The ARC’s performance measurement framework is consistent with the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and the Enhanced Commonwealth Performance Framework.
The ARC’s framework ensures there is a clear line of sight between the performance criteria published in the ARC’s Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) and the performance information presented in the associated Corporate Plan and Annual Performance Statement (in the annual report).
Together, these three documents provide the ARC’s complete performance story. In addition to the ARC’s published performance information, the ARC’s performance measurement framework is supported by internal planning, monitoring and reporting processes.
Portfolio Budget Statements
The ARC had one Outcome and four Programs in its 2016–17 PBS (Figure 2). The ARC reviewed its Outcome and Programs during 2016–17 and decided no changes were required.
| Outcome 1 | Growth of knowledge and innovation through managing research funding schemes, research excellence and providing policy advice | |
|---|---|---|
| PROGRAM 1.1 | PROGRAM 1.2 | PROGRAM 1.3 |
| Discovery—research and research training Administered expenses $482,502,000 | Linkage—cross-sector research partnerships Administered expenses $264,428,000 | Excellence in Research for Australia Administered expenses $4,348,000 |
| program 1.4 | ||
| ARC Departmental Departmental expenses $26,424,000 | ||
Corporate plan
The ARC had one purpose in the ARC Corporate Plan 2016–17 to 2019–20:
To grow Australia’s knowledge and innovation by administering research funding schemes, administering research evaluation frameworks and providing advice on research matters.
The ARC reviewed its purpose during 2016–17 and revised it to include the addition of the EI assessment to the ARC’s responsibilities:
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.
Annual Performance Statement
The Annual Performance Statement in Section 3.1 shows the ARC’s achievements against its revised purpose from the Corporate Plan, and Outcome and Programs from the PBS.
Mapping between elements
A mapping between the elements of the ARC PBS, Corporate Plan and Annual Performance Statement is provided in Figure 3.
| Document | Element | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PORTFOLIO BUDGET STATEMENTS | OUTCOME | Outcome 1: Growth of knowledge and innovation through managing research funding schemes, measuring research excellence and providing policy advice |
||
| PROGRAMS | Program 1.1: Discovery |
Program 1.2: Linkage |
Program 1.3: ERA |
|
| Program 1.4: ARC Departmental |
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| CORPORATE PLAN | PURPOSE | Purpose: 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 |
||
| Key Activity 1: National Competitive Grants Program (comprising Discovery and Linkage Programs) |
Key Activity 2: ERA |
|||
| Key Activity 3: Policy Advice |
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| ANNUAL PERFORMANCE STATEMENT | ACTIVITIES | Key Activity 1: National Competitive Grants Program (comprising Discovery and Linkage Programs) (pages 23-36) |
Key Activity 2: ERA (pages 37-41) |
|
| Key Activity 3: Policy advice (pages 42-47) |
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