Innovation Internet > Sections > Research > Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC)
 
 
 
 
 
 


(Last Reviewed :  8/07/2010  )

About the Higher Education Research Data Collection
The Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) comprises research income and research publications data submitted by universities each year.
 
Data collected will be used, along with data from the Higher Education Student Data Collection, for determining allocations to universities for Commercialisation Training Scheme (CTS), Research Training Scheme (RTS), Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA), International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS), Research Infrastructure Block Grants Scheme (RIBG), Joint Research Engagement (JRE) scheme, and the Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) program. 
 
Note: The JRE replaced the Institutional Grants Scheme (IGS) from 2010.
 
Workshop The 2010 HERDC Specifications and university relationships with affiliated research organisations
 
On 10 June 2010, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) held a workshop regarding the interpretation of the 2010 HERDC Specifications  (552 KB)
 
The following clarifications were provided at the workshop:
  1. Income resulting from employment arrangements which are eligible for reporting in the HERDC are those under which the university pays the salary (or a proportion of) directly to that researcher.
  2. These employment arrangements must be bona fide employment relationships, and they exclude research income being handled via cost reimbursement arrangements (i.e. to reimburse research costs, including researcher salaries) which are not explicitly covered within a formal legal relationship between the university and the external research organisation. 
2010 Higher Education Research Data Collection Specifications - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
 
In January this year DIISR released the 2010 HERDC Specifications to the higher education sector.
 
In response to queries regarding changes to the HERDC Specifications, the department has developed some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (28 KB).
 
2010 HERDC Smart Forms (for the collection of the 2009 data)
 
This year DIISR has moved to Adobe SmartForms for the reporting of HERDC data. Research Income and Publications SmartForms for the submission of 2009 data are now available. Returns are due by 30 June 2010 as per the HERDC Specifications. 

Higher Education Research Data Collection Specifications

Calculation Of Chapter Values For An Author

To calculate automatically the value of an author's contribution to an edited book, HEPs should use this spreadsheet:

 2010 Specifications
2009 Higher Education Research Data Collection Review
 
A joint review was undertaken by the DIISR in collaboration with the Deputy and Pro Vice Chancellors (Research) from Universities Australia (UA).  The findings of the 2009 HERDC Review are available on the 2009 Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) Review webpage.
As an outcome of the Review, it was agreed to remove notional Joint Venture (JV) provisions from the 2010 HERDC Specifications. Income received through a JV and retained by the University can still be reported under the Shared Research Income provisions.
Further consultation with the sector occurred on the draft 2010 HERDC Specifications in late 2009, and the relevant changes that have been made are indicated in section 6 of the HERDC Specifications.
 
Historical Data - HERDC Specifications
 
2009 Specifications

2008 Specifications

2007 Specifications

Closed--Register of Refereed Journals

Following consultation with the Higher Education Sector, the Department no longer maintains the Register of Refereed Journals.

HEPs are responsible for determining if a journal meets the journal requirements in the HERDC specification.

Closed--Register of Commercial Publishers

Following consultation with the Higher Education Sector, the Department no longer maintains the Register of Commercial Publishers.

HEPs are responsible for determining if a publisher meets the commercial publisher requirements in the HERDC specification.

Contact

For more information, please email: RBGrants@innovation.gov.au with "HERDC" as the subject line.