CANBERRA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia has lagged behind the rest of developed world for research funding, the nation's peak university body has warned.
According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data released by Universities Australia on Wednesday, investment in research and development(R&D) in Australia fell from 2.11 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013-14 to 1.88 percent in 2015-16.
It marks the first time that Australia's spending on R&D has fallen.
In the same period, business expenditure on R&D dropped 2.2 billion Australian dollars (1.63 billion U.S. dollars), a 12 percent decrease.
"The world's leading economies know just how important R&D is and are investing accordingly," Catriona Jackson, chief executive officer of Universities Australia, told the Guardian Australia on Wednesday.
The data was released as part of Universities Australia's submission to a parliamentary inquiry into research funding.
Universities Australia urged the committee to recommend the "full recapitalization" of the education investment fund (EIF). A 3.8 billion Australian dollar fund was established in 2008 to invest in higher education projects.
