2.1
This chapter outlines existing government funding for foreign policy research, and discusses the evidence received in relation to the adequacy of current levels of funding, and the importance of sustained and flexible funding models.
Government funding
2.2
Funding for foreign policy research is provided under the auspices of a number of Australian Government departments and agencies including: the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Department of Defence; Department of Education, Skills and Employment; and the Australian Research Council.
2.3
It was noted that as Australia does not have a culture of philanthropic support for research, the Australian Government remains the primary source of funding. For example, Professor Simon Jackman highlighted that:
…unless and until Australian civil society—encompassing individuals, businesses and philanthropic foundations—supports foreign policy debate in this country in the way that it's being done…in Washington, Tokyo and London, there's simply not a viable substitute other than for the Australian government or the taxpayer, I'm afraid, to be in the game of funding that contest of ideas.
2.4
Mr Fergus Hanson and Ms Danielle Cave similarly noted that the government and business community 'remain the primary sources of potential funding for think-tanks in Australia'.
2.5
The committee also heard that there is broad consensus across the political spectrum regarding the value imparted by the Australian Government's investment in independent public policy institutes. Mr Trent Hagland told the committee:
My research also finds that there is a broad consensus across party lines regarding the value imparted by the Australian government's three largest investments in independent public policy institutes, being ASPI, the United States Studies Centre and the domestically focused Grattan Institute. Each time that we as a nation have added a new voice the evidence suggests that we have extracted value that exceeds the cost of that investment. Versus the large sums of money that go into universities and also the Australian Public Service, a more modest investment into a foreign policy focused think-tank would foster the production of knowledge and the contestability of ideas needed to support effective foreign policymaking in the future.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
2.6
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) provides funding to a variety of organisations to conduct foreign policy research, 'mostly based on addressing specific knowledge needs through targeted research projects or initiatives.' While the majority of this funding is directed to Australian institutions, some funding is also provided for overseas-based institutions when 'this best services specific needs'.
2.7
The majority of DFAT's funding for research is made through official development assistance. Some funding is also provided through DFAT-managed Foundations, Councils and Institutes and the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.
Department of Defence
2.8
The Department of Defence (Defence) funds research through its Strategic Policy Grants Program, Army Research Scheme and contributions to whole-of-government arrangements. In the 2019-20 financial year, Defence committed approximately $5 million under the Strategic Policy Grants Program. The Army Research Scheme provides approximately $200,000 per year for research addressing military issues, with some overlap with foreign policy subject matter.
2.9
Defence also provides funding to the Australia Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI):
Defence provides ASPI $4 million annually under a five-year grant (FY2018-19 to FY2022-23, $20 million total). This funding supports independent policy relevant research, Defence specific projects and professional development courses. In FY2019-20 the Defence grant accounted for 34 per cent of ASPI's total funding, down from 84 per cent in FY2010-11.
2.10
As outlined by Mr Trent Hagland, ASPI was seeded with $2 million Defence funding and 'guaranteed a further $2 million to $3 million per annum for a further seven years'.
Department of Education, Skills and Employment
2.11
In addition to its annual research block grants to universities, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment has partnered with the University of Melbourne to establish the Australia India Institute, providing $17.6 million between 2008 and 2022.
Australian Research Council
2.12
The Australian Research Council (ARC) informed the committee that it had provided $8.9 million for 22 research grants with funding allocated in 2021 for research relating to foreign policy. This funding 'was awarded across a range of funding schemes under the Discovery and Linkage Programs'.
2.13
The Discovery and Linkage Programs are the two elements of the National Competitive Grants Program. The Discovery Program focuses on 'supporting individuals and small teams', while the Linkage Program 'creates links outside universities with industry and other partners, and stimulates research impact'. Most ARC funding goes to universities.
2.14
Asialink suggested that government may wish to consider whether the ARC could be used as 'another mechanism for encouraging research into foreign [policy] issues affecting Australia'.
