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Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) is an initiative of the Federal Government intended to assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions.  The quality assessment is undertaken using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.  The ERA scheme is managed by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and detailed information about the initiative can be accessed via their site.

CSU participated in the first national ERA exercise in 2010 (ERA2010), and in that submission there was sufficient volume of research achievement evident in the 2003-2008 reference period for assessment to occur for 52 fields of research (FoRs), comprising 17 broad (2-digit) FoRs and 35 narrow (4-digit) FoRs. A representation of CSU's submission to ERA2010 is available here (internal only). This site includes excellent dashboard views and comparisons to the national data set.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has also provided a detailed report on the assessment outcomes of ERA2010.

Our institutional submission for the second ERA assessment exercise, ERA2012, was prepared over many months in late 2011 – early 2012. In addition to a multi-divisional technical team, key academic contacts were established in each Faculty to assist with development and coordination of input for the CSU submission:

• Arts: Professor Carmen Moran, (then) Associate Dean Research
• Business: Professor Mark Morrison, Sub Dean Research
• Education: Professor Frank Marino, Associate Dean Research
• Science: Associate Professor Andrew Crowther, Sub Dean Research, Honours & Graduate Studies.

The ERA2012 submission reflects research activity within the reference period 2005-2010.  Changes to the threshold criteria for assessment and greater concentration of research activity within that period are reflected in the latest submission. CSU anticipates assessment in 46 fields of research (FoRs), comprising 15 broad (2-digit) FoRs and 31 narrow (4-digit) FoRs.  The Australian Research Council timeline indicates that the assessment outcomes will be released publically in December 2012.

Detail about the requirements for all ERA 2012 submissions, what will be assessed, how and by whom, is available here. A representation of CSU's submission to ERA2012 will ultimately become available here (internal only).