Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

In this issue:

1. CHASS Board: The first meeting
2. Policy committee: How members shape policy
3. Malcolm Gillies writes to Prime Minister
4. CHASS organises political debate
5. HASS on the Hill and future events
6. On being commercial - The focus group study
7. Membership and subscriptions
8. Occasional paper series
9. CHASS visits New Zealand
10. That full complement of riches
11. Research grants: Progress report

1. CHASS Board: The first meeting

The Board met for the first time last week, with Malcolm Gillies chairing.

The meeting set the foundations for CHASS, with a series of discussions on membership and subscriptions, policy-setting and priorities, and the first activities for CHASS.

The Board discussed how CHASS should approach the national election and further contacts with Parliamentarians.

2. Policy committee: How members shape policy

The Board approved a framework for the development of policy, and has asked the policy committee (chaired by Julie Wells of RMIT), to proceed with a first draft.

The three priority ideas nominated by Foundation Members in their application forms have provided a useful starting point.

The policy statement will be sent to all Members in draft form for comment.

3. Malcolm Gillies writes to Prime Minister

"We believe there are opportunities for our sector - the humanities, arts and social sciences - to play a more prominent role in enterprise culture in Australia. At the moment Australia is not taking full advantage of the potential of the people we represent."

CHASS President Malcolm Gillies put forward three suggestions:

• CHASS membership of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council
• The R&D Tax Concession
• National Research Priorities

The CHASS position is that there are no formal representatives of this sector on PMSEIC; the Tax Act explicitly excludes research in HASS as eligible for the tax concession; and the research priorities are skewed too heavily towards the natural sciences. We'd like to see changes!

A letter in similar terms was sent to Opposition spokesperson for research, Senator Kim Carr.

4. CHASS organises political debate

We are working with The Australian newspaper to organise a debate on education and research between Minister Brendan Nelson and Shadow Minister Jenny Macklin. Both sides have agreed and we are now sorting out a time and place. Sydney or Melbourne are likely venues.

5. HASS on the Hill and future events

The feedback from participants was unequivocal: they found the whole Parliamentary experience fascinating; they enjoyed the collegiality and networking; and they loved Iain McCalman's address at the National Press Club.

The Board has decided there will be another "Hass on the Hill" in 2005, perhaps a little different in format and introducing a more organised approach to the meetings with MPs.

Feedback from the 2004 event is one our website: www.chass.org.au

6. On being commercial - The focus group study

CHASS will conduct a study on the commercial activities of people in our sector.

The study will collect evidence through focus groups in each capital city and a couple of regional centres, with the study to be completed by the end of the year.

We want a snapshot picture of what people are doing, who their commercial partners are, and how they got to find each other. The study has been commissioned by DEST, and will feed into their policy-making processes. The contract has been signed and we will soon make an announcement about how people in the sector can be involved.

7. Membership and subscriptions

CHASS has 103 Members. The Board considered carefully how these memberships can be translated into a more permanent arrangement, and how the subscription rates should be set.

We will be putting a plan to all 103 Members before the end of the year, with the aim of establishing a membership and subscription structure to operate in the second half of this financial year.

Although Foundation Membership has closed, organisations are invited to express their support by completing an application form to join CHASS. The form is available on the web page: www.chass.org.au

8. Occasional paper series

CHASS will institute an Occasional Paper series. This will publish reports and papers written by CHASS, but also provide an avenue of publication for Member organisations.

The driving force behind the papers is to inject new ideas into policy circles in Parliament and the bureaucracy. They would also help to gain media coverage for CHASS and our Members, an essential component of success in the political arena.

Guidelines covering the publication of Occasional Papers will be sent to all Members.

9. CHASS visits New Zealand

The Humanities Research Network will be launched in October to strengthen the R&D capability of the HASS sector in NZ, and build a network accessible to researchers from anywhere in the world.

The organisers have asked CHASS Director Toss Gascoigne and Secretary John Byron (as Executive Director of the Academy of the Humanities) to speak both at the launch and with other audiences in Auckland and Wellington.

Many CHASS Members have formal or informal links across the Tasman, and this will be a useful opportunity to exchange ideas on recent initiatives in both countries.

10. That full complement of riches

The British Academy has just released a review which demonstrates that "the arts, humanities and social sciences provide high-level skills and ground-breaking research essential to a knowledge-based economy".

The full 80 page text is at: http://www.britac.ac.uk/news/reports/contribution/

11. Research grants: Progress report

CHASS officers are working with DEST to develop study proposals to examine the way HASS operate in Australia.

When Minister Brendan Nelson addressed 'HASS on the Hill' delegates in June, he said he would support $450,000 of major studies into HASS, and asked CHASS to work with DEST to draft suitable proposals. He was particularly interested in studies to inform policy-making processes.

Proposals for two studies are well underway; and if approved could have significant implications for the way HASS is valued and funded in Australia. We'll keep you posted.

 

Regards

Malcolm Gillies
30 September 2004

 

For more information, please contact:

Toss Gascoigne

Executive Director

Council of the Humanties, Arts and Social Sciences

Phone: +61 2 6249 1995

director@chass.org.au