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Research Quality Framework (RQF) was a component of Backing Australia's Ability
Backing Australia's Ability
Backing Australia's Ability was a five year innovation plan launched in January 2001 by Prime Minister John Howard.- Previous policy :* Investing for Growth, December 1997 increased support for business innovation by providing $1.26 billion over the four years from 1998-99, including additional...

, an initiative of the Australian Government to formulate a best practice framework for assessing research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 quality and the impact of research, and ensure that public funding was being invested in research which would deliver real benefits to the wider community. RQF was to bring public funding of research in line with government policy for funding to be determined by outcomes achieved.

It was an assessment framework and a funding model, similar to the Research Assessment Exercise
Research Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...

 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the Performance Based Research Fund
Performance Based Research Fund
The Performance Based Research Fund is a New Zealand tertiary education funding process, assessing the research performance of tertiary education organisations and then funding them on the basis of their performance....

 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

On 21 December 2007, the new Australian Government announced that it would not be proceeding with the RFQ project, which was an initiative of the former Government, and began developing the Excellence in Research for Australia
Excellence in Research for Australia
Excellence in Research for Australia is a research management initiative of the Australian Rudd Government being developed by the Australian Research Council .It replaces the Research Quality Framework that was developed by the Howard Government....

 initiative.

Assessment framework

Focuses on quality and impact.

The quality of research includes its intrinsic merit and academic impact - that is recognition of the originality of research by peers and its impact on the development of the same or related disciple areas.

The broader impact is an assessment of value through use, i.e. the extent to which research is successfully applied - that is recognition by qualified end-users that quality research has been successfully applied.

Ratings

  • Simple ratings scale
    • Quality : 5 points
    • Impact : 3 points

  • Sensitive to discipline differences

  • Informs funding at institutional level, with institutions distributing funds according to their own priorities

  • The implementation will be assessing the five year period prior to its commencement, e.g. 2001-2006.

Oversight Committee

  • Chairs of assessment panels and other significant Australian and international experts
  • Sets eligibility, assessment and assessor guidelines as well as guidelines relating to early career research and other emerging areas of research priority
  • Approves moderation (across panels) and validation (or measures) mechanisms

Funding model

Will replace the RTS
RTS
RTS is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:* Real-time strategy, a gaming genre* Reclaim the Streets, an organization* Reformed Theological Seminary, a theological seminary in the United States* Return to Sender...

 block funding model, and will be at least 50% of the determinations of funding. Nelson says : all of the Institutional Grants Scheme (IGS) and at least 50% of the Research Training Scheme (RTS).

Expert Advisory Group

UK's Professor Sir Gareth Roberts
Gareth Roberts (Scientist)
Sir Gareth Gwyn Roberts FRS, FREng , was a Welsh physicist specialising in semiconductors and molecular electronics, who was influential in British science policy through his chairmanship of several academic bodies and his two reports on the future supply of scientists and how university research...

 was appointed as the Chair of the Expert Advisory Group, having been commissioned in June 2002 to review the future of research assessment in the UK.

Members
The list of members was announced 21 December 2004 as:
  • Professor Paul Callaghan
    Paul Callaghan (physicist)
    Sir Paul Terence Callaghan, GNZM, FRS, FRSNZ is a New Zealand physicist who, as the founding director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington, holds the position of Alan MacDiarmid Professor of Physical Sciences and is also...

    , Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology
    MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology
    The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology is a New Zealand research organisation specialising in materials science and nanotechnology...

    , Victoria University of Wellington
    Victoria University of Wellington
    Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...

    , New Zealand. Professor Callaghan chaired the Moderation Panel of New Zealand's Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) in 2003
  • Dr Michael Barber, Executive Director, Science Planning, CSIRO, and previously the Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at University of Western Australia
    University of Western Australia
    The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...

    .
  • Professor Ian Chubb
    Ian Chubb
    Ian William Chubb, AC is the Chief Scientist of Australia. He has held this post since 2011. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University from 2001 to 2011, and president of the International Alliance of Research Universities from 2006 to 2009...