University partnerships
2.15
The committee received a range of evidence in relation to the importance of university partnerships in funding and undertaking foreign policy research. The Group of Eight stated that:
The need for world-class analytical research is more critical than at any other time in Australia's history. The peer review of public research in Go8 universities – indeed, at all Australian public universities – is ubiquitous and provides the highest guarantee of quality, independence and accountability in research and analysis. This positions universities in a unique role compared with other organisations, institutes and think tanks that engage in foreign policy research.
2.16
The committee also received evidence that the university sector plays five critical roles in the advancement of Australia's understanding of foreign policy issues:
undertaking detailed, rigorous, specialised and contextual world-class research on Australian foreign policy issues.
providing critical linkages between Australian foreign policy issues, and international knowledge exchange networks to foster the development of both theory and practice in Australian Government officials, civil society leaders, business leaders, and researchers.
undertaking public outreach, dialogue and engagement through hosting and participating in public events; providing public commentary in the mainstream media; contributing to robust public debate; and facilitating multi-national and multi-sector engagement.
educating domestic students and enhancing foreign policy skills and knowledge through research supervision and an array of university coursework offerings.
educating international students and investing in Australia's cross-national partnerships through fostering mutual understanding of Australian foreign policy issues and approaches in future foreign leaders.
2.17
The Group of Eight told the committee that 'universities are…uniquely well-placed to act as open environments for multi-national and cross-regional public, government, industry and community dialogue during policy development, particularly evidence-led dialogue'. In addition:
Australia's research-intensive universities also possess a unique breadth of expertise that ranges beyond international political analysis and has direct relevance…to challenges facing Australian foreign policy. While research capability is critical to our global foreign policy interactions on many levels, an informed understanding of our neighbours is likewise vital to ensuring stability in the region and managing the unexpected.
2.18
The Group of Eight concluded that 'Australia's future prosperity will increasingly rely on international relationships in Asia; developing and leveraging Australia's 'Asia-capability' in public research excellence and via university education has never been more important'.
2.19
A number of partnerships jointly funded by both the Australian Government and universities undertake foreign policy research. For example, the Pacific Research Program (PRP) at the Australian National University (ANU) Department of Pacific Affairs described its funding arrangements, as 'best practice'. Namely, the PRP receives long-term funding from DFAT, in addition to co-investment from the ANU. Professor Nicole Haley, Head of the PRP, explained:
…public funding, which is provided for research into foreign policy issues, matters because of the way that it may or may not attract that sort of co-investment that allows the growing of a critical mass of expertise in these issues. In the PRP's case, the long-term funding that we've received from the Australian government through DFAT—both for the PRP and, prior to that, the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program—has been supported not only by the National Institutes Grant which the ANU receives, which supports pure and applied research in areas of national importance, but also significantly from direct co-investment from the ANU.
2.20
Professor Haley noted that a significant benefit of this model was that it allowed the PRP to 'develop forward-looking research agendas', as opposed to project-based funding models. The PRP's submission noted that its research agenda is independent of government, but it is able to maintain a relationship with DFAT that 'is characterised by open, honest dialogue to ensure that the program's research remains relevant to the needs of policymakers'.
2.21
Associate Professor Julien Barbara noted that the long-term funding had also supported the program in other ways:
I think one of the things that the sustained funding has done for us is to allow us to grow the long-term aspects of the discipline in the area of the study's focus. Our PhD program, for example, was very small 10 years ago, and it's now around 30 students. We couldn't have done that without the sustained support provided to us by the Australian government to allow there to be a core body of critical mass, I suppose; we've replicated that with the courses that we offer. The timeframes in the academic spaces are quite slow, but that stability has allowed us to grow…
2.22
A similar dynamic was noted at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Professor Simon Jackman, Professor of Political Science and Chief Executive Officer, explained:
…the fact that we are at the University of Sydney has proven over time—in a way that I don't think was originally anticipated when the decision was made to put the study centre at the University of Sydney—to have added a degree of financial dexterity and viability, which comes through the helpful cooperation of the University of Sydney and scholars and academics affiliated with the centre and sometimes seconded from the university to the centre. The long and the short of it is that the classes they teach generate the student tuition revenue flows back to the centre; that has proved to be an especially helpful form of financial diversification for us.