Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA 2015) RMIT Presentation 18 January 2016 Ms Leanne Harvey Executive General Manager Australian Research Council

What is ERA? ERA evaluates the quality of the research undertaken in Australian universities against national and international benchmarks. The outcomes (ratings) are determined and moderated by committees of distinguished researchers from Australia and overseas. The unit of evaluation is broadly defined as the Field of Research (FoR) within an institution based on the Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification (ANZSRC). The indicators used in ERA include a range of metrics such as citation profiles which are common to disciplines in the natural sciences, and peer review of a sample of research outputs which is more broadly common in the humanities and social sciences. ERA is a comprehensive collection. The data submitted by universities covers all eligible researchers and their research outputs.

Objectives of ERA? Establish an evaluation framework that gives government, industry, business and the wider community assurance of the excellence of research conducted in Australia’s institutions; Provide a national stock take of discipline-level research; Identify excellence across the full spectrum of research performance; Identify emerging research areas and opportunities for further development; Allow for comparison of Australia’s research nationally and internationally for all discipline areas

ERA Unit of Evaluation—the FoRs The ERA Unit is not the department nor the individual researcher

The ERA rating scale RatingDescriptor 5 The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of outstanding performance well above world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation. 4 The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance above world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation. 3 The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of average performance at world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation. 2 The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance below world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation. 1The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance well below world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation.

ERA 2015 Outcomes ERA 2015 results are available in: State of Australian University Research , Volume 1, ERA National Report.* ERA 2015 outcomes show Australia’s universities continue to produce high-quality research across a wide range of disciplines. Overall research quality is improving and reflects ERA’s role in focussing universities on research quality. Of the UoEs assessed in both ERA 2015 and the previous round, ERA 2012, 56 per cent of these maintained the same rating, while 29 per cent improved their rating by one. The ERA results show an extraordinary breadth of outstanding research performance in Australia. *Available at:

ERA 2012 to ERA 2015 Growth There was steady growth in Australia’s university research activity between the ERA 2012 and ERA 2015 rounds, including increases in: the total number of assessed UoEs, up 6% to 2460 the number of research outputs submitted, up 5% to the number of research staff submitted, up 11% to total number of patents, up 20% to 936.

High Performing 2-digit Units of Evaluation Two-digit Fields of Research codes: 01 Mathematical Sciences 02 Physical Sciences 03 Chemical Sciences 05 Environmental Sciences 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences 09 Engineering 11 Medical and Health Sciences 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences 18 Law and Legal Studies 21 History and Archaeology

National Strengths ERA also helps identify areas of particular research strength. Consistent with previous ERA rounds, the national strengths are defined as specific disciplines (4-digit FoRs) where ten (10) or more Australian universities were rated at above world standard or higher, including four or more Australian universities rated at well above world standard A wide variety of disciplines are represented in these national strengths—from basic sciences, engineering, to the humanities—including pure and applied mathematics ; astronomical and space sciences; macromolecular and material chemistry; soil sciences; plant biology; civil engineering; clinical sciences; nursing; cultural studies; historical studies; philosophy and law.

List of National Strengths Mathematical Sciences 0101Pure Mathematics 0102Applied Mathematics 0104Statistics Physical Sciences 0201Astronomical and Space Sciences 0204Condensed Matter Physics 0205Optical Physics Chemical Sciences 0301Analytical Chemistry 0302Inorganic Chemistry 0303Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry 0306Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural) Earth Sciences 0403Geology 0406Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Environmental Sciences 0501Ecological Applications 0502Environmental Science and Management 0503Soil Sciences Biological Sciences 0602Ecology 0604Genetics 0607Plant Biology 0608Zoology Engineering 0905Civil Engineering 0906Electrical and Electronic Engineering 0912Materials Engineering 0913Mechanical Engineering Medical and Health Sciences 1102Cardiovascular Medicine and Haematology 1103Clinical Sciences 1106Human Movement and Sports Science 1107Immunology 1108Medical Microbiology 1109Neurosciences 1110Nursing 1111Nutrition and Dietetics 1112Oncology and Carcinogenesis 1115Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences 1116Medical Physiology 1117Public Health and Health Services Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services 1503Business and Management Studies in Human Society 1606Political Science Psychology and Cognitive Sciences 1701Psychology Law and Legal Studies 1801Law Language, Communication and Culture 2002Cultural Studies 2005Literary Studies History and Archaeology 2103Historical Studies Philosophy and Religious Studies 2203Philosophy

UoE ratings (aggregated 4-digit results, grouped by 2-digit FoR code)

RMIT’s High Performing Disciplines RMIT University was assessed in 16 broad (2-digit) Fields of Research (FoR) and 39 specific (four-digit) disciplines. RMIT attained no ratings of ‘5’ in 2-digit FoR and 13 4-digit FoR. Ratings of well above world standard, were attained in the following FoRs:

Distribution of ERA 2015 Ratings across all Australian Universities

Distribution of ERA 2015 Ratings for RMIT

Distribution of ERA 2015 Ratings— RMIT HASS disciplines

Ratings for RMIT HASS disciplines Note: For 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences is excluded from the HASS total

Rating changes—RMIT HASS disciplines The data below show the 2- and 4-digit UoEs displayed by 2-digit grouping. Note: For 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences is excluded from the HASS total

Questions?