John Paul Wild - National Science Leadership

National Science Leadership

In 1978, Wild became Chairman of CSIRO, a position he held until 1985, and for part of that tenure was also its Chief Executive. He took on the role after the first Independent Inquiry into CSIRO (the Birch Report of 1977) pointed the organisation towards "filling a gap in national research with strategic mission-oriented work." He led the organisation through the restructure to modernise it and bring it closer to the industries and community that it serves.

This role, especially, invoked a sense of duty that had its roots during and before Wild's naval service. When asked in 1992 whether his appointment as Chairman rested "to an extent on the fact that you had put the division, and Australia, on the international map and you had this capacity for applying very fundamental work?", he responded, "Yes, I think it certainly must have done. I don't know that I really wanted the job, but it was a duty to take the job when they offered it to you."

Wild recognised that CSIRO needed to adapt and provide scientific and technological leadership in a changing world, reflecting his maxim that "without excellence and originality, research achieves nothing." During this period of great change he secured funding for major national research facilities, including the oceanographic research vessel, RV Franklin; the Australian Animal Health Laboratory and the Australia Telescope; and he established a new Division of Information Technology.

But many things did not involve smooth sailing: for example, as he put it, "I had terrible trouble over the Animal Health Laboratory when he wanted to close it all down, just when it was nearly finished being built." Further, CSIRO for the first time had to react to public criticism about its policies. Wild said "Before that time … I suppose CSIRO was a sacred cow, beyond criticism; and I think we had to get used to criticism and get used to defending."

He explained his particular ethos and style of management of CSIRO in this way:

Well, I suppose I always wanted to extrapolate from my own experience, small-scale experience, and some personal opinions. I had a strong desire always to see pure and applied research undertaken side by side in the same laboratory.... And I was still very much aware that the recognition that many – most, I should say – of the really important and fundamental discoveries in science which subsequently led to a massive technological development have come through curiosity-led research, and often through serendipity, which is terribly important. I think the Birch report was very helpful, and I agreed with his report that the whole core of the policy-making in the science that we were going to carry out was a matter of defining the right proportion of, shall we say, pure research, strategic mission-oriented, and technical research – and getting that proportion right.... I felt that fundamental research in the end was going to reap the real benefits in the long run ... discovering something like electricity ... was absolutely fundamental research and had an enormous impact on the world. On the other hand, there was the awareness that you're in charge of an organisation that's spending a million dollars of taxpayers' money every day, and that's a very sobering thought, so you had to keep the reins on as well.

Indeed there were many frustrations in being CSIRO's Chairman at that time, of which he nominated as the worst "the frustration of finding it so difficult to bring in new young blood because of the descending budget in real terms."

The diplomacy and political strategy that Wild had first used to major advantage in negotiations with the International Civil Aviation Organization, combined with his intellectual rigour and a deeply ingrained focus on doing what was right, served CSIRO and Australia well until he retired from CSIRO, aged 62, in 1985.