Innovation Internet > Sections > About DIISR > Fact Sheets > Australian Research Council (ARC) Fact Sheet
 
 
 
 
 
 


(Last Reviewed :  11/08/2008 )

KEY POINTS

  • The mission of the ARC is to advance Australia’s research excellence to be globally competitive and deliver benefits to the community.
  • The ARC was established by the Australian Research Council Act 2001.  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 is to:
    • provide high-quality advice to the Minister about matters related to research;
    • make high-quality recommendations to the Minister on the allocation of financial assistance for research under the National Competitive Grants Program; and
    • administer the National Competitive Grants Program.
  • In 2008-09 the ARC has an Operating Budget of $15.856m and an Administered Budget of $595.8m.
  • The budgeted average staffing level (ASL) for the ARC in 2008-09 is 74.
  • The ARC offices are located at the Brindabella Business Park, Canberra Airport (1st floor, 8 Brindabella Circuit).
  • On 7 January 2008, the Minister announced his establishment of an ARC Advisory Council to provide the ARC CEO with non-binding strategic and policy advice on research.
  • The ARC has been given responsibility for implementing and administering the Government’s Future Fellowships.
  • The Minister has indicated that the ARC will play a leading role in implementing and administering a quality and evaluation system for Australian research in place of the former Government’s Research Quality Framework.
  • In 2007, with the expert assistance of almost 4,300 Australia-based and international assessors, the ARC assessed and made recommendations to the Government in relation to 5,590 research proposals.
  • The ARC is managing funding to almost 5,000 research projects Australia-wide, involving more than 15,500 researchers.
  • The ARC is characterised by a unique blend of public service and academic research expertise – a key factor in its success in effectively performing its statutory roles. 

FACTS AND FIGURES

The ARC advises the Government on research funding and policy and, through its management of the National Competitive Grants Program, promotes the conduct of research and research training that is of the highest quality for the benefit of the Australian community.

The ARC is the primary agency responsible for administering Australian Government competitive funding for research in universities.  In 2007-08, it is administering a budget of $595.8 million for the National Competitive Grants Program – accounting for 9.5 per cent of the almost $6.4 billion Australian Government financial assistance for science and innovation in that year. 

The National Competitive Grants Program consists of two elements – Discovery and Linkage.  Within these elements is a range of funding schemes designed to provide a pathway of incentives for researchers to build the scope and scale of their work and collaborative partnerships.

National Competitive Grants Program 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 is the only Australian Government agency that has the role solely of supporting research and research training across the broad spectrum of research – from the sciences and engineering through to the 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).
  • administers national infrastructure and Australia’s participation in international ventures such as the Gemini Telescopes and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.
  • 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.

Led by CEO Professor Margaret Sheil, the ARC has 105 officers. 

The ARC is located within the Brindabella Business Park at Canberra Airport.