ARC study shows need for more effective ‘public good’ research

Less than half of Australia’s university research projects have a high positive impact “on everyday lives”, according to data published by the Australian Research Council.

The ARC’s national engagement and impact assessment also reveals that only 34 per cent of academic research is rated as having “high engagement with end users” in industry.

Research areas with the biggest percentage of projects with high public impact are agriculture and veterinary sciences (78 per cent), law and legal studies (72 per cent) and engineering (69 per cent).