The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) believes that realising the benefits of Australia’s world-class research system requires translation of its outputs into economic and societal benefits. The effective translation of research will be at the core of Australia’s future competitiveness and prosperity.

OECD data shows that Australian researchers are less engaged in collaboration with industry than their counterparts in other countries. This is of particular concern for Australia given the large proportion of our researchers in the public sector. Calls to address this problem have increasingly been heard from government and industry.

This report argues that returning highly treated wastewater directly into Australia's drinking water supply could have considerable economic and environmental benefits.

With the demographic ageing of Australia’s population, a suite of emerging innovative technologies offers the prospect of enhanced security, safety, diagnosis, treatment and physical assistance to improve the quality of life for elderly people, to help them remain at home, and to provide financial savings in aged care and medical treatment.

Australia currently lacks a mechanism to gather evidence on the formation of public attitudes to the introduction of new technologies, particularly the formation of attitudes to nuclear energy technology. This is a limiting factor in achieving informed debate in the development of a national energy policy. These are key findings in a research project recently...