    , Chair of the Group of Eight
    Group of Eight (Australian universities)
    The Group of Eight is a coalition of leading Australian tertiary institutions, intensive in research and comprehensive in general and professional education...

     from November 2003 to September 2005, and Vice-Chancellor of Australian National University
    Australian National University
    The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

     since 2001
  • Professor Peter Høj, CEO of the Australian Research Council
    Australian Research Council
    The Australian Research Council is the Australian Government’s main agency for allocating research funding to academics and researchers in Australian universities. Its mission is to advance Australia’s capacity to undertake research that brings economic, social and cultural benefit to the...

     since 1 October 2004
  • Dr Ian O Smith, Executive Director, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
    Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
    The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outskirts of Sydney at Lucas Heights, in the Sutherland Shire...

     since May 2004.
  • Dr Robin Batterham
    Robin Batterham
    Robin John Batterham AO is an Australian scientist specialising in chemical engineering. He was the Chief Scientist of Australia from 1999 to 2006....

    , Chief Technologist of Rio Tinto Group
    Rio Tinto Group
    The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...

    . Formerly Chief Scientist
    Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)
    The Office of the Chief Scientist is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research . Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council .-Chief Scientist:The Chief Scientist is responsible for...

     of Australia.
  • Professor Peter Sheehan, Chair of the AVCC's RQF working group, and currently Vice-Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University
    Australian Catholic University
    Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...

    .
  • Philip Clark
    Philip Clark
    Philip Corriston Clark was an American rugby union player who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics.He was a member of the American rugby union team, which won the gold medal.-External links:*...

    , representing the Business Council of Australia
    Business Council of Australia
    The Business Council of Australia represents the chief executives of approximately 100 large Australian corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable - a spin-off of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia - and the Australian Industry Development...

    , member of the J P Morgan Advisory Council, and was the CEO of Minter Ellison
    Minter Ellison
    Minter Ellison has been ranked the largest Australian-based international law firm . In Australia it is considered one of the Big Six law firms.-Offices:Minter Ellison has offices in 14 cities and five countries....

    .
  • Professor Ross Milbourne, representing the Australian Technology Network of Universities and Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Technology, Sydney.
  • Professor Anne Edwards
    Anne Edwards
    Anne Edwards is an author best known for her biographies of celebrities that include Princess Diana, Maria Callas, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Margaret Mitchell, Ronald Reagan, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Temple and Countess Sonya Tolstoy...

    , Convenor of the Innovative Research Universities Australia
    Innovative Research Universities Australia
    Innovative Research Universities , formerly Innovative Research Universities Australia, is a network of seven comprehensive universities committed to conducting research of national and international standing....

     and Vice Chancellor of Flinders University
    Flinders University
    Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...

    .
  • Professor Alan Pettigrew, CEO of the National Health and Medical Research Council
    National Health and Medical Research Council
    The National Health and Medical Research Council is Australia's peak funding body for medical research, with a budget of roughly 700 million dollars a year...

     since January 2001.
  • Dr Evan Arthur, Group Manager of the Innovation and Research Systems Group in Department of Education, Science and Training
    Department of Education, Science and Training (Australia)
    The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations is an Australian government department. Renamed in 2007 from DEST which in turn was renamed from DETYA , it absorbed the former departments of Education and Training, and Employment and Workplace Relations.The...

     (DEST).

Development Advisory Group

Minister Julie Bishop received the Research Quality Framework: Assessing the quality and impact of research in Australia – Final Advice on the Preferred RQF Model paper from Sir Gareth Roberts
Gareth Roberts (Scientist)
Sir Gareth Gwyn Roberts FRS, FREng , was a Welsh physicist specialising in semiconductors and molecular electronics, who was influential in British science policy through his chairmanship of several academic bodies and his two reports on the future supply of scientists and how university research...

, approved its release, and announced the establishment of the RQF Development Advisory Group (RQFDAG), to be chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist
Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)
The Office of the Chief Scientist is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research . Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council .-Chief Scientist:The Chief Scientist is responsible for...

, Dr Jim Peacock AC
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

. http://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/Bishop/2006/03/B001280306.asphttp://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_06_06.htm

Members
The following members of the Expert Advisory Group continued on to the DAG:
  • Dr Michael Barber
  • Phil Clark
  • Dr Ian O Smith


The other DAG members are:
  • Terry Enright, Chairman of the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) Board
  • Emeritus Professor Chris Fell AM
    Order of Australia
    The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

    , representing the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
    Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
    The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....

