Implications of ERA 2010

The Australian Research Council (ARC) have now released the ERA 2010 Submission Guidelines for the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative. Section 1.5 on page 7 of the Guidelines suggest that there will be a number of implications of the ERA outcomes, these include:

1. Reputational Exposure - universities may be ranked at the 2-digit and 4-digit field of research.
2. Funding Implications - the ERA will inform the performance component of the Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) program.
3. HDR Student Supervision - the ERA may inform Research Block Grant allocations which could include the Research Training Scheme (RTS) which may have an implication for the funding of HDR students.

See below for an excerpt from the 2010 ERA Submission Guidelines:

"1.5. Use of Information from ERA

The ARC will publicly release outcomes of the evaluations for all disciplines at the four- and two-digit level. This information will be published at an institutional and a national level. The ARC will also make available to individual institutions further information on the evaluations of their own disciplines.

ERA will inform the performance component of the Sustainable Research Excellence in Universities Program. The eligibility of institutions for funding from the Sustainable Research Excellence in Universities Program will be contingent on their participation in ERA.

The Government will determine how the allocation of other Research Block Grants may be linked to ERA results in consultation with the higher education sector." - page 7

A copy of the Guidelines can be downloaded at the ARC's website: http://www.arc.gov.au/era/key_docs10.htm

More information on Research Block Grant programs can be found at the DIISR website: http://www.innovation.gov.au/Section/Research/Pages/ResearchBlockGrants.aspx