The South Australian Government has asked the Commission to undertake an inquiry into Research and Development in South Australia.  The inquiry will consider trends in public and private expenditure on Research and Development in South Australia as well how Research and Development contributes to long term productivity gains and economic growth. It will also make recommendation on actions to raise the contribution of Research and Development to the state’s long-term productivity and the economic growth rates.

The Terms of Reference for this inquiry define the scope of this inquiry to include mining, agribusiness, cyber risk and other areas as appropriate, except for health and medical research which is being considered separately.  They also state that the Commission should consult with government agencies, universities, research institutions, and industry in developing indicators and data sets that could be used to monitor and explain the state’s performance and inform government policy.

The Commission will release an issues paper in March that sets out the Commission’s initial understanding of the matters to be addressed. This paper will seek input from interested parties, both on the matters identified as well as any other issues relevant to the terms of reference that may have been missed.

The Premier has directed that the final report be available no later than eleven months after the direction to begin the inquiry was received, which was 6 February 2020.

Administration

Giselle Oruga
T: 08 8226 7764
E: giselle.oruga@sa.gov.au

Inquiry Lead

Gerard MacDonald
T: 08 8226 7069
E: gerard.macdonald@sa.gov.au