PURPOSE
Assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research The ARC administers two evaluation frameworks to assess the quality, engagement and impact of research. ERA provides a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of research produced by Australian universities against international benchmarks. In 2018 the ARC conducted its fourth ERA evaluation following the 2010, 2012 and 2015 evaluations. The next ERA evaluation will commence in 2023. The ARC is also responsible for administering the EI assessment of university research. EI assesses the engagement of researchers with research end-users and shows how universities are translating their research into economic, social, environmental, cultural and other impacts. The ARC conducted the inaugural EI assessment in 2018. The next round of EI will be in 2024. In 2020 the ARC commenced a review of ERA and EI to ensure they continue to reflect world’s best practice in research evaluation and respond to the ongoing needs of the university sector, government and the public for a robust and efficient evaluation of Australian university research quality, impact and engagement.
To grow knowledge and innovation for the benefit of the Australian community by funding the highest quality research, assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research, and providing advice on research matters.
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity established under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act), located within the Australian Government’s Education portfolio, and reporting to the Minister for Education. The ARC’s functions are to administer the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP), make recommendations to the Minister on funding for research applications under the NCGP, provide advice to the Minister on matters related to research and assess the quality, engagement and impact of university research. Funding the highest quality research The NCGP funds fundamental and applied research and research training to eligible organisations in all fields across the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines, as well as the humanities, arts and social sciences disciplines. The NCGP comprises 13 schemes under two programs, the Discovery Program which focuses on supporting individuals and small teams to undertake fundamental research, and the Linkage Program which creates links between university researchers, industry partners and other community organisations to undertake applied research. Funding under the NCGP is awarded based on competitive peer review processes involving Australian and international assessors.
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Australian Research Council / CORPORATE PLAN 2020–21
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