A new partnership was recently announced that involves CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency, together with the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, and Charles Darwin University.
According to a recent press release, this new partnership will bring leading researchers and scientists from across the nation’s innovation system to further the understanding of the challenges for society that are emerging from the development of these new areas of science.
These cutting-edge areas of science include synthetic biology, robotics, precision health, hydrogen and artificial intelligence (AI) work to solve the greatest challenges facing Australia.
Responsible Innovation Initiative
CSIRO’s Responsible Innovation Initiative is a five-year, AU$ 5.75 million investment aligned closely to CSIRO’s Future Science Platforms.
This has been created to drive innovation in science and technology, along with the ability to reinvent and create new industries for Australia.
Future science and technology provide significant opportunities that will benefit lives. However, these are not without their own set of ethical, social and regulatory challenges.
If left unresolved, these challenges can hinder the progress and innovation required for this science to deliver benefits to society and to future generations.
Responsible Innovation would ask about the kind of future that Australians want to be created and would determine how it will be achieved, while ensuring that the technology designed will deliver socially-responsible science and technology for all Australians.
What will the partnership entail?
Over the next five years, these collaborations will appoint five jointly-funded Postdoctoral Fellows to examine emerging science and applications associated with synthetic biology, precision health, hydrogen, artificial intelligence, Indigenous futures and other areas of innovation as they arise.
According to the University of Queensland’s Provost Professor Aidan Byrne, the collaboration will enable the development of new approaches that take all aspects of the innovation cycle into account.
This collaboration will examine and develop new policy and regulatory responses to new and emerging technological innovations.
Getting the right policy settings is important as this encourages, supports and shapes innovation to achieve economic, social and cultural objectives simultaneously.
By embedding responsible innovation into future science and technology, new researchers will also have an opportunity to gain new skills and capability in this emerging area of research.
It will also lead to improved science delivery across the national innovation system.
The Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science Director explained that this national collaboration builds on strengths at The Australian National University in social sciences and science engagement to reimagine responsible innovation as a framework for doing better science.
Responsible Innovation will also provide an opportunity to realise the full potential of the value of integrative science, incorporating Indigenous knowledge with new approaches to innovation.
Meanwhile, the Charles Darwin University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President of Research and Innovation shared how Northern Australia’s future will be a place of disruption and innovation that will bring ancient and contemporary knowledge traditions together with new approaches to business, technologies and livelihoods.
This collaboration is an investment in Indigenous-partnered approaches to innovation and change that help all invest in ethical, sustainable and exciting ways of thinking and working.