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


(Last Reviewed :  30/08/2010 )

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;
    • the administration of the regimes of financial assistance provided for in Divisions 1 and 2 of Part 7;
    • the provision of high quality advice to the Minister about matters related to research; and
    • to provide for the funding of research programs
  • 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 2010-11 the ARC has a total departmental operating budget of $20.895 million, plus additional administered funding of $5.728 million for implementation of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative and Future Fellowship advertising. The ARC has also received an equity injection of $2.574 million in 2010-11 to fund development of IT systems to support the ERA initiative.
  • The ARC administers the Australian Government’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) and in 2010-11 NCGP funding will total $708.733 million. Together with the ERA funding, this accounts for 7.9 per cent of the Australian Government’s 2010-11 $8.923 billion commitment to science and innovation. Through NCGP the ARC is currently administering funding provided to almost 4,650 research projects Australia-wide, involving more than 10,200 researchers.
  • The ARC is responsible for the development and implementation of the ERA initiative. The initiative will evaluate research quality within Australia's higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.
  • The submission period for the 2010 ERA process opened on 1 June 2010 and closed at 6 August 2010. Evaluations will be conducted across eight discipline clusters in December this year with results announced in March 2011.
  • The ARC, in collaboration with the NHMRC, is responsible for the establishment of the Australian Research Integrity Committee (ARIC). ARIC will investigate and advise on concerns that institutions have not followed the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research or institutional processes in responding to allegations of research misconduct. It is expected that ARIC will be fully functional by early next year.

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 ARC has two major programs, Discovery and Linkage. Discovery has emphasis on innovative, researcher inspired research. Linkage encourages collaboration between researchers, institutions, industry and end-users.

The main Discovery schemes are: Discovery Projects, Future Fellowships, Australian Laureate Fellowships, Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development and Super Science Fellowship.

The main Linkage schemes are: Linkage Projects, Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities, ARC Research Centres and Special Research Initiatives.

Funding for the NCGP in 2010-11 is $708,733 million. In 2010-11, 60 per cent of NCGP funding is allocated through Discovery schemes ($423,576 million) and 40 per cent through Linkage schemes ($285,157 million).

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 National Information and Communications Technology Australia; and
  • 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.