Categories of Research Income

Research Income, Definition of Research and Classification as Research

The Australian Competitive Grants Register (ACGR) lists qualifying, nationally competitive research schemes. The income that Higher Education Providers receive from schemes listed on the ACGR drives the allocation of over $200 million of Research Infrastructure Block Grants (RIBG) annually.
The qualifying criteria for inclusion in the ACGR can be found on this web link.

Applications for inclusion on the 2007 ACGR closed 20 December 2007. While DEEWR relies substantially on the Application for Listing, meeting all the criteria does not guarantee inclusion in the ACGR. Once applications are received, DEEWR will determine whether an application satisfies the criteria for listing on the ACGR and may contact applicants for further information during the assessment process. DEEWR remains the sole authority for determining a schemes inclusion on the ACGR.

Category 1

Australian Competitive Grants Register (ACGR) - List of schemes

Subject to meeting the definition of research (see section 1.3.9) and the specifications set out in this part (Part A, section 7),

7.4.1. Category 1 includes:

only Australian Government competitive research income and other non-Australian Government competitive research schemes listed in the 2007 Australian Competitive Grants Register (ACGR).
Other grants received from the Australian Government and not included in the 2007 ACGR may be eligible for inclusion in Category 2: Other Public Sector Research Income.

If a specific scheme or schemes of a funding body are listed in the 2007 ACGR, grant or stipend income received by the reporting HEP through other schemes of (or arrangements with) that funding body cannot be counted in this category.

Category 2

Other Public Sector Research Income

Subject to meeting the definition of research (see section 1.3.9) and the specifications set out in this part (Part A, section 7), 7.4.2. Category 2 includes:

any other research income received from the Australian Government that is not eligible for inclusion as Category 1 research income
research income from Australian Government business enterprises
research income (including contract research) from both state and local governments
research income from state government business enterprises
research income from partly government owned or funded bodies (eg Telstra, or Cooperative Research Centres in which the reporting HEP is not a partner).
research income from Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) in which the reporting HEP was not a core participant (i.e. was not a signatory to the Commonwealth Agreement during the reporting period).

Category 3

Industry and Other Research Income

Subject to meeting the definition of research (see section 1.3.9) and the specifications set out in this part (Part A, section 7),

7.4.3. Category 3 includes

Australian:

Contracts
Grants
Donations, bequests and foundations

International A: Competitive, Peer-Reviewed Research Grant Income
Competitive, peer reviewed grants for research from non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants.

International B: Other income
Any other income research income from non-Australian Industry or Governments that cannot be included in International A research income such as:
Contracts
Grants
Donations, bequests and foundations

7.4.4. Category 3: Additional Subcategory explanatory material

Subject to meeting the definition of research (see section 1.3.9) and the specifications set out in this part (Part A, section 7), Category 3 includes:

Australian:

contract research income provided by industry or other non-government agencies
grants for research other than government provided grants (which should be reported in either Category 1 or Category 2)
donations and bequests for research from Australian business, Australian non-profit organisations and Australian individuals
income received from syndicated research and development arrangements.

As many research income arrangements involve grants covered by a contract, in categorising funds as either Australian contract research or as Australian grants, HEPs should regard:

contract research as research where the project was developed primarily by the funding agency, or jointly by the funding agency and the investigator(s)
grants for research where the project was developed primarily by the investigator(s).

International A:

Competitive grants, peer reviewed grants for research from non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants.
In order to qualify for inclusion in this category the granting schemes must comply with the following criteria:

1. Funds must be provided on a competitive basis and clearly be for research only.
2. The funding scheme must have a well-defined mechanism for competition and selection by a well-qualified panel.
3. Grants in kind such as the use of facilities, equipment etc. or subsidised travel or accommodation are not eligible.
4. Funding schemes used exclusively to fund student scholarships are not eligible.
5. Schemes that provide funding wholly or mainly for infrastructure purposes are not eligible.

International B:

contract research provided by non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants
non-competitive grants for research from non-Australian industry or non-Australian Government agencies including non-Australian industry collaborative research grants
donations and bequests for research from non-Australian business, non Australian non-profit organisations, and non-Australian individuals.

For donations and bequests (Australian and international):

Where all, or a proportion, of a donation or bequest is invested then only the income earned from that investment which is available for expenditure on research in the reference year should be included.
Any portion of a donation or bequest that is not provided specifically for research purposes cannot be included.

Category 4

Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Income

University income from CRCs, whether derived from the Commonwealth grant to the CRC, from non-university participants, and from third parties contributing to CRCs.

(For details see Part B of HERDC Specifications for Collection of 2007 data. - Nov 2007)

NOTE: All figures are derived from SAP; there is no separate recording or registration process.

If funding is passed through another agency, or shared or transferred, the income is assigned to the category from which it originated. (For example: If a local government body passes to the university, $20,000 of a Department of Environment & Heritage grant, Monash would count that $20,000 in Australian Competitive Grants, rather than as Other Public Sector Research Funding.)

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