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Strategic Plan 2005-2007

Australian Research Council

Strategic Plan 2005–2007

Australian Research Council, Canberra
© Commonwealth of Australia, January 2005
ISSN 1832–4347

Publisher: Australian Research Council

Contents

Message from the Minister
Foreword
Australian Research Council
Mission
Role
Guiding principles
Key objectives
Operating environment
Backing Australia’s Ability: Building our future through science and innovation
 National research priorities
Objective 1: Discovery
Objective 2: Linkage
Objective 3: Research training and careers
Objective 4: Research infrastructure
Objective 5: Research priorities
Objective 6: Public engagement
Objective 7: Effective organisation
Performance framework
Measuring performance
Reporting on performance
Key performance indicators
Annexes

1. Program and operating budgets
2. National Competitive Grants Program

Terminology
Feedback
Other publications
ARC contact

Message from the Minister

As a nation, we are increasingly looking to research and innovation activities to ensure that we are not only equipped to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, but that we are also able to creatively leverage opportunities to benefit our country and its people.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) is crucial to the fostering of innovation and research and plays a significant role in the commitment of the Australian Government to ensuring we have a strong and supportive innovation system.

Underpinning this commitment is a dedication to the pursuit of excellence in research and the encouragement of a generation of new ideas. This is made possible by supporting the commercial application of ideas and the development and retention of skills, but most importantly, this is achieved through the creativity and hard work of people.

The Government is also concerned to ensure that Australia’s innovation system is capable of responding quickly and appropriately to changing priorities and external developments.

The ARC is a unique organisation – it provides advice to the Government on research matters, and under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) supports basic and applied research in all fields of science, social sciences and the humanities. This plan reaffirms the ARC’s commitment to supporting the highest quality research and research training activities in these fields as well as building strong linkages between the research community, government and industry; fostering the next generation of world-class researchers; and building critical mass in areas identified as priority areas.

At an operational level this commitment translates into funding for thousands of highly innovative projects involving individuals and teams and national and international research collaboration.

Each year I am inspired by the breadth of activities supported through the schemes administered by the ARC – projects commencing in 2005 include research into robotics and drug design, biology and agriculture, information technology as well as child development, psychology and philosophy.

During the period covered by the Australian Research Council Strategic Plan 2005 – 2007, Australian Government support for science and innovation will continue to be underpinned by the Backing Australia's Ability (BAA) packages released in January 2001 and May 2004 respectively. Together the packages constitute a far-reaching funding commitment by Government stretching for ten years to 2010–11 and bringing together all sectors of the national innovation system to build and strengthen Australia’s capacity to conduct world-class research.

Through the second BAA package – Backing Australia's Ability–Building our future through science and innovation – funding for the ARC has continued with an additional $1,189.2 million to maintain the doubled level of funding for the NCGP established under BAA.

This commitment will help ensure that the best researchers in Australia continue to be supported in their endeavours, that new researchers have access to the support they need, and that the pathway to new discoveries, new products and innovations is maintained both in the public and private sectors.

I wish the ARC and our nation’s researchers every success as they advance Australia and its people through innovation and research.

The Honourable Dr Brendan Nelson MP
Minister for Education, Science and Training
January 2005

Foreword

It is a pleasure to present the ARC’s strategic plan for the three-year period 2005 to 2007.

The strategic plan is a key accountability document for the ARC. Its preparation each year provides an opportunity for the organisation to

re-examine its role in Australia’s national innovation system and the appropriateness of the goals and priorities it has identified to help it maximise the return on public investment in research.

This plan has been prepared by the ARC Board. It sets out the ARC’s goals and priorities for the period 2005–07 taking into account the ARC's responsibilities in implementing initiatives under Backing Australia’s Ability, as well as for implementing the Government’s national research priorities which were announced late in 2002.

The plan describes the ARC's agenda to fulfil its mission through activities in seven key areas:

- Discovery – supporting excellent research, generating new ideas and innovations.

- Linkage – encouraging the development of strong partnerships between researchers, and between researchers and end-users, regardless of location.

- Research training and careers – recognising the critical human element to the research endeavour.

- Research infrastructure – pursuing access for Australian researchers to world-class facilities.

- Research priorities – recognising the importance of building scale and focus in particular areas of strength.

- Public engagement – communicating the benefits of research to stakeholders and the community.

- Effective organisation – building an efficient and effective organisation capable of providing high-quality services to its clients.

In addition to identifying the specific actions that the ARC will undertake over the next three years in each of these key areas, the plan also identifies the indicators of success that the ARC will use to measure its progress in delivering results that benefit the Australian community.

