Chapter 2 the Australian Research Council

Role and functions

The ARC is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity established under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (ARC Act). The Australian Government's expected Outcome for the ARC (as identified in the Portfolio Budget Statements) is 'growth of knowledge and innovation through managing research funding schemes, measuring research excellence and providing advice'.

The ARC is responsible for:

• funding excellent research and research training
• evaluating the quality of research
• providing policy advice on research matters.

Funding excellent research and research training

The ARC supports excellent research and research training, across all disciplines, through the National Competitive Grants Programme (NCGP). The NCGP, which has two streams—Discovery and Linkage, provides funding for basic and applied research, research training, research collaboration and infrastructure. The excellence of research proposals is determined by competitive peer review processes involving national and international assessors. Further information about the Discovery and Linkage programmes is provided in Part 5, Appendices 2 and 3 respectively.

Evaluating the quality of research

The ARC evaluates the quality of research in Australia through Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). ERA is an evaluation framework which identifies research excellence in eligible Australian higher education institutions by comparing Australia's research effort against international benchmarks. ERA assesses research quality using a combination of indicators and expert review by experienced, internationally recognised experts.

Providing policy advice on research matters

The ARC provides policy advice on research matters to the Australian Government, including how research funding schemes can be targeted to produce maximum benefits for the Australian research community and to society and the economy more broadly; and how ERA results can be used to inform policy and programmes. In providing advice, the ARC emphasises the role of university research in the broader research and interconnected spheres of social, health, economic, commercial and environmental benefits that will be delivered to the wider community.

Stakeholders

In delivering its programmes, the ARC engages with a diverse group of key stakeholders with differing expectations and interests.

• The ARC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is supported in his responsibilities by a number of committees involving external members including the ARC Advisory Council, the ARC College of Experts, the ARC Audit Committee and the ERA Research Evaluation Committees (as required).
• The ARC is located within the Education and Training portfolio of the Australian Government and is responsible to the Minister for Education and Training. The ARC provides an annual report on its performance to the Australian Parliament.
• The Australian Government defines the policy framework within which the ARC works in pursuing its programme and policy responsibilities. The ARC works closely with the Department of Education and Training, which is responsible for research policy, as well as other departments and agencies such as the Department of Industry and Science, which is responsible for industry and science policy, and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
• Through the NCGP, the ARC awards funding to eligible organisations which are mainly Australian universities. Researchers located within these organisations are eligible to be Chief Investigators on ARC grants.
• The Linkage programme of the NCGP encourages university researchers to partner with researchers from other organisations in the conduct of end-user focused research. Partner organisations include industry, government (international, Australian, state and local), not-for-profit organisations and international organisations.
• Funding under all schemes is awarded on the basis of a competitive peer review process conducted by Australian and international assessors.
• Through ERA, the ARC evaluates the quality of research activity undertaken at all eligible higher education institutions. In developing and implementing ERA, the ARC liaises closely with these institutions.
• The ARC engages with both Australian and international peak bodies (e.g. Learned Academies, university peak bodies) as well as international research agencies, including the peak body for this group, the Global Research Council.
• The ARC also plays a role in advocating the benefits of research to the media and the Australian community at large.

Organisational structure

The structure of the ARC at 30 June 2015 is illustrated in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: Structure of the Australian Research Council (at 30 June 2015)

Executive staff

The ARC's executive staff at 30 June 2015 are pictured below.

Performance reporting

Overview

The ARC is required to provide a report against:

• the Outcome and Programmes structure outlined in the Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS)
• the performance indicators set out in the corporate plan (previously strategic plan).

These requirements are set out in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Australian Research Council Act 2001.

ARC Outcome and Programmes structure

The ARC's 2014–15 Outcome and Programmes structure comprised one Outcome and three Programmes: Discovery, Linkage and ERA (see Figure 2.2). Each Programme comprises Objectives, Deliverables and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

ARC strategic plan

The ARC Strategic Plan 2014–15 to 2016–17 identified three Programmes and four Enabling Functions. To facilitate consistent reporting, the three Programmes and their performance indicators are aligned with the Programmes and KPIs in the PBS. The strategic plan identified additional KPIs for each of the Enabling Functions.

Figure 2.2: ARC Outcome and Programmes, 2014–15