Expenditure of Performance Funding Schemes

The Australian Government operates a dual support system for funding of research and research training. The system consists of competitive grant programs, where funding is distributed to research teams through merit-based, peer-determined processes, and performance-related block grants, which are allocated to institutions.

This page provide guidance to UWS staff on the broad expenditure framework, covering the four Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education performance-funding schemes through which UWS receives over $12.6 million annually in support of its research development and consolidation.

Each scheme has specific performance mechanisms. The University intends these funds to be used flexibly, within the constraints set by government, but with strategic intent. All funds should be expended in the calendar year. UWS is required to report annually to Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education on the expenditure of these funds and how that expenditure supports researchers and research students to achieve the University's research goals.

The University monitors the expenditure of the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education performance based funding mechanisms, with the intent of ensuring that carry forwards from year to year are kept to a minimum. Schools must monitor expenditure against these four specific schemes to ensure that expenditure operates within the broad guidelines for each and with regard to the strategic intent of both UWS and the School.

Research Training Scheme (RTS)

The RTS aims to recognise and reward high-quality research training environments and support excellent and diverse research activities. Funds are provided based on a formula that reflects research performance and takes into account HDR completions (50%), research income (40%) and research publications (10%). 

The objectives of the RTS are to:

  • enhance the quality of research training provision in Australia
  • improve the responsiveness of institutions to the needs of their students
  • encourage institutions to develop their own research training profiles
  • ensure the relevance of research degree programmes to labour market requirements and
  • improve the efficiency and effectiveness of research training.

At UWS, RTS funding is allocated as direct financial support to Schools for:

  • support of all higher degree research students program of research study
  • academic units supporting research students and successfully supervising to completion

RTS funding is allocated to Schools on the basis of two equal measures - one input and one output.

Input – HDR Load

This involves a performance return to academic units (the location of the principal supervisor) on the basis of student load, moderated by high cost/low cost discipline weighting (1.00 to 2.35).

Output – HDR Completions

This involves a performance return to academic units (the location of the principal supervisor) on the basis of completions data, with PhD completions weighted at 2.00 and Masters Honours weighted at 1.00.

Schools should flexibly employ these funds to ensure that UWS:

  • builds an attractive research environment founded on dedicated funding for research students
  • overcomes research infrastructure deficiencies
  • rewards academic units that are successfully completing research students
  • research students are linked to areas of research strength.

As a guide to actual expenditure, it is expected that much of the RTS is spent directly on higher degree research students.  UWS is keen to ensure that individual candidature resourcing needs are met and that the University actively develops and maintains an attractive research training environment. To this effect, UWS has promulgated the essential resources to be provided to research students (see Research Higher Degree Candidature Essential Resources Policy)

It is expected that all research students have access to Candidature Support Funds (CSF). Such funds are to be accessed by individual students to support their program of research and are specifically related to individual candidature needs. Part time students will also be eligible for such project support though normally at less than the maximum allocation.

Research students will normally outline project needs as part of their Early Candidature Plan, Thesis Proposal and the Annual Progress Report process. Schools should oversight expenditure against project needs.  Such funding should be available for all research students (fee-paying excluded) though access may be considered in relation to rate and stage of progress. An allocation in the humanities and social sciences would be $2,000 per annum. In consumable-intensive areas such as the sciences, and where extensive fieldwork is undertaken, it is likely  that the annual allocation would be $7,000.

Note: The actual allocation will vary from student to student and year to year. These funds are not a direct payment to students on the basis of their enrolment/candidature, but should be carefully argued and agreed to by the supervisory panel as part of the agreed thesis proposal and its progress.

Expenditure of such funding might include:

  • travel to carry out research
  • consumables
  • skills development training
  • research materials
  • photocopying
  • transcription
  • access to external facilities
  • access to vehicles for field trips
  • minor equipment
  • conference attendance
  • specialist software

This list is not exhaustive.

RTS is also designed to support the broader infrastructure research training needs of UWS.

