investment: Do we know if we’re making a difference? The efforts of the National Science Challenges that ended in June 2024 provide useful insights, but research priorities must be continuously updated and integrated into long-term strategies.
• A shift is needed toward stable, long-term funding – at least for environmental research – which supports strategic research priorities rather than the current, short-term competitive science funding system.
• The proposed Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PMSTIAC) must ensure that environmental research expertise is properly represented in the group and is able to inform research priorities.
• Integrating environmental information is necessary for better decision making. Environmental data collection and accessibility must be improved to support science-based policymaking and resource management.
• Current information is fragmented across agencies, and better integration through a federated system would address this issue.

You can read the full submission here.