The ANU has declined to reveal which of its research projects is about to lose US funding, amid a demand by the Trump administration for Australian researchers to declare links to China and whether projects relate to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The demands made through a 36-point questionnaire sent to Australian researchers this month have sparked foreign interference concerns and a warning from scientists about a chilling effect on research.
At least one ANU project appears to be the first immediate casualty, with Vice Chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell telling staff on Tuesday, “we have had the first termination of funding from the United States.”
A spokesperson for the university declined to reveal the project, whether the termination was directly related to the US questionnaire or how many other researchers had been asked to respond to it.
“ANU has active research grants funded by the US government that are spread across several colleges at ANU,” the spokesperson told InnovationAus.com.
“The university can confirm it has received a letter from the US government indicating an intent to terminate funding related to one research project. We are committed to working with our affected researchers and developing appropriate remediation plans. We remain committed to doing distinctive research in the service of our community and our country.”
The ANU is one of the Group of Eight research intensive universities that are warning of the fine line between legitimate inquiry and political ideology. The group has called on Education minister Jason Clare to intervene in what could be “considered a form of foreign influence” and has asked Science minister Ed Husic to reconsider Australia joining Europe’s flagship research program.
The government’s public response has been cautious, with Mr Clare saying this week it remains too early to determine the fallout from the changes to US research funding and their spillover to Australian collaborations.
The latest hit to ANU research comes amid a $250 million austerity drive that has already cost jobs and innovation initiatives.
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When Australian univerities made a killing in the last 20 years on international students and dropping them into research projects for not only scientific purposes but also for classified government agencies on various levels, it should raise the same concern locally that the Americans have and those projects should be fully audited and reviewed.
The government’s slow response on this is, alas, consistent with the pace of their action on the Accord &c.
Despite what the Minister says, there is something the government can do now to minimise the fallout, and that’s ensure that withdrawal of a US grant does not result in retrospective adjustments to Research Block Grants, and won’t be counted as a black mark in Australian research evaluations or future grants rounds.