Monitoring the progress and outcomes of research funded by the organisation is a critical element in the ARC's responsibilities. The ARC is a relatively small organisation and, to date, our efforts have been necessarily focussed on the ‘front-end’ of the National Competitive Grants Program – receiving and processing applications for funding support, overseeing the extensive peer review process, and managing post-award financial management. Following extensive discussions, the Board agreed that the ARC should, as a priority in the coming year, investigate ways of extending our capacity to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the research we fund.

During the next three years, the National Competitive Grants Program (see Annex 2) will continue to be supported through additional funding provided through the Backing Australia’s Ability statements which were released by the Australian Government in January 2001 and May 2004 respectively. By 2006–07, the ARC’s program budget will be approximately $545 million, up from $272 million in 2002.

In Backing Australia's Ability: Building our future through science and innovation the Government announced an increased emphasis on collaboration. A focus for the ARC in the next triennium will be to build on its strong record of achievement in this area including through the conduct of a second round of applications under the ARC Centres of Excellence. Funding for 24 new Research Networks, including five jointly funded by the NHMRC, will also continue. The ARC is also working with the NHMRC to explore opportunities for new and cutting-edge research in the areas of ‘Ageing Well, Ageing Productively’ and ‘Thinking Systems’.

Importantly, we would like to signal that during 2005 the ARC Board will be considering, in the context of future strategic planning discussions, a range of strategic issues relating to research. Currently, for example, the ARC provides funding for research projects across all disciplines (excepting clinical medicine and dentistry) primarily to institutions in Australia’s higher education sector. In the context of these discussions we will be asking ourselves whether the current balance of investment between different disciplines is optimal and whether other organisations should be eligible to apply for ARC funding.

Other issues which will be on the table for discussion include:

  • the potential tension between our desire to create scale and focus and our need to maintain a broad research and research training capacity across institutions and disciplines;
     
  • the current balance between investments in different elements of the National Competitive Grants Program;
     
  • the type of research that should be funded by the ARC;
     
  • the need to strengthen our efforts to communicate the benefits of research and innovation;
     
  • the extent to which the ARC should be involved in brokering research programs;
     
  • how the ARC should be involved in trying to attract a larger proportion of Australia’s brightest young people to engage in a research career;
     
  • whether Australia is attracting enough very talented researchers and how we should go about retaining those that are attracted;
     
  • how the ARC best can position itself to evaluate the effectiveness of its investments and the outcomes they generate; and
     
  • possible mechanisms to enable the ARC to respond quickly to emerging opportunities or changing priorities.

As part of this process we will be seeking feedback from stakeholders across the national innovation system.

As required under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 the ARC Strategic Plan has been approved by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP, and tabled in the Parliament.

M A (Tim) Besley AC
Chairman
January 2005

Professor Peter Høj
Chief Executive Officer
January 2005

Australian Research Council

Mission

The mission of the ARC is to:

Advance Australia’s research excellence to be globally competitive and deliver benefits to the community.


The effectiveness of the ARC in fulfilling its mission will be demonstrated by evidence of:

  • Australia achieving high levels of research excellence and building world-class research capability in a range of research areas.
     
  • the benefits (economic, environmental and social) that are delivered to the community through the adoption of the outcomes of ARC-funded research.

Role

The ARC was established under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act) on 1 July 2001.

The functions of the ARC, as set out in the ARC Act, are to:

  • administer the research programs for which it has responsibility (that is, the National Competitive Grants Program);
     
  • make recommendations to the Minister for Education, Science and Training on the allocation of funds within the research program; and
     
  • provide advice to the Minister on research matters.

The National Competitive Grants Program is the primary vehicle by which the ARC pursues its mission. Through its management of the Program the ARC promotes the conduct of research and research training that is of the highest quality for the benefit of the Australian community across all disciplines (except clinical medicine and dentistry).

The National Competitive Grants Program provides funding through two main elements – Discovery and Linkage (see Annex 2). Across those elements, incentives are provided to researchers through a program structure that, broadly, targets funding in two areas: (i) building research capability and (ii) achieving focus through critical mass and collaboration. The building of research capability occurs by nurturing the skills and expertise of individuals, encouraging partnerships through the formation of teams, and providing access to leading-edge infrastructure. Achieving focus occurs by supporting greater connectivity through the formation of networks and by promoting the building of critical mass in the form of research centres.

Guiding principles

The activities of the ARC are underpinned by the following seven principles:

  • Excellence
    Ensure high-quality and innovative research that is internationally competitive.
     
  • Concentration
    Provide a critical mass of support for research activities to foster world-class research outcomes.
     
  • Partnership
    Encourage and increase partnerships among universities, research institutions, government, business and the wider community at the local, national and international level.
     
