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About ARC

The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a statutory authority within the Australian Government's Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio. The ARC advises the Government on research matters, manages the National Competitive Grants Program, a significant component of Australia's investment in research and development, and has responsibility for the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative.

The ARC's mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.

In seeking to achieve its mission, the ARC supports the highest-quality fundamental and applied research and research training through national competition across all disciplines, with the exception of clinical medicine and dentistry. In addition, the ARC brokers partnerships between researchers and industry, government, community organisations and the international community.

The outcomes of ARC-funded research deliver cultural, economic, social and environmental benefits to all Australians.

Established as an independent body under the Australian Research Council Act 2001, the ARC reports to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr.

The ARC fosters excellence, partnerships and the highest ethical standards in research and research training in all fields of science, social sciences and the humanities. 

The ARC is the primary source of advice to the Government on investment in the national research effort. The ARC:

• supports the highest quality research and research training through national competition in all fields of science, social sciences and the humanities;
• brokers partnerships between researchers and industry, government, community organisations and the international community.

ARC funding programs come under the umbrella of the National Competitive Grants Program. The ARC Discovery programs fund individual researchers and projects.

The ARC Linkage programs help to broker partnerships between researchers and industry, government and community organisations as well as the international community. The ARC Centres programs build research scale and focus and strengthen major research partnerships and networks.

The ERA initiative will assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions and will give government, industry, business and the wider community assurance of the excellence of research conducted.  It will also provide a national stocktake, by research discipline areas, of research strength against international benchmarks.

For more information on the ARC refer to:

• ARC Profile
• ARC Annual Report
  The ARC Annual Report summarises research outcomes and the return on investment in research in Australia.
  
• ARC Strategic Plan
  The ARC Strategic Plan 2009–10 to 2011–12 sets out the ARC's vision for the next three years.

The ARC office is located in Canberra: 

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