The Australian Academy of the Humanities

NRIC Discussion Paper: A Process to identify and prioritise Australia’s Landmark Research Infrastructure Needs (2010)

In June 2010 the National Research Infrastructure Council (NRIC) sought comment on a discussion paper as a first step in the development of a process for identifying, prioritising and progressing potential investment in landmark research infrastructure. The Academy particularly commends the commitment to a process which is inclusive of research infrastructure needs across the disciplines and specifically NRIC’s expectation that proposals for landmark projects would address the needs of humanities researchers.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 162KB)

Inquiry into Australia’s International Research Collaboration (2010)

In November 2009 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation convened an Inquiry into Australia’s international research collaboration. The Academy welcomed the opportunity to contribute its ideas to this important inquiry, and in its submission argued that Australia has a strong international research reputation in the humanities, with world-leading research in several fields. The Academy considers that the international engagement of Australia's humanities and creative arts research workforce is vital for a robust, vibrant, and innovative research sector.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 167KB)

Consultation Paper: Meeting Australia’s Research Workforce Needs (2010)

In June 2010 the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research released a consultation paper outlining a strategy for meeting Australia’s future research workforce needs. Feedback on the Paper will inform the Government’s final research workforce strategy, due in the second half of 2010.

The Academy has genuine concerns about Australia’s capacity to effectively resource, attract and retain its next generation of researchers, and welcomed the development of a robust, integrated Research Workforce Strategy. The Academy’s submission heartily commended certain initiatives, such as the proposal that PhD funding and stipend be aligned at four years, which will allow for more broad-reaching and methodologically rigorous HDR training. We argued that structural biases, disincentives and inequities in the current system have led to the marginalisation and under-funding of humanities research, with flow-on consequences for research capability and renewal.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 330KB)

Response to AUQA's Discussion Paper on setting and monitoring Academic Standards for Australian Higher Education (2009)

The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) discussion paper aims to contribute to the higher education system’s common understanding of standards of academic achievement. The Academy welcomes this initiative and supports the focus on academic standards at a systemic level. It notes that improvements in this field are in the best interests of employers, students, society at large, the sector as a whole and institutions themselves.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 116KB)

ARC Consultation Paper: ARC Centres of Excellence for funding commencing in 2011 (2009)

The ARC sought comment on its proposed changes to the Centres of Excellence scheme as outlined in its June 2009 consultation paper: Please click here to go to the ARC website . The paper outlined modifications to the objectives of the scheme, the fields of research included, approaches to higher-risk research, funding levels and duration, adjustments to selection criteria, and the reporting and review process. The Academy agrees with most alterations put forward, proposes ideas for accommodating real costs in research through indexation and argues for rigorous assessment methods targeting national interest research.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 99KB)

ARC Consultation Paper on ERA Indicators (2009)

The Academy’s submission focuses on general issues of integrity and reliability of the indicators, but also comments specifically on peer review indicators, the problems of attributing FoR codes to journals rather than individual outputs, proposes ways that esteem data could be more easily collected by institutions, and argues against the summary exclusion of awards and prizes from the list of esteem indicators.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 163KB)

ARC Consultation Paper on Peer Review (2009)

The ARC sought comment on their proposed changes to the peer review process for the competitive grants scheme. While the Academy warmly endorsed many of the proposed changes, our submission argues for further attention to the selection process in key areas.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 158KB)

R&D Tax Submission (2009)

The Academy submitted a response to the Treasury’s consultation paper on the new research and development tax incentive. Our submission focuses on the inappropriate, regressive, arbitrary and counterproductive exclusion by definition of the humanities, arts and social sciences under the current R&D tax arrangements.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 68KB)

Submission to National Human Rights Consultation (2009)

The National Human Rights Consultation was called to undertake Australia-wide consultation for protecting and promoting human rights and corresponding responsibilities in Australia. In its submission, the Academy focuses on the need to recognise academic, intellectual and scholarly freedoms as part of the human rights dialogue. The freedoms are fundamental to an open and democratic civil society, yet are neither protected under the Australian Constitution, nor by statute. The submission highlights the potential for inappropriate government control over academic processes, and argues that a bill of rights (or other similar legislation) offers an opportunity to guarantee the basic principles of academic freedom.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 141KB)

Future Fellowships Scheme (2008)

The Future Fellowships scheme was announced by the Australian government as a means to reward, attract and retain outstanding mid-careers researchers. The Academy’s response to the Future Fellowships Consultation Paper strongly endorsed the ARC’s support of the full range of research orientations across the disciplines, though argued for significant changes to the proposed selection criteria to ensure that humanities researchers are not excluded from the scheme.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 455KB)

Excellence in Research for Australia Initiative (2008)

A new means of assessing the research quality of Australia’s higher education institutions is currently being developed by the Australia Research Council. ERA employs a combination of research indicators and other proxies to evaluate research excellence. The Academy’s submission to the ERA Consultation Paper encourages the ARC to undertake rigorous testing of the indicators before they are adopted, and if necessary employ limited sampling peer review, to ensure that ERA is an effective and accurate measure of Australian research activity across all disciplines.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 275KB)

Cultural Institutions Funding (2008)

The Academy welcomed the opportunity to make a submission to the Inquiry of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit into the impact of the efficiency dividend on small agencies. Our submission referred primarily to the major national cultural agencies, which are the repositories and enablers of the nation’s memory, identity, artistic and literary expression, and democratic spirit. It argues that not only should such agencies be exempt from the efficiency dividend, they must urgently be provided with a restorative funding stream if they are to survive, let alone respond to the requirements of the new digital era.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 147KB)