RTS can be used to fund:

  • a portion of the salary of research intensive staff who supervise significant numbers of research students.  In general, RTS funds should be used to support a percentage of salary costs within schools or research centres  relative to the HDR load undertaken by supervisors
  • broad computing and information technology
  • major equipment supporting a range of research students.
  • networking activity– i.e. workshops, symposia, guest speakers, conferences.

RTS cannot be used to fund scholarships.

RTS should be expended in the calendar year.

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Joint Research Engagement (JRE)

The JRE replaces the Institutional Grants Scheme (IGS) from 2010. This program encourages and supports greater collaborative research activities between universities, business and end-users beyond those specifically supported by competitive grants. This initiative is a companion reform to the Sustainable Research Excellence in Universities (see below) and the Collaborative Research Networks program.

The JRE performance index comprises:

  • research income (excluding Category 1 Australian Competitive Grant (ACG) Income) weighted at (60%);
  • HDR student load (30%) - weighted by high cost/low cost disciplines
  • research publications - authored book, chapter, refereed journal articles, and refereed conference proceedings (10%).

The objectives of the JRE are to:

  • Continue to support soft infrastructure;
  • Continue to support the maintenance of capital items (not capital purchases); and
  • Change the way that the level of funding for each university is calculated

JRE is a lagging indicator i.e. the 2010 quantum reflects achievement averaged over the years 2007 and 2008.

In 2010, 20% of JRE will be reserved for strategic research initiatives, recommended by the Pro Vice Chancellor (Research). Of the remaining 80% of JRE funding, Schools will receive an allocation based on the actual performance of:

  • their University Research Centres (URC) – based on the actual funding generation by individual researchers formally associated with each centre [100% return]
  • other Research Groups hosted by the School [80% return]
  • individual researchers within the School not formally associated with a URC [80% return].

JRE may be used for a wide range of development and consolidation activity. It is the most discretionary of these performance based funding sources. JRE may be used for:

  • broad research infrastructure needs
  • the consolidation of existing areas of strength to build critical mass
  • the identification and development of new research areas that provide niche and developmental possibilities
  • the identification of research themes and/or groups that might promote interdisciplinary collaboration and research grant submissions
  • the support of nationally competitive researchers, particularly mid-career researchers
  • the identification and development of emerging researchers
  • research support that links in with academic programs i.e. to support the move of honours students into a postgraduate program.

Broad categories of support that might be considered:

  • developing research facilities
  • scholarships and top-ups
  • postdoctoral positions
  • visiting fellowships to UWS
  • intensive internal secondments to University Research Centres for competitive researchers, particularly mid-career academics
  • support for external research applications in collaboration with industry partners, for example reimbursement of funds expended to attend meetings with potential external partners.
  • conferences/symposia/forums/summits to be held at UWS, raising both the profile of the research and the University
  • invited public lectures by key researchers both external and internal
  • postgraduate symposiums
  • school/centre research seminars
  • publication time release - i.e. support for the writing up of near complete data with imminent publication
  • three month writing scholarships, following submission of a thesis
  • support for research areas that directly foster links with existing undergraduate and postgraduate academic programs
  • summer/winter research programs for honours/HDR students
  • re-entry programs for researchers who have either had time out of academia in industry or because of family obligations which have impacted on their research track record
  • mentoring for newer staff
  • annual research lecture series

Other activities might include research training and professional development initiatives where external (paid) and internal speakers or short courses are run, for example:

  • research methodologies workshops
  • discipline specific research supervision
  • grantmanship, writing grant proposals, costing projects and writing a meaningful budget justification
  • writing CVs and demonstrating track records, which is particularly important for the identification and categorisation of research outputs and outcomes for a range of scenarios, research submissions and promotion applications
  • statistical analysis
  • publishing e.g. converting thesis into publication, writing book proposals, peer review and critique processes
  • project management, which might also include people management skills
  • research partnerships and external collaboration
  • commercialisation in its broadest sense
  • visits from ARC panelists
  • establishing writing groups which might also look at supporting the induction of honours/postgraduate students into a writing culture as well as staff in general.

This is not an exhaustive list, but meant to provide broad guidance. JRE monies may be used to fund any activity relating to research.

