System to Evaluate the Excellence of Research (SEER)
Instructions for the submission of the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC)
The following instructions are to be read in conjunction with the 2022 HERDC Specifications.
Overview
The Australian Research Council (ARC) will be collecting research income data on behalf of the Department of Education (the department) which will continue to be known as the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC). Research income data will be collected from 2023.
The following instructions apply to the submission of the HERDC, the Vice-Chancellor’s Certification Statement and the Audit Report.
Roles
University staff have two roles for this process with the following responsibilities:
Enter the eligible research income for each sub-category of Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 in accordance with the HERDC specifications and any supplementary advice issued by the department.
HERDC Certifier
Certify the data for submission to the department is in accordance with the HERDC specifications and any supplementary advice issued by the department. A HERDC Certifier is the Vice Chancellor or equivalent position.
These roles must be assigned to approved university staff who hold the appropriate position.
Workflow
A simplified overview of the process to complete and submit the form in SEER:
- Research Office HERDC staff completes the form and submits for certification
- HERDC Certifier reviews form and either selects ‘de-submit’ to return the form to the Research Office HERDC staff for changes or selects ‘certify’ to complete the approval process. The form is locked once it is certified.
- Once certified, Research Office HERDC staff ‘submits to the ARC’.
- The form and PDF is available to view by either role in ‘Collection Reports’.
A detailed user guide for each role is available here.
Image version for Universities HERDC_DataSubmission
Changes to a submitted form
Once a form has been certified, it cannot be changed. However, if you have identified an error in the form, you can request to edit your submission before the due date of 30 June 2023 by emailing RBGrants@education.gov.au.
For incorrect submissions
If for any reason a University’s initial HERDC return was submitted in error, please send email to RBGrants@education.gov.au.
Spreadsheet version of the SEER online platform for HERDC
A spreadsheet version of the form is also available on the HERDC webpage to assist universities with the initial preparation of HERDC data.