PMSEIC was established under the former Government in 1997 as the Government’s principal source of independent advice on issues in science, engineering and innovation and relevant aspects of education and training.

• 11 October 2009

The Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) was established under the former Government in 1997 as the Government’s principal source of independent advice on issues in science, engineering and innovation and relevant aspects of education and training.  The precursor to PMSEIC was the Prime Minister’s Science Council established by the Hawke Labor Government in 1989.  This was then followed in 1992 by the Prime Minister’s Science and Engineering Council.

The Council meets in full session, twice a year, to discuss major national issues in science, engineering and technology and their contribution to the economic and social development of Australia.

The recent Australian Government’s policy paper Powering Ideas: an Innovation Agenda for the 21st Century gave PMSEIC the mandate of looking over the horizon to support long term, whole-of-Government policy development.  As a result, PMSEIC has adopted a broader definition of science to include the social sciences, and a new model of operation was introduced incorporating a foresighting approach.

The new model provides PMSEIC with a unique opportunity to provide long range advice on issues of national importance, highlighting areas of research where an early and timely response can really make a difference.  Foresighting teams will identify a set of plausible futures that lie 10 to 50 years ahead of us, draw a line between where we are now and each of those futures, and then ask: What are the problems and opportunities for Australia that intersect that line that involve science, and how can we overcome or embrace them?

Four themes for exploration have been agreed:

• Climate Change, Energy, Water and Environment;
• Science as an Engine for Innovation in Commerce, Industry and the Arts;
• National Health, Well-being and Security; and
• Knowledge Generation, Skills and Perception in a Global World.

These themes lie at the intersection of Government portfolios and across traditional disciplines of research, and in many cases involve social challenges resistant to conventional approaches to solving them.

Please visit the PMSEIC website to find further information including reports and presentations that have been produced by the Council.