JRE should be expended in the calendar year.

Research Infrastructure Block Grant (RIBG)

The RIBG aims to support high quality research by:

  • meeting project related infrastructure costs associated with Australian Competitive Grants
  • ensuring that areas of recognised research potential have access to the support necessary for their development
  • enhancing support for areas of existing research strength, and
  • remedying deficiencies in research infrastructure

Performance is based on an institution’s share of Australian Competitive Grants  income. RIBG is wholly allocated to Schools and their University Research Centres, on the basis of performance in generating such income.

Expenditure of RIBG may involve:

  • non-capital aspects of facilities such as libraries, laboratories, computing centres, animal houses, herbaria, experimental farms
  • equipment purchase, installation, maintenance, hire and lease, and
  • salaries of research support staff (including research assistants, accounting and administrative staff, and technicians) employed to provide general support for activity in a given area eg. a research assistant who is providing assistance for a number of research projects but not a research assistant dedicated to a particular project.

Items not regarded as elements of research infrastructure, for the purpose of RIBG, and which cannot be funded, include:

  • capital works (i.e. construction of buildings), as institutions receive operating grant funding for capital works
  • rental of accommodation
  • salaries of teaching and research, and research-only academic staff (including the cost of ‘buying time’ to free such staff to do more research)
  • salaries of staff supporting research at the institutional level eg. Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research, Research Grants Officer)
  • stipends of postgraduate research students, and
  • travel costs directly associated with individual projects (with the exception of travel costs to allow participation in international consortia.

RIBG is the most constrained of the performance funding schemes and must support researchers and areas of national excellence.

RIBG should be expended in the calendar year.

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Sustainable Research Excellence [In Universities] (SRE)

The SRE program is part of an integrated suite of reform measures for Australia’s higher education system announced by the Australian Government as part of the 2009-10 Budget. The SRE program responds to key recommendations made in Powering Ideas: An Innovation Agenda for the 21st Century, the government’s policy agenda for the reform of the Australian innovation system.

The objectives of the SRE are to:

  • ensure that institutions are better placed to meet the indirect cost of research activities that are not entirely met by the various competitive grant programs listed on the ACGR. In addition, it will contribute to the sustainability of current research strategies within universities over the longer term.
  • Address an identified shortfall in the funding available to meet the indirect costs associated with Australian competitive grant research; and
  • Support universities to build and maintain research excellence through the implementation of best practice financial management, performance and reporting frameworks

The SRE has three separate funding elements: (2010 funding methodology)

  1. Base (20%)
  2. Threshold 1 (13%)
  3. Threshold 2 (67%)
  • Available to all universities and calculated according to the RIBG funding formula (Universities relevant share of ACG income)
  • University must agree to participate in transparent costing of the indirect costs of research and the ERA process to be eligible for funding under Threshold 1. Funding allocated based on relative share of ACG income <= $2.5 million. UWS is eligible for this funding.
  • University must agree to participate in transparent costing of indirect costs of research and the ERA process and have ACG income > 2.5 million will be eligible for funding under Threshold 2. Funding allocated on relevant share of ACG income > $2.5 million, moderated by a performance factor based on ration of full time equivalent (FTE) Research Active staff to Weighted Publications. UWS is eligible for this funding.

Expenditure of SRE may involve any activity related to the indirect costs of Australian Competitive Grant Research.

  • Non-academic salaries and on-costs (non-academic salaries, contributions to superannuation and pension schemes, payroll tax, workers compensation, other non-academic employee benefits)
  • Costs of maintaining physical university infrastructure (repairs to buildings, laboratories and research facilities, repairs and maintenance to equipment and systems (including ICT), security costs, cleaning costs, utility costs, health and safety costs)
  • Finance and insurance costs (leasing and legal costs associated with external research facilities, external auditing expenses, insurances)
  • Other costs indirectly associated with research (consumables and office supplies, health and safety expenses, advertising, marketing and promotion costs of research, legal fees, compliance costs, publication costs not captured elsewhere)

SRE should be expended in the calendar year.

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