  • Flexibility
    Provide flexible and responsive programs to ensure a range of research needs and opportunities are supported.
     
  • Strategic direction
    Deliver the greatest benefit to the community by encouraging research in areas of national priority.
     
  • Brokerage
    Act as a catalyst and broker to create opportunities.
  • Accountability
    Demonstrate accountability to the Government and the community by operating within a transparent and performance-driven framework, highlighting the return on the investment in research.
     

Key objectives

The ARC has identified the following seven objectives:

Objective 1

Discovery:
Develop and maintain a broad foundation of high-quality world-class research across a wide range of disciplines.

Objective 2

Linkage:
 Encourage and extend cooperative approaches to research and improve utilisation of research outcomes by strengthening links within Australia’s innovation system and with innovation systems internationally.

Objective 3

Research training and careers:
Contribute to high-quality research training and foster career opportunities for Australia’s best and brightest researchers.

Objective 4

Research infrastructure:
 Facilitate access for Australian researchers to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment and provide incentives for the cooperative development of research infrastructure.

Objective 5

Research priorities:
 Encourage excellent research and research training across the broad range of national research priorities and ARC structural priorities.

Objective 6

Public engagement:
 Increase awareness, understanding and support among stakeholders and the community of the outcomes and benefits of Australian research.

Objective 7

Effective organisation:
 Implement a governance and organisation structure, together with management processes, to enable the ARC to achieve its objectives within a framework of transparency and accountability.

Operating environment

In developing this strategic plan the ARC has sought to take account of developments and priorities in Australia and elsewhere. The following factors will continue to influence the ARC's delivery against its key objectives in the next triennium.

Backing Australia's Ability: Building our future through science and innovation

On 6 May 2004, the Australian Government announced a $5.3 billion package to continue and strengthen the Backing Australia’s Ability (BAA) package released in January 2001. The new package targets the three key elements of the innovation system identified in BAA:

  • strengthening Australia’s ability to generate ideas and undertake research;
     
  • accelerating the commercialisation of ideas; and
     
  • developing and retaining skills.

Under the new package, the Government will provide $1,189.2 million over the period 2007–08 to 2010–11 for the ARC to maintain the doubled level of funding for the NCGP introduced under BAA. 

As part of the new package, the Government also announced its response to three research-related reviews conducted during 2003. It announced that:

- a National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy would be introduced, providing successor funding to the Strategic Infrastructure Initiative and Major National Research Facilities programs; and

- research quality and accessibility frameworks would be developed and implemented to more consistently gauge the quality of publicly funded research.

National research priorities

Australia’s national research priorities were announced by the Prime Minister in late 2002 and were enhanced and refined in 2003 to take greater account of the contributions of the social sciences and humanities research. The four priorities are:

  • an environmentally sustainable Australia;
     
  • promoting and maintaining good health;
     
  • frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries; and
     
  • safeguarding Australia.

The ARC has developed an implementation plan that describes the initiatives it is pursuing in order to meet the Government’s requirements for investment in national research priority areas.

Objective 1: Discovery

Description

The focus of the discovery research supported by the ARC is excellent research and research training identified through peer review and open competition. Excellent research outcomes leading to innovation require flexible opportunities along a continuum from relatively small discrete research projects through to longer-term,

team-based programs, research networks and centres of excellence. Concentration, scale and mass improve the global visibility and impact of Australian research.

Discovery schemes

Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development

Discovery Projects comprising:

  • project grants
  • fellowships

Federation Fellowships

Objective

Develop and maintain a broad foundation of high-quality world-class research across a wide range of disciplines.

Key investment strategies

S.1 Ensure a broad foundation of excellence through: (i) peer review that is recognised to be of high international standard, and (ii) provision of internationally competitive levels of support.

S.2 Maintain and develop flexible and responsive research funding schemes to meet the different needs for research and to capitalise on emerging research opportunities.

S.3 Foster innovative approaches to research, multidisciplinary research and early career researchers.

Actions

Continually improve ARC peer review processes to optimise selection from open competition. Specifically:

i) maintain high-quality expert committees; and

ii) enhance the readership base and the involvement of international assessors (Ongoing).

Maintain a quality assurance panel to recommend adjustments to funding between disciplines on the basis of quality (Ongoing).

Ensure internationally competitive support for ARC researchers by funding the direct costs of research (Ongoing).

Provide longer-term grants to the best and most creative researchers (Ongoing).

Maintain a flexible portfolio of schemes under the Discovery element of the National Competitive Grants Program (Ongoing).

Maintain funding support across a broad range of research fields (Ongoing).

