Fostering research in the humanities, arts, education and social sciences in an Australian university: scaling up for greater impact

Abstract

Universities across Australia are undergoing profound change in the way they administer research funds and undertake research training. These changes are driven by the Australian federal government's new Research Quality Framework (RQF) to be implemented in 2008. This initiative was first announced by the Prime Minister in May 2004 and is part of the Government's Backing Australia's Ability - Building our Future through Science and Innovation Strategy. Funding was committed to the development of an RQf to measure the quality and impact of research in universities. The intent of the RQF is to more readily identify and reward the highest quality research being conducted in Australia's research sector.