Australian Research Council

The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a Commonwealth entity dedicated to funding competitive research grants, assessing research quality, engagement & impact, and providing research advice to the government. Established as an independent body under the Australian Research Council Act 2001, it reports to the Australian Government Minister for Education and Youth. The ARC administers the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP), a significant component of Australia's investment in research and development. It advises the Minister on research matters and assesses the quality, engagement, and impact of university research. The NCGP comprises 13 schemes under the Discovery Program and Linkage Program. Their funding encompasses the highest-quality fundamental and applied research and research training across various disciplines, including the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, humanities, arts, and social sciences. The ARC administers 2 evaluation frameworks to assess research quality, engagement, and impact – Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and Engagement and Impact (EI). ERA provides a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of research produced by Australian universities against international benchmarks, while EI assesses the engagement of researchers with research end-users and demonstrates how universities are translating their research into economic, social, environmental, cultural, and other impacts.