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Sweeping review of Australian Research Council finds gaps in legislation and governance
The much-anticipated Sheil review of the Australian Research Council has recommended an overhaul of the council’s legislated mission, a supervising board with control over appointments, and greater emphasis on working with other funding agencies.
Margaret Sheil (pictured), vice-chancellor of Queensland University of Technology, was appointed in August 2022 to lead a team reviewing the ARC. Their final report was released on 20 April.
Its 10 main recommendations include clarifying the purpose of the ARC as being to fund “basic, strategic and applied research” outside medical research, recognising the council’s role in supporting academic careers, and “advancing the support for Indigenous Australian academics through better consultation and additional fellowships”.
The new ARC board should be responsible for appointing the chief executive and the college of experts, and for approving grants, Sheil suggests.
In response to controversies over political interference in grants, the review recommends that ministerial intervention be reined in. The education minister should not be approving grants but must retain the power to intervene “in the extraordinary circumstance of a potential threat to national security”.
Two-stage application processes have also been recommended to reduce administrative burdens.
The review suggests a split in ARC funding, with the National Competitive Grants Program to continue in close to its current form, but “non-NCGP programmes” the government deems important to be administered under different guidelines.
“The minister should have wider discretion to direct funding outside the NCGP, to advance the government’s strategic research objectives,” the review says.
Sheil’s work has been sent to education minister Jason Clare.
Research Professional News will have more on this story next week.