Maintain a scheme for early career researchers (Ongoing).

Establish new centres and networks in areas of national research priority—the new centres and networks to feature multidisciplinary approaches to research, and accommodate early-career researchers (Ongoing).

Outcome

Knowledge is advanced leading to new discoveries and innovations.

Objective 2: Linkage

Description

The focus of the linkage research supported by the ARC is promoting research partnerships with business and industry and other publicly funded research agencies, and connecting Australian researchers with the world’s leading-edge knowledge, expertise and techniques in overseas businesses and research centres.

By supporting the development of partnerships, the ARC encourages the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research. Effective linkages with industry and end-users facilitate the translation of research outcomes into practice so that the Australian community can benefit from the Government’s investment in research and research training.

Linkage schemes

ARC Research Centres

ARC Research Networks

Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects

Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities

Linkage International comprising:

  • awards
  • fellowships

Linkage Projects comprising:

  • project grants
  • postgraduate awards
  • fellowships

Special Research Initiatives

Objective

Encourage and extend cooperative approaches to research and improve utilisation of research outcomes by strengthening links within Australia’s innovation system and with innovation systems internationally.

Key investment strategies

S.4 Develop research funding schemes that support linkage throughout the national innovation system and are responsive to the needs of business, industry, government and the wider community.

S.5 Promote collaborative approaches to research that encourage the development of research networks, leverage additional funding for research and provide opportunities to link into global innovation networks.

Actions

Maintain a flexible portfolio of funding schemes under the Linkage element of the National Competitive Grants Program (Ongoing).

Shorten the period of the grant application processing cycle and conduct multiple grant rounds each year (Ongoing).

Encourage the mobility of research personnel between public and private sector organisations through the provision of fellowships and postgraduate awards (Ongoing).

In collaboration with business, industry, government and community partners, foster innovation transfer and commercialisation of research by:

i) encouraging researchers across the national innovation system to explore opportunities to work collaboratively (Ongoing); and

ii) building and sustaining collaborative activities with industry and end-users including, for example, industry bodies such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia (Ongoing).           

 

Foster opportunities for research collaboration and strengthen research networks (both nationally and internationally), particularly in national research priority areas and in e-research (Ongoing).

Encourage development of strong research partnerships through establishment of ARC Centres of Excellence and ARC Research Networks (Ongoing).

Contribute to the joint funding of centres of excellence in information and communications technology, biotechnology and plant functional genomics (Ongoing).

Form strategic alliances with targeted research agencies internationally and participate in international research consortiums (Ongoing).

Pursue opportunities for Australian researchers to link into global innovation networks and enter international markets (Ongoing).

Facilitate the conduct of workshops to assist researchers to build networks across different research disciplines in areas of national priority (Ongoing).

Outcome

Fully capture the economic, social and cultural benefits of research at the regional, national and international levels.

Objective 3: Research training and careers

Description

The excellence and international competitiveness of Australian research and the supply of highly innovative employees to private and public organisations are dependent on fostering research training and career opportunities for our brightest and best researchers. To achieve this, the ARC supports postgraduate research students, the career development of researchers and high-profile internationally renowned researchers by assisting them to come to, return to, or remain in, Australia.

Research training and careers schemes

Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development

  • Research Cadetships

Discovery Projects

  • Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships
  • Australian Professorial Fellowships
  • Australian Research Fellowships
  • Queen Elizabeth II Fellowships

Federation Fellowships

Linkage International

Linkage Projects

  • Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships Industry
  • Australian Postgraduate Awards Industry
  • Linkage Industry Fellowships

Objective

Contribute to high-quality research training and foster career opportunities for Australia’s best and brightest researchers.

Key investment strategies

S.6 Integrate research training and research under the National Competitive Grants Program.

 

S.7 Enhance research training opportunities through national and international collaboration.

S.8 Align ARC-funded research training to the needs of end users.

S.9 Ensure a balance of opportunities across the ARC’s fellowships portfolio for early- to mid-career and senior researchers.

Actions

Monitor the quality of research training environments (Ongoing).

Monitor the quality of

ARC-funded research training against international best practice (Ongoing).

Benchmark remuneration and support under ARC postgraduate and fellowship awards to develop, attract and retain researchers of international standing (Ongoing).

Explore options for establishing an outstanding young investigator fellowships program to attract, retain and nurture the next generation of research leaders (Ongoing).

Foster research careers for Indigenous Australians through funding provided through the NCGP (Ongoing).

Encourage Australian postgraduate research students and postdoctoral researchers to participate in collaborative research with industry, CSIRO, and other government research institutes (Ongoing).

