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EXCELLENCE FOR RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA: THE NEW MODEL
27 February 2008

The Australian Academy of Science welcomes the government's announcement of ERA, the Excellence for Research in Australia initiative to replace the Research Quality Framework.

The Academy has consistently argued that block funding schemes should reward research quality, research outcomes (including long-term outcomes) and impact. As is broadly acknowledged, the current formula-driven block funding for university research works against cooperation and specialisation; formula funding is a recipe for homogeneity and wasteful duplication.

The Academy supports an ERA initiative that is transparent, effective, broadly acceptable and encourages positive behaviour, not game-playing.

In addition the ERA should:

• Recognise the value of research partnerships, between disciplines and institutions
• Recognise and support excellence wherever it occurs
• Develop mechanisms that recognise and reward long-term as well as short-term impacts
• Be alert to potential vulnerabilities among early-career researchers and for emerging disciplines
• Articulate clearly the ERA arrangements for institutes, including medical research institutes, that are affiliated with universities
• Contribute significantly to public and scientific awareness of the excellence of the Australian scientific enterprise