CSIRO has announced it will reduce staff to fund six named priority research areas, with up to 350 FTE research positions to “achieve this sharpened … focus.”
Plus, it needs $80m-$135m for, “essential infrastructure and technology.” It is the result of an 18 months review and was widely anticipated. ACT senator David Pocock recently predicted the job losses in parliament.
The six (there may be more) research priorities are;
- Energy transition including “transforming” critical minerals to materials
- Climate change “adaption and resilience”
- AI, quantum, sensing, robotics and manufacturing “to drive the next wave of innovation in core Australian industries”
- Technology for productivity and resilience in farming
- Mitigating/eradicating biosecurity threats
And there is a skunk works; “applying disruptive science and engineering to unlock the unknown and solve unanswered questions.”
The case for savings has been in construction for months, with CSIRO chief Doug Hilton explaining science is costing more, as is maintenance.
“CSIRO is a 100-year-old organisation and has an incredibly complicated set of buildings … we have all manner of different labs that require different equipment. We have more than 840 buildings across 45 sites” he told ABC RN in October.
Industry and Science Minister Tim Ayres provided cover for cuts with a “statement of expectations” for the Agency a month back, which told CSIRO to do what it is now doing, down to, “I expect CSIRO to look for opportunities to further consolidate its property portfolio, as part of efforts to strengthen long-term financial sustainability. “
Engagement with staff on “the implementation of this focussed research direction” is on this week, but it looks like all is decided. For 300 or so staff, it is less engagement and more divorce.
For everybody else, a survey by the staff association on the new enterprise bargaining round a fortnight back found for over half, “a decent pay rise was their first priority.”