Maintain collaborative initiatives with overseas research agencies to generate new opportunities for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to link into leading-edge international research networks at an early stage in their careers (Ongoing).           

Consult with stakeholders to identify research training requirements and to ensure that ARC funding schemes are responsive to needs (Ongoing).

Monitor the employment destinations and career pathways of research graduates (Ongoing).

Monitor the extent and nature of postdoctoral research training opportunities in Australia (Ongoing).

Monitor support for early- to mid-career and senior research fellowships under the National Competitive Grants Program and within the national innovation system, in particular:

i)    the balance between the numbers of fellowships provided at various levels;

ii)   the concordance of career structures with fellowship programs offered by the NHMRC; and

iii)  the total number of fellowships offered (Ongoing).

Ensure that opportunities for early-career investigators are emphasised in both the Discovery and Linkage elements of the NCGP (including in ARC Centres of Excellence and ARC Research Networks) (Ongoing).

Outcome

Highly trained personnel and rewarding research career opportunities in the public and private sectors enabling Australia’s research and innovation system to operate at a competitive level globally, leading to increased national benefit.

Objective 4: Research infrastructure

Description

Access to world-class facilities and equipment for Australian researchers is critical to the achievement of nationally and internationally competitive research outcomes.

To achieve this, the ARC aims to ensure that leading-edge infrastructure supports research excellence. Facilities are often most appropriately supported through collaboration involving consortia of research organisations, including with overseas partners in the case of international facilities.

Research infrastructure scheme

Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities

Objective

Facilitate access for Australian researchers to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment and provide incentives for the cooperative development of research infrastructure.

Key investment strategies

S.10 Develop and maintain funding schemes that extend access to research infrastructure throughout the national innovation system and within innovation systems overseas, and that are responsive to the needs of business, industry, government and the wider community.

 

S.11 Ensure the provision of infrastructure at funding levels and through funding mechanisms appropriate to supporting internationally competitive research. Encourage developments that enhance opportunities to extend national and international networks and break down barriers of distance.

S.12 Promote collaborative approaches to investment in research infrastructure that encourage the development of networks, leverage additional funding and provide opportunities to link into global innovation networks.

Actions

Contribute to a whole-of-government approach to investing in access to strategic research infrastructure, nationally and internationally (Ongoing).

Foster access to major national and international facilities (Ongoing).

Monitor and report on the level of access to research infrastructure, the quality of equipment and facilities and the extent of collaborative links (Ongoing).           

 

Develop and maintain funding schemes that provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to support research excellence (Ongoing).

Ensure Australia is a participant in the next generation of international e-Research developments, such as grid computing (Ongoing).

Encourage the uptake of
e-Research through a pilot scheme (2005).

Encourage the shared development and use of research infrastructure and major facilities in Australia and overseas (Ongoing).

Encourage the development of a comprehensive inventory of research infrastructure at the national level (Ongoing).

In partnership with Commonwealth and State government bodies and research organisations, facilitate the development of a national strategy for research infrastructure (Ongoing).

Outcome

The quality and profile of Australian research is enhanced and its links to major centres of international research excellence are extended.

Objective 5: Research priorities

Description

Identification of priorities on the basis of excellence and national benefit helps ensure that positive outcomes from research are delivered to the community.

The Government has identified four national research priority areas, which focus the national research effort on key challenges for Australia today and into the future. They build on existing strengths while seeking new opportunities in emerging areas.

Priority areas

ARC research priorities

Co-funded Centres of Excellence in Biotechnology and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

Early career researchers

National research priorities

Research training in ICT

Research in regional and rural issues

Objective

Encourage excellent research and research training across the broad range of national research priorities and ARC structural priorities.

Key investment strategies

S.13 Align ARC research funding schemes with its role within the national innovation system.

S.14 Implement national priorities for research and research training.

S.15 Identify technologies that are critical to national development, problems of regional or national significance and broad national goals that will influence funding between discipline areas or allocations to specific issues.  

S.16 On the basis of assessment of Australia’s research strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, maintain a balanced set of priorities for allocating funds for research and research training under the National Competitive Grants Program.

Actions

Maintain ARC funding schemes under two programs–Discovery and Linkage (Ongoing).

Establish and nurture new ARC centres of excellence in national priority areas (Ongoing).

Commission an external review of ARC structural priorities every five years (2006).

 

 

 

 

Ensure ARC funding schemes are responsive to national priorities and monitor the impact of this initiative (Ongoing).

Pursue opportunities to collaborate with other agencies to establish joint initiatives for funding research and research training, particularly in national research priority areas (Ongoing).

Maintain ARC research networks and centres in national priority areas (Ongoing).           