  • Leanne Harvey, Branch Manager of Research Systems Branch in the Department of Education, Science and Training
  • Dr Warren King, representing the Cooperative Research Centre
    Cooperative Research Centre
    Cooperative Research Centres are key bodies for Australian scientific research. The Cooperative Research Centres Program was established in 1990 to enhance Australia's industrial, commercial and economic growth through the development of sustained, user-driven, cooperative public-private research...

    s' Committee
  • Professor Jane Marceau, representing the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
    Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
    The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is an autonomous, non-governmental organisation, devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It was established in 1971...

    , Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research), University of Western Sydney
    University of Western Sydney
    The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

    .
  • Dr Phil McFadden, representing the Australian Academy of Science
    Australian Academy of Science
    The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...

     is the Chief Scientist, Geoscience Australia
    Geoscience Australia
    Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian federal government. It carries out geoscientific research.On a user pays basis it produces geospatial products such as topographic maps and satellite imagery.-History:...

    .
  • Professor Ian Davey
    Ian Davey
    Ian Davey born 15 November 1986 is a rugby union player for CR El Salvador in the Spanish División de Honor, having arrived there in 2010 after two seasons with Bedford Blues in England. He signed for Bedford in the summer of 2008 under the recommendation of former Bath player and Bedford...

    , representing the AVCC
  • Professor Deryck Schreuder, representing the Australian Academy of Humanities, retired in 2004 as Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Western Australia
    University of Western Australia
    The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...


2003


2004

  • 3 May - Australian Bureau of Statistics
    Australian Bureau of Statistics
    The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...

     released figures indicating that Higher Education Expenditure on Research and Development (HERD) had increased overall by 23% over the previous two years to 2002. HERD as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product has increased from 0.42% in 2000 to 0.45% in 2002.

  • 6 May - Prime Minister John Howard
    John Howard
    John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

     announced the start of an 18-month process to establish "Quality and Accessibility Frameworks for Publicly Funded Research" as part of the Backing Australia's Ability
    Backing Australia's Ability
    Backing Australia's Ability was a five year innovation plan launched in January 2001 by Prime Minister John Howard.- Previous policy :* Investing for Growth, December 1997 increased support for business innovation by providing $1.26 billion over the four years from 1998-99, including additional...

     – Building our Future through Science and Innovation    .http://www.pm.gov.au/news/media_releases/media_Release849.html





2005



  • 31 March - AVCC welcomed the release of the Governments discussion paper "Building Better Foundations For Higher Education In Australia: A discussion about re-aligning Commonwealth-State responsibilities", which focused on three aspects http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2005/avcc_media_12_05.htm:
    • the implementation of the National Protocols on Higher Education Approval Processes
    • universities’ powers to engage in commercial activities
    • and the operation of governing bodies



  • 11 May - Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
    Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
    Universities Australia is an organisation founded in Sydney in May 1920, which attempts to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action. After being based for a time in both Sydney and Melbourne, its offices relocated to Canberra in 1966...

     (AVCC) submitted a statement "Enhancing Australia's core research capacity – developing a Research Quality Framework", incorporating a preliminary model of how Vice-Chancellors believe the Research Quality Framework (RQF) should work, to the Government's Expert Advisory Group. http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2005/avcc_media_22_05.htm




  • May 2005 - RQF Issues Paper


  • 15 July - the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson’s announcement to abolish the Australian Research Council
    Australian Research Council
    The Australian Research Council is the Australian Government’s main agency for allocating research funding to academics and researchers in Australian universities. Its mission is to advance Australia’s capacity to undertake research that brings economic, social and cultural benefit to the...

     Board. As part of the Review of the Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders (Uhrig Report), of the ARC, Minister Nelson has made the decision to abolish the ARC’s Board in favour of an executive management system. In 2004 the Minister exercised his power under the ARC Act to reject grants recommended for funding by the ARC Board. http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2005/avcc_media_40_05.htm


  • 19 August - EAG meeting held

  • September 2005 - The RQF Preferred Model was released.


