Excellence in research
ANU will aim for the vast majority of academic staff to be highly research-active, producing scholarly outputs recognised internationally.
ANU is a research-intensive, research-led university. Research is central to everything ANU does. That research culture shapes our other core objectives of education provision and being a national and international policy resource. We cannot achieve excellence in these other fields without excellence in research.
- ANU will aim for the vast majority of academic staff to be highly research-active, producing scholarly outputs recognised internationally. This aim will differentiate ANU as a university with a clear concentration of research excellence. For staff who have a predominantly teaching role, the definition of "highly research-active" will include scholarly activity in pedagogy.
- Consistent with this aim, ANU will build research groupings which undertake research of distinction and international impact. This research concentration and focus will mean that more than 90 per cent of academic staff will be in areas which rate 4 or 5 - that is, above the world average - in the Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) assessment.
Within a modern research university, the ability to win research funding from external sources is an essential element of the conduct of quality research. ANU will further develop a culture which supports and encourages staff to win external research funding as an essential element of their activities and thus leverage the investment made in world-class staff.
- An expected element of the role as a highly research-active member of academic staff will be the winning of research funding from external sources, including national competitive grants and contract research with industry and other bodies.
The research excellence defined by these measures will be self reinforcing. Outstanding staff will win a high percentage of prestigious research funding which supports research communicated in the highest quality publications. The concentration of excellence will attract and retain further outstanding staff, thus continuing to build excellence.
ANU has a strong record in research training through our research higher degree programs. It is essential to Australia's future that we continue to grow the size and standard of research training as a core part of the ANU research tradition. ANU will also continue to increase opportunities for prospective research students from backgrounds not well represented in research higher degrees.
A central element of research in many fields is engagement with industry and other organisations. Such engagement includes the conduct of research sponsored by industry and the commercialisation of intellectual property developed by ANU staff. ANU will continue to ensure that academic research engages with industry and knowledge is transferred by commercial and other means.
Some measures of success
- The vast majority of academic staff at ANU will be highly research-active.
- By 2015, 85 per cent of academic staff will be in four digit field of research code areas (discipline areas) rated ERA 4 or 5. This will rise to 90 per cent by 2020. (compared to 80 per cent in 2010).
- ANU will enhance both the quantity and percentage of publications in the most highly ranked outlets, typical of the publication profile of ERA groups ranked at level 5.
- By 2015, at least 55 per cent of ANU academic staff1 will be an investigator (in any capacity) on at least one current Category 1 research grant. This percentage will rise to 60 per cent by 2020 (compared to approx 52 per cent in 2010).
- By 2015, at least 46 per cent of ANU academic staff1 will be the first named investigator on at least one current Category 1 research grant. This will rise to 50 per cent by 2020 (compared to approx 43 per cent in 2010).
- By 2015, at least 27 per cent of ANU academic staff1 will be first named investigator on at least one current Category 2, 3 or 4 research grant or consultancy. This will rise to 35 per cent by 2020 (compared to approx 23 per cent in 2010).
- ANU will remain the top-ranked Australian university on a per capita basis in the Shanghai Jiaotong and QS rankings.
- By 2015, the number of HDR students supervised per FTE member of academic staff will rise to 1.68, increasing to 1.75 by 2020 (compared to 1.64 in 2010).
1 For these purposes Academic staff at Levels C and above are considered