Establish alliances with other research funding agencies to invest in the development of technologies critical to national development (Ongoing).

Pursue opportunities to link ARC-funded research to end-user needs to foster technology transfer (Ongoing).

Review Australia’s international research performance and develop ‘roadmaps’ in each discipline cluster, to identify strengths, weaknesses and emerging opportunities (Ongoing).           

 

Assess the impact of research funded under ARC schemes, as a basis for monitoring areas of strength and weakness and for identifying opportunities (Ongoing).

Maintain early career researchers, multi-disciplinary and innovative approaches to research, rural and regional research, IT training and a balance between discovery and linkage research as ARC structural priorities (Ongoing).

Monitor developments in priority setting in Australia against developments overseas (Ongoing).

Outcome

Capitalise on excellence and utility, leading to greater competitiveness and enhanced benefit to the community.

Objective 6: Public engagement

Description

The ARC's communications strategy will develop and improve public understanding and appreciation of the contribution that research makes to the economic, social and cultural benefit of the community.

It will also promote the relevance and value of research as a career; the framework of ethical standards governing research in Australia to meet community standards and encourage the protection and exploitation of intellectual property; and the commercialisation of research outcomes for the national benefit.

Objective

Increase awareness, understanding and support among stakeholders and the community, of the outcomes and benefits of Australian research.

Key investment strategies

S.17 Develop and maintain a communications strategy to demonstrate the benefits of research and research training to stakeholders and the community.

S.18 Collaborate with key stakeholders to promote outreach programs and support research-related activities.

Actions

Maintain a communications plan that identifies target audience groups, tailors key messages to each, and sets out communications strategies appropriate to those messages (Ongoing).

Maintain a website linked to major research organisations and activities and encourage ARC-funded researchers to recognise the ARC and the Australian Government on their websites (Ongoing).

Maintain an informative newsletter for wide circulation (Ongoing).

Prepare reports, including the ARC’s Annual Report, on research outcomes and the return on investment in research in Australia (Ongoing).

Maintain a program of ARC visits to higher education institutions, incorporating Board meetings and consultations with state government representatives and business (Ongoing).

Conduct briefings for members of Parliament, industry bodies and community groups on research outcomes and the role of the ARC (Ongoing).

Inform the media of outcomes from ARC-funded research (Ongoing).          

 

Strongly encourage ARC-funded researchers to communicate the benefits of their research to a wide audience, including schools (Ongoing).

Convene forums with stakeholders (including universities, business and the community) to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information about research matters (Ongoing).

Participate in outreach programs such as major national and international exhibitions, the Australian Science Festival and appropriate Questacon activities (Ongoing).

Participate in international collaborative activities with other research funding agencies (Ongoing).

Promote awareness of the framework of ethical standards within which research is conducted in Australia (Ongoing).

Promote awareness amongst researchers, host institutions and business of the National Principles of IP Management for Publicly Funded Research (Ongoing).

Outcome

Increased public support for the investment in research, better informed debate and decision making, improved understanding of IP issues and enhanced capacity within the community to manage change.

Objective 7: Effective organisation

Description

The accountability and transparency of the ARC’s operations and its overall effectiveness are assured through appropriate governance, management and organisational structures and processes.

This three-year Strategic Plan, an annual budget for the approval of the Minister and an annual report, tabled in Parliament by the Minister, comprise the basic accountability framework. International benchmarking studies of Australia’s research performance and an assessment of the national return on investment in research are also important accountability mechanisms for the ARC. 

Objective

Implement a governance and organisation structure, together with management processes, to enable the ARC to achieve its objectives within a framework of transparency and accountability.

Key investment strategies

S.19 Conduct the ARC’s governance, organisational structure and management processes in accordance with legislative requirements.     

S.20 Demonstrate, through the Government, accountability to the Australian community.

S.21 Develop and streamline the ARC’s business processes.

S.22 Maintain and enhance strategic relationships.

Actions

The ARC Board to focus on strategic planning; policy development; performance; and accountability (Ongoing).

Manage continuous change with effective internal communication and staff development processes (Ongoing).

Make high-quality appointments to the College of Experts and readership base (Ongoing).

Pursue best practice as an employer and as an agency of the Australian Government (Ongoing).

Monitor and report on results in accordance with requirements of the ARC Act (Ongoing).

 

 

 

Provide the Minister with a rolling, triennial strategic plan; an annual budget; and an annual report (Ongoing).

Produce reports of Australia’s research performance against international benchmarks and developments (Ongoing).

Collect, analyse and publish information on the full direct and indirect costs of ARC-funded research (Ongoing).

Maintain a regular planning and review cycle that focuses on outputs and outcomes (Ongoing).

