Australian Research Council Explained

Agency Name:	Australian Research Council
Type:	council
Jurisdiction:	Australian Government
Headquarters:	Canberra
Employees:	135^[1]
Budget:	(202021)^[2]
Minister1 Name:	Jason Clare
Minister1 Pfo:	Minister for Education^[3]
Chief1 Name:	Judith Zielke
Chief1 Position:	CEO^[4]
Keydocument1:	Australian Research Council Act 2001

The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the Australian Research Council Act 2001, and provides competitive research funding to academics and researchers at Australian universities. Most health and medical research in Australia is funded by the more specialised National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which operates under a separate budget.

ARC does not directly fund researchers, but however allocates funds to individual schemes with specialised scopes, such as Discover (fundamental and empirical research) and Linkage (domestic and international collaborative projects). Most of these schemes fall under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP), whereby institutions must compete amongst each other for funding. ARC also administers the Excellence in Research for Australia framework (ERA), which provides guidelines to evaluate the quality of research. ARC Centres of Excellence, funded for a limited period, are collaborations established among Australian and international universities and other institutions to support research in a variety of fields.

Since 2011, ARC has awarded the annual Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship and the Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship, which are research fellowships for female Australian and international researchers, intended to support innovative research programs and mentor early career researchers.

History and governance

The Australian Research Council superseded the Australian Research Grants Committee, which had been providing funding to Australian universities since 1965. It was formed in 1988 as a response to the Dawkins white paper, 'Higher Education: A policy statement', and was established as an independent body in 2001 under the Australian Research Council Act 2001.

the agency is administered by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, headed by the Minister for Education and Youth.^[5]

The ARC's mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.^[6] It supports research across all disciplines except clinical and other medical and dental research, for which the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is primarily responsible.

Research integrity

ARC updates its own Research Integrity Policy, which includes referral to the Australian Research Integrity Committee (ARIC) where necessary.^[7] The Australian Research Integrity Committee (ARIC) is an independent body, jointly established by the ARC and the NHMRC, to provide a system to review institutional responses to allegations of research misconduct.^{[8] [7]}

Functional areas

National Competitive Grants Program

ARC funds research and researchers under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). Funding opportunities administered by the ARC include the Australian Laureate Fellowship.

The NCGP comprises two main elements—Discovery and Linkage—under which the ARC funds a range of complementary schemes to support researchers at different stages of their careers, build Australia's research capability, expand and enhance research networks and collaborations, and develop centres of research excellence.^[9]

Excellence in Research for Australia

See main article: Excellence in Research for Australia. ARC administers Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA), Australia's national research evaluation framework, which is tasked with identifying and promoting excellence across the full spectrum of research activity in higher education institutions in Australia.^[10]

Linkage program

The ARC runs various funding schemes under the banner of Linkage Programs, which encourage research collaborations between researchers and a range of different types of organisations, including private enterprise, community organisations and other research agencies. The Linkage programs include ARC Centres of Excellence, Linkage Projects, and Special Research Initiatives (SRI), including SRI Centres.^[11] Recent funding rounds have occurred in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2023.^[12]

Centres of excellence

Funded by the ARC for a limited period (often seven years), Centres of Excellence (CoE) are large-scale, multi-institutional collaborations established among Australian and international universities, research organisations, governments and businesses, to support research across a number of fields.

Continuing centres include:

• ARC Centre of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), 2017–
• ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (COEDL), 2014–^{[13] [14]}
• ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (CHE), 2011–
• ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), 2011–
• ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET), 2017–
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S), 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, 2020–^[15]
• ARC Special Research Initiative: Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Research (ACEAS),^[16] 2020–
• ARC Special Research Initiative: Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), 2021–^[17]

Past ARC Centres of Excellence include:^[18]

• The Centre for Cross-Cultural Research (CCR) at the Australian National University, cited as an "ARC Special Research Centre focussing on scholarly and public understandings of cross-cultural relations and histories, particularly but not exclusively in Australia and in the immediate region",^[19] existed from 1997/8^[20] to around 2006/7.^{[21] [22]} Anthropologist Nicholas Thomas was its inaugural director.^[23]
• ARC Centre for Complex Systems (ACCS), 2004–2009^[12]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI), 2005–2013^[12]
• ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), 2011–2018^[12]