  • 6 October - Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee’s Board of Directors, AVCC President Di Yerbury put forward a proposal, for discussion at the plenary meeting of AVCC in November, for a full review of AVCC.


2006

  • 27 January - Minister
    Minister for Education, Science and Training (Australia)
    The Australian Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth has responsibilities which include the following areas:*Education policy and programs including schools, vocational, higher education and Indigenous education, but excluding migrant adult education*Education and training...

     Julie Bishop
    Julie Bishop
    Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...

     is sworn in.

  • 28 February - New Chief Scientist Jim Peacock
    Jim Peacock
    William James Peacock AC was Chief Scientist of Australia , President of the Australian Academy of Science and Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry ....

     AC appointed. In a Press Club
    Press Club
    The Press Club was established in 1882 as a London gentlemen's club. For much of its history, it occupied premises in Wine Office Court, near Fleet Street...

     address Minister Bishop recognised the importance that the role the Chief Scientist has in raising the profile of science and innovation in Australia, encouraging links and acting as an effective liaison between Government, the private sector, and the research sector. The AVCC states that it is concerned that the position has been appointed on a part-time basis.http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_03_06.htm


  • 28 March - Minister Julie Bishop received the Research Quality Framework: Assessing the quality and impact of research in Australia – Final Advice on the Preferred RQF Model paper from Sir Gareth Roberts
    Gareth Roberts (Scientist)
    Sir Gareth Gwyn Roberts FRS, FREng , was a Welsh physicist specialising in semiconductors and molecular electronics, who was influential in British science policy through his chairmanship of several academic bodies and his two reports on the future supply of scientists and how university research...

    , who chaired the Expert Advisory Group (EAG). The Minister approved the release and announced the establishment of the RQF Development Advisory Group (RQFDAG), to be chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist
    Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)
    The Office of the Chief Scientist is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research . Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council .-Chief Scientist:The Chief Scientist is responsible for...

    , Dr Jim Peacock AC
    Order of Australia
    The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

    . http://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/Bishop/2006/03/B001280306.asphttp://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_06_06.htm


  • 4 April - Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer and the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop announce a five year, $1.4 billion Australian Scholarships program. The initiative is expected to more than double existing scholarships for the Asia-Pacific over the next five years, and was scheduled to commence on 1 July 2006.http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_14_06.htm




  • 21 July - Australian Labor Party
    Australian Labor Party
    The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

     Shadow Minister for Education Jenny Macklin
    Jenny Macklin
    Jennifer Louise Macklin , is an Australian politician. She is Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in the Gillard Ministry...

     releases Australia's Universities: Building our future in the World – A White Paper on Higher Education, Research and Innovation.http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_23_06.htm

  • 4 August - AVCC submits its response to the Productivity Commission research study, recommending http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_27_06.htm:
    • increased investment in research and innovation from 1.6% of Gross Domestic Product
      Gross domestic product
      Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

       (GDP) to 3% by 2020, and
    • new incentives for private sector participation in research

  • 30 August - AVCC issues a statement regarding Australian business investment in research and innovation, which was 0.86% for expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, compared to the OECD
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...

     average of 1.53%. The United States is at 1.87% and Japan at 2.36%.http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2006/avcc_media_32_06.htm Source: OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators Database 2006.

  • October 2006 - The RQF – Development Advisory Group (DAG), headed by Chief Scientist, Jim Peacock
    Jim Peacock
    William James Peacock AC was Chief Scientist of Australia , President of the Australian Academy of Science and Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry ....

    , provided Minister
    Minister for Education, Science and Training (Australia)
    The Australian Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth has responsibilities which include the following areas:*Education policy and programs including schools, vocational, higher education and Indigenous education, but excluding migrant adult education*Education and training...

     Julie Bishop
    Julie Bishop
    Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...

     with the "Recommended Model".





2007

  • 23 January - ALP Leader Kevin Rudd
    Kevin Rudd
    Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...

     and Shadow Minister for Education and Training, Stephen Smith
    Stephen Smith (Australian politician)
    Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....

     release New Directions Paperhttp://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/news/media_releases/2007/avcc_media_02_07.htm
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