Conduct an annual review of the Board’s activities (Ongoing).

Identify economic, social and cultural benefits of investment in research, with a focus on ARC funding programs (Ongoing).

 

Monitor, identify and institute efficiencies into ARC grant allocation processes (Ongoing).

Achieve a learning organisation by developing knowledge management processes across the ARC (Ongoing).

Maintain an ARC IT business plan to continually improve application and grant processing; management of the financial and personnel processes; and information for performance evaluation, monitoring and reporting (Ongoing).

Internationally benchmark and monitor ARC program management costs (Ongoing).

Monitor the rate of success of appeals against the decisions of the College of Experts (Ongoing).     

Engage stakeholders in the ARC’s business through:

i)    consultation on strategic issues; and

ii)   participation on ARC committees and working parties (Ongoing).

Strengthen and maintain working relationships with the Department of Education, Science and Training and other agencies with responsibilities relevant to research (Ongoing).

Contribute to and influence key developments in national research policy and relevant higher education policy issues (Ongoing).

Prepare an international strategy to underpin the ARC’s activities in this area (2005).

Outcome

Effective and efficient use of resources, leading to improved research outcomes, increased support and greater investment.

Performance framework

Measuring performance

The ARC has identified ten key performance indicators to help it track its progress in supporting its mission.

There are two different types of indicator:

i) those which measure the outputs and outcomes of research funded through the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP), and

ii) those which measure the performance of the ARC in administering the National Competitive Grants Program and carrying out its other roles and functions.

In relation to the program indicators, it is important to note that the full impact of the Australian Government’s investment in research and research training through the ARC can be assessed only over the long term. This assessment must take into account the crucial role ARC research activities and training programs play in underpinning support of more applied innovation activities in both the private and public sectors.

Reporting on performance

Under the Australian Research Council Act 2001, the ARC must report against the key performance indicators identified in its strategic plan in its annual report.

Key performance indicators

KPI.1 Research funded through the National Competitive Grants Program produces high quality outputs and outcomes in public and private enterprises [Key areas: Discovery, Linkage, Research training and careers, Research infrastructure, Priority areas]

KPI.2 Development, attraction and retention of high-quality researchers across disciplines, able to pursue careers within universities, industry, government and other sectors of the economy [Key areas: Discovery, Linkage, Research training and careers, Priority areas]

KPI.3 A high incidence of collaboration between ARC-funded researchers and those within other sectors of the national and international innovation system including innovative companies [Key areas: Discovery, Linkage, Research training and careers, Research infrastructure, Priority areas]

KPI.4 Increase in the scale of research activities supported through the National Competitive Grants Program [Key areas: Discovery, Linkage, Research training and careers, Research infrastructure, Priority areas]

KPI.5 Contribution of ARC-funded research to the development of research strengths and applications in areas of national need [Key areas: Discovery, Linkage, Research training and careers, Research infrastructure, Priority areas]

KPI.6 Appropriate level of access for Australian researchers (including those in higher education institutions, government research organisations and industry) to high-quality facilities and equipment (including major research facilities located overseas) [Key area: Research infrastructure]

KPI.7 Transfer of knowledge to users as shown by trends in knowledge transfer, utilisation and intellectual property measures [Key areas: Discovery, Linkage, Research training and careers, Research infrastructure, Priority areas]

KPI.8    Enhanced stakeholder awareness of and satisfaction with the outcomes of ARC-funded research [Key area: Public engagement]

KPI.9 Stakeholder satisfaction with the flexibility and responsiveness of the National Competitive Grants Program and with ARC processes for administering grants and applications [Key area: Effective organisation]

KPI.10 Ministerial and Parliamentary satisfaction with the performance of the ARC against its accountability and governance requirements [Key area: Effective organisation]

Annex 1

Program and operating budgets

ARC Programs: 2002 to 2006–07

(2004–05 price level at March 2004)

CY Actual
2002
($m)

CY Actual
2003
($m)

Jan-Jun
Actual
2004a
($m)

FY
2004–05
($m)

FY
2005–06
($m)

FY
2006–07
($m)

