Are we about to hear of a much closer connect between our diplomats and science and technologysector when New Zealand’s yarning to overseas countries about how we might ‘worktogether’?
After all, its well-accepted practice by other countries in their diplomaticdealings.
About to be
Minister of Science and InnovationWayne Mapp
hinted at changes to when addressing the
NZAssociation of Scientists
meeting in Wellington on Thursday, as well as the day before whenannouncing the research institutions which are to be first accredited organisations for
John Key,
Peter Gluckman
and Mapp have recently been indiscussions with new Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade chief executive John Allen.
Giventhe push and expectation of science, technology and particularly the innovation part is to play inthe government’s economic transformation plans, such a meeting of the great and the good will havemeaning.
Speaking at the same NZAS forum, carried out in collaboration with Victoria University’sInstitute of Policy Studies, chief science advisor Gluckman said MFAT's keen on a more co-ordinatedapproach with the country’s science and technology sector when discussing bilaterally with othercountries.
Among hints he threw out were that diplomacy plays a role in science – an NZ scientists nowhave access to EU funds, and bilateral science projects with Germany, China and Singapore amongothers. Science assists diplomacy, since science is neutral, and trust can be built from that saysGluckman. Science also operates within diplomacy, climate change policies being a key example.Finally he says, science is the glue that holds the real and virtual spaces of the world together.Space, deep oceans, Antartica and the Internet are all ‘ruled’ by science conventions, notnecessarily political ones.
Both Mapp and Gluckman speculated that former AgResearch chief Andy West’s current examinationof the science, technology and innovation sectors could be an eye-opener. Given West’s lateralthinking ability, and his preparedness to be bold, the as yet to be announced when it is to appearpaper, could be well worth reading.
The New Zealand science system itself globally ranks well for numbers of papers published perperson. What West's recommendations might be to increase the economic benefit of our science spend,will be, no doubt, interestingly controversial.