Innovation Internet > Sections > About DIISR > Fact Sheets > Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Initiative Fact Sheet
 
 
 
 
 
 


(Last Reviewed :  13/08/2008 )


KEY POINTS

  • The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative is the Australian Government’s new research excellence and evaluation system.
  • The Australian Research Council (ARC) is responsible for the development and implementation of the ERA initiative. 
  • The ERA initiative will be a rigorous research quality assessment system that:
    • is fair, transparent and clearly defined; 
    • provides a national perspective on where our universities fit within the innovation system and where our strengths and weaknesses are; and 
    • informs future research investment decisions. 
  • It will assess research quality in eligible Australian higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees (where needed) comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.
  • ERA will evaluate research outputs from research undertaken in higher education institutions.
  • The evaluations will commence in 2008-09 with Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences followed by the Humanities and Creative Arts.
  • The ERA Consultation Paper consultation period has closed and approximately 90 submissions were received. 
  • The ARC is also currently consulting on draft journal rankings to be used as possible indicators for the ERA initiative.  Consultation for these will close on 14 August 2008.
  • The Government will continue consultation with other disciplines about indicators appropriate to their disciplines, noting that some measures will be appropriate to all disciplines and that for all disciplines expert review of the indicators will be essential.
  • The new Australian and New Australian Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) will be a primary tool for defining disciplines and the make-up of discipline clusters in the ERA initiative.
  • Funding for the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative has been subject to budgetary savings.  All out-year funding was removed for ERA and returned to consolidated revenue as part of the 2008-09 Budget.  The ARC’s total savings as a result of this decision is $22.030 million.  The only funding now available to the ARC for ERA are those unexpended funds from 2007-08 which will be rolled over into the 2008-09 financial year, totalling around $8.3 million.

FACTS AND FIGURES

  • The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr, announced the ERA initiative on 26 February 2008; this followed his decision to cancel the former Government’s Research Quality Framework (RQF) on 21 December 2007.
  • The ARC assumed responsibility for ERA following the transfer of the previous RQF from the former Department of Education, Science and Training on 6 March 2008.  The ARC is developing the ERA initiative, in consultation with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and with advice from DIISR.
  • ERA was highlighted in the Prime Minister’s First 100 days report card.
  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), co-funded by the ARC, released (on 31 March 2008) the ANZSRC.  In order to raise awareness of the new classification, the ARC and the ABS have conducted joint road-show to capital cities around Australia

Research block funding grants

  • The current arrangements for research block grants funding will be maintained until ERA is fully developed and currently remain the responsibility of DIISR. Any changes to future arrangements will be determined in consultation with the sector.