8 The role of the Australian Research Council

8.1 In most countries the role of government in supporting and developing the research system is advanced through independent agencies which provide expert advice on policy and the allocation of government funds for research. In Australia, within the context of a pluralistic R&D system, the Australian Research Council is one such agency performing this function.

8.2 The Australian Research Council was established in 1988 under the Employment, Education and Training Act. The functions of the Australian Research Council are to make recommendations to the Minister regarding the allocation of resources to research schemes referred to the Council and to provide policy advice to the National Board of Employment, Education and Training. The Government has indicated its intention during 1999 to amend the Employment, Education and Training Act to abolish the National Board of Employment, Education and Training and four of the Councils which are also established under this Act.

8.3 The abolition of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training provides an opportunity for the Government to redefine the role of the Australian Research Council and its structure and to reaffirm its importance as an independent research funding and advisory body. The Government proposes that the Australian Research Council should be established under a new Australian Research Council act. Funding for schemes referred to the Australian Research Council under the Higher Education Funding Act 1988 should be appropriated to the Australian Research Council under the new act.

8.4 Key elements of the new Australian Research Council will be:

• an enhanced role in the provision of strategic advice to Government regarding research in the university sector and more broadly;

• increased responsibility for the management of research funding programmes;

• a reformed governance and organisational structure reflecting the need to link university research with the innovation system; and

• an accountability framework emphasising transparency and performance.

Strategic advisory role

8.5 The Australian Research Council is a valuable source of national expertise and independent advice to the Government on research policy and the allocation of funding to support research. However, in addition to its core

responsibility to develop and maintain a broad foundation of high quality, internationally competitive research across a range of disciplines, the Australian Research Council could play a broader and more strategic role in maximising the contribution of higher education research to the national innovation system, through the following additional functions:

• helping to form and maintain effective linkages between the research sector and the business community, government organisations and the international community;

• developing and improving public understanding and appreciation of the contribution that research makes to the community; and

• reporting on the comparative performance of Australia with other research-active countries and assessments of the national return on investment in research.

8.6 To enable it to fulfil this clearer role, the membership of the Council needs to be broadened to ensure that it reflects a diversity of knowledge producers and users in universities, industry, public agencies and the community. Council members should have relevant experience to foster excellence in research in the higher education system and its connections to the economy and society. They should be able to advise on ways in which the benefits of research can be made more readily apparent and available to the wider community.

Programme management role

8.7 A key feature of the Australian Research Council's programme management is its reliance on a system of peer review to ensure quality and international validity of the research funded, and fairness in grant distribution. A clear strength is the strong commitment and heavy involvement of the research community through representation on the Council and various committees that do much of the work in overseeing the Australian Research Council's peer review process and assessing and making decisions on funding applications. However, the members of the committees and panels are normally full-time employees of universities and this additional workload and the rising costs associated with it has become harder to sustain.

8.8 The administration of the Australian Research Council's referred programmes is currently undertaken within the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. This arrangement does not permit a close alignment between the Council's strategic advisory and programme management functions. The Government proposes that the new Council will take on those programme administration tasks now performed by the Department. This will ensure that programme management and advice on policy will be well informed by knowledge of the operation of research within the sector.

8.9 In taking on the programme administration role, the Australian Research Council will be expected to adopt the continuous improvement framework for grants processing and programme administration which has been pursued by the Department in recent years, and achieve further efficiency gains in the future.

A reformed governance and organisational structure for the Australian Research Council

8.10 Changes are needed to the governance structures and organisational arrangements of the Australian Research Council to ensure that the Council can fulfil its responsibilities most efficiently and effectively. The new structure will seek to better align the strategic direction-setting and decision-making role of the Council with supporting programme management and administrative arrangements. The Australian Research Council will be more effective if it operates in a manner similar to that of a corporate board, receiving advice from its chief executive officer and senior managers.

8.11 Key features of the new structural arrangements for the Australian Research Council will be:⁴⁸

• a prominent member of the community as part-time chair;

• a full-time chief executive officer, to be filled by a person with a distinguished record in research and research management;

• a broader base of council membership to reflect the breadth of the national innovation system, including increased representation by the users of research;

• several positions of programme manager as described below; and

• transfer of responsibility for programme administration from the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs to the Australian Research Council.

8.12 Programme managers would be visiting researchers with experience in research management, appointed for up to three years and with responsibility for:

• overseeing the conduct of the peer review process;

• integrating the views of external reviewers with the views of the advisory committee;

• liaising and communicating with the research community and users of research;

• identifying emerging disciplinary and cross-disciplinary developments and innovative approaches to research; and

• conducting forums and reviews of the state of Australian research in an international context.

Transparency and accountability mechanisms

8.13 Enhanced strategic and management responsibilities for the Australian Research Council require an enhanced and transparent planning and accountability framework. Accountability of the Council to Government, through the Minister, is paramount.

8.14 The Government proposes that the Council will bring forward each year, for Ministerial approval, a three-year rolling plan that outlines the objectives to be achieved over the triennium, making budget commitments more explicit and secure. Within the context of this plan, the Council will continue to make recommendations to the Minister on the allocation of funding across and within the Australian Research Council's schemes.

8.15 The Government proposes that in addition to its annual report, which will be tabled in Parliament, the Australian Research Council will also publish regular reports on the comparative performance of Australia with other research-active countries, emerging developments in fields (and across fields) of research and innovative approaches to research, and assessments of the national return on investment in research. The Australian Research Council will also develop and implement a communications strategy to increase community awareness of the importance of research and the benefits derived from it.

8.16 The Australian Research Council and the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs will regularly evaluate and review programme parameters to ensure they reflect the most cost-effective way of using resources and research capability in the national interest. In programme management it will apply new technology and will adjust programmes from time to time to meet new and emerging needs.

8.17 The Government expects that a reformed and restructured Australian Research Council will serve as a peak forum for a diverse range of interested parties, make policy and funding recommendations to the Minister and ensure that accountabilities and external links are being well served. In framing its advice, the Council will have regard to guidance provided by the Minister on the Government's overall economic, social and cultural objectives.

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