Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)

Overview

On 26 February 2008, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the Hon. Senator Kim Carr, announced plans for a new research quality and evaluation system.

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative is being developed by the ARC (Australian Research Council). It will assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.

ERA will use leading researchers to evaluate research in eight discipline clusters (see Cluster Tables). These clusters are defined by the ANZRC Field of Research (FoR) Codes (see FoR and SEO Codes page). The ARC will rank and allocate FoR codes to journals in each cluster. If researchers have published in these journals then the articles will be included in that cluster. Authors will be responsible for allocating FoR codes to all other types of publications (books, chapters, conference papers), and all creative outputs.

What will be included for assessment?

ERA will use:

a) published research outputs – journal articles, conference papers, books and book chapters to evaluate research quality. All published research produced by eligible researchers at the university on the specified census date will be included for evaluation. This includes publications which pre-date author affiliation with CSU.

b) Creative works are also included to acknowledge their contribution to research and the creation of new knowledge. Creative works that have a research component and which were produced by any CSU staff member should be included. This includes creative works which pre-date author affiliation with CSU. See the FAQ's: Creative Works for further information on eligibility and requirements.

c) Esteem measures

d) Personal FoR codes. All eligible researchers who have research outputs for evaluation will be given up to three Field of Research Codes. This will help assessors evaluate the balance of research within the University.

When will ERA happen?

A Trial of ERA occurred in 2009, and evaluated the Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences (PCE) and Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) clusters. The outcomes of these trials will inform the Full ERA process, slated to commence in early 2010.

Please note that the Full ERA process will evaluate ALL subject areas/clusters.

Who is included in ERA?

Eligible researchers employed or affiliated with CSU at the census date (even if they have subsequently left CSU). The census date for the trial was 31st March 2008. It is anticipated that this date will be brought forward each year – for example, in 2010, we expect the census date to be 31st March, 2009.

What is the reference period for publications and other outputs?

For the Trial, the reference period was 2002 – 2007 inclusive. It is anticipated that the period will be brought forward each year – for example, in 2010, we expect the period to encompass all outputs with a publication/performance/event year between 2003 – 2008 inclusive.

How does the HERDC and ERA relate to CRO?

CRO (CSU Research Output) is the CSU Institutional Repository, and contains research articles (predominantly journal articles, conference papers, books and book chapters) produced by CSU staff as part of the annual HERDC collection. It is now also an online repository for CSU creative works, both for the CSU Creative Works Register, and for ERA. CRO will be the source of all research outputs for ERA.

CRO currently lists research outputs for researchers at CSU since 2001. New research staff will need to add their publications to the repository via the CRO submission format.

The research output data for ERA will come exclusively from CRO.

Useful Information and Links:

FAQ’S: