Key Points
- The mission of the ARC is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.
- The ARC was established by the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the ARC Act). It is a statutory authority under the Public Service Act 1999 and a prescribed agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
- Its statutory role under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act) is:
- The making of high quality recommendations to the Minister in relation to which research programs should receive financial assistance under Division 1 of Part 7 of the Act
- The administration of the regimes of financial assistance provided for in Divisions 1 and 2 of Part 7 of the Act
- The provision of high quality advice to the Minister about matters related to research
- The ARC Advisory Council provides the ARC Chief Executive Officer with non-binding strategic and policy advice on issues relating to research and research training and the mission of the ARC.
- In 2009–10 the ARC has a total departmental operating budget of $20.266 million plus additional administered funding of $5.377 million for implementation of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative. The ARC has also received an equity injection of $4.548 million in 2009-10 to fund development of IT systems to support the ERA initiative.
- The ARC administers the Australian Government’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). In 2009-10 NCGP funding will total $652.831 million. Together with the ERA funding, this accounts for 7.7 per cent of the Australian Government’s 2009-2010 $8.587 billion commitment to science and innovation.
- The ARC is currently administering funding provided to almost 4,650 research projects Australia-wide, involving more than 10,200 researchers.
- In addition to its current fellowships schemes under the NCGP, the ARC will administer $27.2 million over four years for Super Science Fellowships Scheme. These fellowships are part of the broader Super Science Initiative and will build Australia’s research strengths in three key areas: space and astronomy, marine and climate, and future industries. Fifty fellowships will commence in 2010 and 50 in 2011.
- Australian Research Fellowships - Indigenous, introduced in 2009, are being administered by the ARC under its Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme.
- Under its Special Research Initiatives scheme the ARC is administering $50 million over four years for research grants in bionic vision science and technology.
- The ARC is responsible for the development and implementation of the ERA initiative. The initiative will assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.
- A trial of ERAwas conducted in 2009. The trial evaluated the Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences (PCE) and Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) discipline clusters. The full ERA process has been informed by the trial, and submissions for the full ERA process will begin on 1 June 2010.
Facts and Figures
The ARC advises the Australian Government on research funding and policy and, through its management of the NCGP, promotes the conduct of research and research training that is of the highest quality for the benefit of the Australian community.
The NCGP consists of two elements—Discovery and Linkage. Within these elements is a range of funding schemes designed to support researchers at different stages of their careers, build Australia’s research capability, expand and enhance collaborations, and develop centres of research excellence.
NCGP funding is allocated competitively on the basis of research excellence determined by peer review. Competition allows the identification and targeting of financial support to those activities that are most likely to deliver outcomes of the highest quality.
The ARC supports research and research training in the sciences and engineering; social sciences and humanities. In this way, the ARC:
- Has a watching brief on the state of Australian research within and across all disciplines
- Is able to support multidisciplinary approaches to finding solutions to important research questions that are increasingly problem-based (rather than discipline-specific)
- Is able to collaborate with agencies across government to establish centres of excellence and other research initiatives in areas of national priority, for example NICTA
- Through the ERA initiative, the ARC is delivering on the Australian Government’s commitment to evaluate the quality of Australian research and thereby ensure that Australian taxpayers receive value for money
The ARC is located within the Brindabella Business Park at Canberra Airport.