Gender equity

Since 2011, the Australian Research Council has awarded two research fellowships for female Australian and international researchers and research leaders to build Australia's research capacity, undertake innovative research programs and mentor early career researchers. The Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship is awarded to a candidate from the humanities, arts and social science disciplines and the Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship is awarded to a candidate from the science and technology disciplines.^[24]

Year	Kathleen Fitzpatrick Fellow	Georgina Sweet Fellow
2011	Pippa Norris^[25]	Mahananda Dasgupta^[26]
2012	Susan O'Connor^[27]	Nalini Joshi^[28]
2013	Glenda Sluga^[29]	Tanya Monro^[30]
2014	Joy Damousi^[31]	Veena Sahajwalla,^[32] Kate Smith-Miles^[33]
2015	Anne Orford^[34]	Leann Tilley
2016	Adrienne Stone,^[35] Sharon Parker^[36]	Branka Vucetic^[37]
2017	Ann McGrath^[38]	Michelle Coote
2018	Marilyn Fleer^[39]	Christine Beveridge^[40]
2019	Lynette Russell^[41]	Belinda Medlyn^[42]
2020	Maureen Dollard^[43]	Catherine Lovelock^[44]
2021	Sundhya Pahuja^[45]	Yun Liu^[46]
2022	Larissa Behrendt^[47]	Joanne Etheridge^[48]

