Analysis of performance against purpose

In the ERA exercise published in 2019, ANU rated above or well above world standard in 68 of the 71 areas assessed, and in 96 per cent of ANU research outputs. ANU is committed to providing a research environment that nurtures and encourages excellence, and a new Office of Research Infrastructure was established in 2019.

ANU is responding to a sectoral shift away from traditional research funders ARC, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to a more dynamic model of cooperation with government, industry and philanthropy. The University is adapting the support it provides researchers and implementing agile research structures including the Innovation Institutes and Grand Challenges scheme to accelerate transformation. The University is also investing in systems and processes to better capture and describe the real-world impact of its research.

In 2019, ANU was awarded a flagship Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, and two Australian Laureate Fellowships (Professor Barry Pogson and Professor Quentin Grafton).

Performance criterion

Annual increase in the quantity of research income, and diversity of sources of this income, relative to the quantity and sources available

Criterion source

ANU Strategic Plan 2019–2022, Key Performance Indicator 2, p.25

Result against performance criterion

Achieved

Analysis of performance

Total research income reported in the Australian Government’s Higher Education Research Data
Collection (HERDC) has increased year-on-year (2014–18: $272.4 million; $274.6 million; $288.7 million; $305.2 million; $318.3 million), despite Category 1 income (Australian Competitive Grants; ARCl and NHMRC), remaining relatively static over the time period. More than 50 per cent of the University’s research income is now from sources other than Australian Competitive Grants. ANU international research income is trending up, in line with most other Australian universities. In 2018, ANU grew Category 2 income, other public sector research funding, (excluding the National Institutes Grant) by 20 per cent over 2017 figures.

Performance criterion

Increase in citations normalised to subject areas

Criterion source

ANU Strategic Plan 2019–2022, Key Performance Indicator 3, p.25

Result against performance criterion

Not yet achieved

Analysis of performance

ANU is consistently in the top two Group of Eight universities against this measure; however, the
University has not seen an increase in category normalised citation impact of outputs sustained in 2018 and 2019. This suggests that as the quality of ANU research improves, the global research sector is matching or exceeding this development. Increasing emphasis on national and regional issues, as per the University’s mission, can also lead to reduced global citation impact.