The past decade might be described as revolutionary in growing and transforming our economy, in making it competitive and in providing employment. The next decade must be equally revolutionary. We must take the next step and move from the rhetoric to the reality of building a knowledge-based economy because this is where our future lies. Science, technology, research and innovation are the key words of the future. We must build the structures which support research excellence. We must enhance our ability to compete at the pinnacle of knowledge and produce the people through our educational system who will take on the new challenges. A cornerstone of this future is building our research capability in our universities, institutes and enterprises – in essence, the research infrastructure which will make it possible.