Notes and References

1. APS Employment Data 31 December 2019 release. Australian Public Service Commission . 31 December 2019.
2. Web site: 11 May 2021. Portfolio Budget Statements 2020-21. live. 3 September 2021. Department of Education, Skills and Employment. https://web.archive.org/web/20210817042358/https://www.dese.gov.au/about-us/resources/portfolio-budget-statements-2021-22 . 17 August 2021 .
3. Web site: 25 May 2021. About the Australian Research Council. live. 3 September 2021. Australian Research Council. https://web.archive.org/web/20180913064953/https://www.arc.gov.au/about-arc . 13 September 2018 .
4. Web site: 11 April 2022. CEO. 13 April 2022. Australian Research Council .
5. 8 . 27 February 2020. . Australian Research Council Act 2001 . 16 March 2021.
6. Web site: Australian Research Council Annual Report 2014-15 . Australian Research Council . 3 May 2020.
7. Web site: ARC Research Integrity Policy, Version 2021.1. 1 July 2021. Policy and Strategy Branch, ARC .
8. Web site: Australian Research Integrity Committee (ARIC) . 3 May 2020 .
9. Web site: National Competitive Grants Program . Australian Research Council . 3 May 2020 . 11 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200411084916/https://www.arc.gov.au/grants/national-competitive-grants-program . dead .
10. Web site: Excellence in Research for Australia . 3 May 2020 .
11. Web site: Linkage Program. Australian Research Council.
12. Web site: ARC Centres of Excellence . Australian Research Council . 2023 . 28 December 2023.
13. http://www.dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au/ ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
14. Web site: ARC . 2014 ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. live. 24 August 2021. Australian Research Council. https://web.archive.org/web/20200409044906/https://www.arc.gov.au/grants/linkage-program/arc-centres-excellence/2014-arc-centre-excellence-dynamics-language . 9 April 2020 .
15. Web site: Australian Research Council. 2019-08-14. Selection Report: ARC Centres of Excellence 2020. live. 2021-08-08. www.arc.gov.au. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20200323002336/https://www.arc.gov.au/grants/grant-outcomes/selection-outcome-reports/selection-report-arc-centres-excellence-2020 . 23 March 2020 .
16. Web site: About . ACEAS . 3 March 2022 . 7 February 2024.
17. Web site: About SAEF . SAEF . 7 November 2023 . 7 February 2024.
18. Note: See also template below.
19. Web site: Australian . Cultural Studies Association of Australasia . 15 September 2020.
20. Web site: Annual report (Journal, magazine). WorldCat.org . 15 September 2020.
21. Web site: Trove [search]]. Trove . 15 September 2020.
22. Web site: Australian National University Centre for Cross-Cultural Research . WorldCat.org . 15 September 2020.
23. Web site: Fellows . Australian Academy of the Humanities . 28 January 2020 . 14 September 2020.
24. Web site: Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellows . Australian Research Council . 2 August 2019.
25. News: 10 August 2011. Fellowships shed light on 21st-century democratisation and the history of Australian racial thought. University of Sydney. 1 November 2020. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193941/http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=7481. dead.
26. News: April 2012. ANU Annual Report 2011. Australian National University. 1 November 2020.
27. News: 30 July 2012. ANU tops nation in ARC Laureate Fellowships. Australian National University. 1 November 2020. 13 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201113061605/https://vcdesk.anu.edu.au/2012/07/30/anu-tops-nation-in-arc-laureate-fellowships/. dead.
28. News: Gill. Katynna. 30 July 2012. Three new ARC Australian Laureate Fellows for Faculty of Science. University of Sydney. dead. 1 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160419000942/http://sydney.edu.au/news/science/397.html?newsstoryid=9732. 19 April 2016.
29. News: 10 July 2013. Professor Glenda Sluga won ARC Australian Laureate Fellowships. University of Sydney. dead. 1 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20170621074054/http://sydney.edu.au/arts/research/inventing-the-international/news-events/news.shtml?id=2120. 21 June 2017.
30. News: 9 July 2013. TWO LAUREATE FELLOWSHIPS FOR UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE. University of Adelaide. 1 November 2020.
31. News: 22 August 2014. University of Melbourne researcher awarded prestigious ARC Laureate Fellowship. University of Melbourne. dead. 1 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160702205600/http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/university-melbourne-researcher-awarded-prestigious-arc-laureate-fellowship. 2 July 2016.
32. News: 22 August 2014. Modern-day alchemists win Australian Laureate Fellowships. University of New South Wales. 21 January 2018.
33. News: 22 August 2014. Monash receives two Australian Laureate Fellowships. Monash University. 21 January 2018.
34. News: 24 June 2015. University congratulates new ARC Laureate Fellows. University of Melbourne. dead. 3 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190102020211/http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/university-congratulates-new-arc-laureate-fellows. 2 January 2019.
35. News: 6 May 2016. University congratulates new Laureate fellows and Linkage Project awardees. University of Melbourne. 21 January 2018.
36. News: 6 May 2016. Ground-breaking work design researcher wins ARC Laureate Fellowship. University of Western Australia. 21 January 2018.
37. News: Hollick. Victoria. 6 May 2016. ARC Laureate Fellowship for wireless communications specialist. University of Sydney. 21 January 2018.
38. News: 5 June 2017. ANU wins three Australian Laureate Fellowships. Australian National University. 20 January 2018.
39. Web site: 2 August 2018. Australian laureate fellowships for two Monash researchers. 3 May 2020. Monash University.
40. Web site: 2 August 2018. UQ soars with a record-breaking six laureates. 3 May 2020. University of Queensland.
41. Web site: 12 September 2019. Monash academics awarded Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowships. 2 May 2020. Monash University.
42. Web site: 10 October 2019. Western Sydney University academic wins prestigious Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship. 2 May 2020. Western Sydney University.
43. Web site: 2020 Laureate Profile: Professor Marueen Dollard. 2020-07-09.
44. Web site: 2020 Laureate Profile: Professor Catherine Lovelock. 2020-07-09.
45. Web site: 2021-06-23. 2021 Laureate Profile: Professor Sundhya Pahuja. live. 2021-11-04. Australian Research Council. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210707045626/https://www.arc.gov.au/news-publications/media/funding-announcement-kits/australian-laureate-fellowships-2021/2021-laureate-profile-professor-sundhya-pahuja . 7 July 2021 .
46. Web site: 2021-06-23. 2021 Laureate Profile: Professor Yun Liu. live. 2021-11-04. Australian Research Council. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210707025042/https://www.arc.gov.au/news-publications/media/funding-announcement-kits/australian-laureate-fellowships-2021/2021-laureate-profile-professor-yun-liu . 7 July 2021 .
47. Web site: 2022 Laureate Profile: Professor Larissa Behrendt . 13 September 2022 . Australian Research Council.
48. Web site: 2022 Laureate Profile: Professor Joanne Etheridge . 13 September 2022 . Australian Research Council.