DISCOVERY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discovery Projects

143.683

186.706

102.963

233.333

262.966

266.386

Federation Fellowships

7.254

14.253

7.317

27.392

35.938

41.170

Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development

0.225

0.236

0.123

0.318

0.400

0.400

Sub-total Discovery

151.162

201.194

110.403

261.043

299.304

307.956

LINKAGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linkage Projects

63.767

71.439

38.954

99.751

110.427

118.693

Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities

32.985

20.291

21.509

30.794

25.794

25.794

Linkage International

2.610

3.373

1.504

3.580

3.388

2.855

Research Centresb

21.290

55.799

33.368

81.103

106.353

89.415

Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects

0.462

0.463

0.231

0.472

0.472

0.472

Special Research Initiatives

0.092

2.599

0.060

4.275

0.275

0.275

Linkage Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships CSIRO

0.000

0.659

0.347

0.358

0.358

0.358

ANZCCARTc

0.030

0.027

0.000

0.030

0.030

0.030

Sub-total Linkage

121.236

154.649

95.973

220.363

247.097

237.891

TOTAL

272.398

355.843

206.376

481.406

546.401

545.847


a   The Higher Education Legislation Amendment Act 2003 changed the ARC’s program funding to a financial year basis. To make the transition from calendar to financial years, the ARC Act treats the period 1 January 2004 to 30 June 2004 as a financial year.

b   Includes Centres of Excellence in Biotechnology and Information and Communications Technology, ARC Centres of Excellence, the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, Special Research Centres and Key Centres of Teaching and Research

c.   Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching

ARC Operations: 2001–02 to 2006–07

              

Actual
2001–02

Actual
2002–03

Actual
2003–04

Budget
estimate
2004–05

Forward
estimate
2005–06

Forward
estimate

2006–07

Operating costs for ARC operations ($m)

9.706

11.177

12.643

12.973

13.037

13.154

Operating costs for the year ended 30 June as a percentage of program costs for that calendar/financial year     

3.6%

3.1%

3.1%

2.7%

2.3%

2.3%

Annex 2

National Competitive Grants Program

Discovery

The Discovery element of the National Competitive Grants Program provides support for Australia’s most outstanding and promising researchers, and the testing of new, innovative ideas and techniques. It offers incentives for researchers to build the scale of their work and develop teams, and supports the growth of networks of research excellence.

The main funding schemes under Discovery are Discovery Projects and Federation Fellowships. Discovery Projects provides both research grants and fellowships – research grants are awarded for one to five years with grant sizes ranging from $20,000 to $500,000 per annum. Federation Fellowships are a prestigious award aimed at attracting and retaining outstanding researchers in Australia.

Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development is a relatively small scheme that supports the development of indigenous researchers’ skills and expertise.

Linkage

The Linkage element of the National Competitive Grants Program supports collaborative research, both national and international, between universities, industry and research institutes to fully capture national benefit. It funds investment in strategic national and international research infrastructure, the establishment of major national centres of research activity and international research collaboration.

The main funding schemes under Linkage are Linkage Projects; Research Centres; Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities; Linkage International; and ARC Research Networks.

Linkage Projects supports collaborative research and research training between universities and partner organisations with the partner organisation required to provide a cash or in-kind contribution to the research project. Linkage Projects provides support for research grants, postgraduate awards, postdoctoral fellowships and industry fellowships.

Research Centres supported by the ARC include co-funded Centres of Excellence, ARC Centres of Excellence, Special Research Centres and Key Centres of Teaching and Research. Research Centres are aimed at building critical mass in areas of research strength.

Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities encourages institutions to develop collaborative arrangements amongst themselves or with organisations outside the sector to develop research infrastructure. The minimum grant size under the scheme is $100,000.

Linkage International supports the movement of researchers between Australian research institutions and international centres of research excellence through provision of awards and fellowships.

ARC Research Networks assists groups of researchers to coordinate and communicate their research activities across organisational, disciplinary, institutional and geographical boundaries.

Other schemes operating under Linkage include:

  • Linkage Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships CSIRO;
     
  • Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects; and
     
  • Special Research Initiatives.

Further information

Further information about the funding schemes of the National Competitive Grants Program can be found on the ARC website at www.arc.gov.au.

Terminology

Action
 Specific and concrete initiative that will be undertaken in pursuit of an objective

Key investment strategy
 Broad statement of how an objective will be achieved

Key performance indicator
 Indicator that will enable us to know whether we have achieved an objective or delivered on a strategy

Objective
 Statement of what we want to achieve

Outcome
 Result of implementing strategies and actions

Feedback

Comments on this strategic plan should be sent to:

Professor Peter Høj
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Research Council
GPO Box 2702
Canberra ACT 2601

Other publications

This strategic plan should be read in conjunction with the ARC Implementation Plan for National Research Priorities which sets out the full range of initiatives that the ARC is pursuing in its implementation of national research priorities.

ARC Contact

GPO Box 2702
Canberra ACT 2601
Geoscience Australia Building
Cnr Jerrabomberra Avenue and Hindmarsh Drive Symonston ACT 2609
Tel:       (02) 6284 6600
Fax:      (02) 6284 6601
Email:   info@arc.gov.au

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