The Executive Committee of the Council of the Australian Academy of Science established in mid 2012 a Committee to Review the National Committees of the Academy. The National Committees are established as a mechanism for linking the Academy with science and scientists in Australia, and for ensuring that Australian science has a global influence.
After an extensive survey of the National Committees, Fellows of the Academy and Australian scientific societies the Review Committee found that, while many National Committees were working well, many Fellows and scientific societies, particularly in life sciences and applied sciences, felt that they had no links to the National Committee system. In many cases where links did exist in principle, they were not effectively utilised.
In response to these findings, the Review Committee believes that ways must be found to bring more of Australian science under the National Committee system, and that the Academy and the National Committees themselves must use the system to communicate more effectively with Australian scientists. Accordingly the Review Committee has made the following recommendations, which are justified in detail in the text.
The Review Committee recommends that the following National Committees be established or continued as appropriate.
The Review Committee recommends that priority be given to memberships of international scientific organisations in the following order
The Review Committee recommends that the Academy encourage and facilitate the involvement of the National Committees and Australian scientists in international scientific organisations, in part by providing a fixed sum in partial support of representation of Australia at general assemblies (or equivalent governance meetings) of the international scientific organisations linked to the National Committees.
Where an international scientific organisation is linked to more than one National Committee only one financial contribution will be made to support attendance at governance meetings of that international scientific organisation, in consultation with the National Committees linked to it.
The Review Committee recommends the following as a general statement of the purpose of the National Committees.
To ensure clarity about the tasks of each National Committee, the Review Committee recommends that each existing and newly appointed Chair, in consultation with the Committee, and with the Executive Committee of Council, should set out formal terms of reference for the period in which they occupy the Chair. These terms of reference should be published on the website of the National Committee.
The Review Committee recommends that
The Review Committee recommends that
The Review Committee recommends the distribution of the newsletter of the Academy to societies as a basic first step in improving the communications of the Academy with Australian scientific societies.
The Review Committee recommends that, in all cases,
The Review Committee recommends that National Committees
The Review Committee recommends that relevant societies are asked
When space or time is provided to a National Committee, it should use those opportunities on every occasion.
The Review Committee recommends that National Committees continue to be encouraged to consider the production of a decadal plan and discipline review, but that before the Academy Council approves their proceeding with this, the Council is convinced that the resources are available to produce the plan and to oversee its implementation.
Where appropriate the production of a decadal plan and discipline review should be included in the terms of reference agreed for a National Committee as in recommendation 5.
The Review Committee recommends that the Council of the Australian Academy of Science designate “the National Committee Physics in consultation with the National Committee Chemistry” as the “relevant National Committee” from which it should receive recommendations in respect to the Geoffery Frew Fellowship, under §2 of Standing Order XV.
The Review Committee recommends that
The Review Committee recommends that the National Committees be reviewed as follows:
National Committee | First review | Second review |
---|---|---|
Geography | 2016 | 2020 |
Data in Science | 2016 | 2020 |
History and Philosophy of Science | 2016 | 2020 |
Information and Communication Sciences | 2016 | 2020 |
Brain and Mind | 2016 | 2020 |
Crystallography | 2016 | 2020 |
Biomedical Sciences | 2017 | 2021 |
Cellular and Developmental Biology | 2017 | 2021 |
Earth Sciences | 2017 | 2021 |
Earth System Science | 2017 | 2021 |
Antarctic Research | 2017 | 2021 |
Nutrition | 2018 | 2022 |
Agriculture Fisheries and Food | 2018 | 2022 |
Ecology Evolution and Conservation | 2018 | 2022 |
Materials Science | 2018 | 2022 |
Mechanical and Engineering Sciences | 2018 | 2022 |
Space and Radio Science | 2018 | 2022 |
Astronomy | 2018 | 2022 |
Mathematical Sciences | 2019 | 2023 |
Chemistry | 2019 | 2023 |
Physics | 2019 | 2023 |
Medicine and Public Health | 2019 | 2023 |
A review of the National Committee system as a whole should be undertaken in 2023, in conjunction with the reviews of the National Committees for Mathematical Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine and Public Health.
The Review Committee recommends that a decision about the the creation of a National Committee or Working Group on Population be deferred until after the completion of the ARC funded Academy project Australia 2050: Towards and environmentally sustainable and socially equitable way of living. At that time the Council will be in a better position to define the task of the new body, if it decides to create one.
The Review Committee recommends that an ad hoc Committee to Advise the Academy on International Affairs be established, to provide advice regarding the International Council of Science (ICSU), IAP the global network of science academies, the InterAcademy Council (IAC) and the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA), and any other international relations of the Academy referred to it. It should also facilitate interactions between National Committees and international scientific organisations.
The Review Committee believes that the implementation of these recommendations will greatly improve the connections between the Australian Academy of Science and Australian scientists.
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