Submission to the Review of Australian Higher Education (2008)

The Review of Australian Higher Education was announced on 13 March 2008, and is being conducted by a Review Panel chaired by Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC. The Review will examine and report on the future direction of the higher education sector, its fitness for purpose in meeting the needs of the Australian community and economy and the options for ongoing reform. The Academy's submission to the Review responds to the 35 questions set out in the Review's discussion paper.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 351KB)

NCRIS Roadmap Review (2008)

The Academy has regarded the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Roadmap as seriously lacking since it was adopted in 2005. We welcomed the opportunity to make a submission to this timely review. The Academy’s submission argues that exclusion of entire areas of lively, relevant and internationally valued research activity from consideration in collaborative infrastructure terms was based on a deeply flawed apprehension of the range and nature of humanistic, artistic and social scientific (HASS) research. The current NCRIS capabilities have seen legitimate infrastructure needs of humanities researchers ignored and alienated many HASS researchers from collaborative research infrastructure practices and facilities.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 162KB)

Review of the National Innovation System (2008)

The Federal Government has established a wide-ranging review of Australia’s national innovation system in recognition of the vital role innovation plays in boosting productivity and international competitiveness. The Academy’s submission argues that while there is now broad acceptance of the role of non-technical factors, including social and cultural factors, in positive innovation outcomes, that acceptance is not reflected adequately in the operations and procedures of the institutions and mechanisms through which Australia supports innovation.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 291KB)

Academy Comment on the Draft Program Guidelines for Higher Education Endowment Fund 2009 Funding Round (2008)

The Commonwealth Government established the Higher Education Endowment Fund (HEEF) in 2007 as a perpetual fund to support capital works and research facilities in the higher education sector. Approximately $300m is expected to be committed in 2008 for expenditure over a 3-5 year period. Similar amounts are expected to be available in future years, subject to the investment returns on the Fund. The HEEF Advisory Board, which is to recommend HEEF investments to the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, sought comment on draft guidelines it had prepared setting out the process by which investments would be selected.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 494KB)

Australia 2020 Summit (2008)

The President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Professor Ian Donaldson FAHA, FBA, FRSE, was invited by the co-chair of the Australia 2020 Summit, Professor Glyn Davis, to identify what he saw as the key issues for the 2020 Summit. Assisted by members of the Council of the Academy, and by the Academy's secretariat, this is his response.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 253KB)

Research Training and Research Workforce Issues (2008)

In May 2008, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research convened a House of Representatives Committee to undertake an inquiry into research training and research workforce issues in Australian universities. The Academy’s submission to the inquiry argues that the current research training and research funding system produces an inadvertent discipline-specific effect that severely handicaps the humanities to the extent that Australia is experiencing the decline, to the point of extinction, of key elements of our humanities research capability.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 328KB)

Communiqué of the Languages in Crisis: National Languages Summit (2007)

'Languages in Crisis' was an extremely diverse gathering of academics, educationalists, teachers, government representatives, and community members. The Summit was called to discuss simple, effective measures to utilise and develop our national language capacity. Featuring Prof. Michael Worton (Vice-Provost, Academic and International and Professor of French, University College London) and Major Michael Stone (ADF) and a range of other prominent speakers, the Summit presented both a wide-ranging roundtable and a group discussion. A Group of Eight research paper was also launched on the day.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 32KB)

Humanities Technologies - Research methods and infrastructure (2007)

The Australian Academy of the Humanities has been awarded a grant by the Australian Research Council, under the Linkage – Learned Academies Special Projects program, to undertake a scoping study to determine the nature of research methodologies and infrastructure requirements in the humanities.

Submission to the 2005 Commonwealth Review of the Learned Academies Grant Programme (2005)

The four Learned Academies and their collective body, the National Academies Forum, receive some funding from the Commonwealth Government through the Learned Academies Grants Programme, enabled by the Higher Education Support Act (2003). The Programme is reviewed every five years. This is the Academy’s submission to the last review, conducted in 2005.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 225KB)

National Research Priorities (2003)

During 2003 the Academy played a major role in assisting the Federal Government refine the National Research Priorities framework so it better reflected the human, social and cultural research conducted in Australia. On 28 November 2003 - following close collaborative work between the Government, the Academies, and the broad research community - the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, launched the enhanced National Research Priorities.

Each of the four original priorities now feature an additional goal that recognises the importance of 'the human element' in research and knowledge creation. They ensure that the Humanities and Social Sciences are central to the national research effort, and that social, cultural, economic and ethical perspectives are incorporated into scientific and technological research and innovation. The four new goals are: responding to climate change and variability [An environmentally sustainable Australia]; strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric [Promoting and maintaining good health]; promoting an innovation culture and economy [Frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries]; and understanding our region and the world [Safeguarding Australia].

The Academy prepared a report for the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training, The Humanities and Australia's National Research Priorities (Canberra, 2003). As well as being available to download, it is also available in hard copy by contacting the Academy offices.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 144KB)

Creative Arts (2001)

The Australian Academy of the Humanities, in conjunction with the Australian Coalition for the Creative Arts, received funding under the Australian Research Council Special Projects scheme in 2001 for a project on research in the Creative Arts. "Towards a Research Strategy for the Creative Arts in Australia: Creative Practice, Publication and Research Training" resulted in three conferences that year, and culminated in a final report that articulated a strategic vision for the future of research in the arts in Australia.

National Heritage (1999)

One of the aims of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, as prescribed in its royal charter, is to act as a consultant and an advisory body in matters concerning the Humanities. As the preservation and conservation of Australia’s natural and cultural heritage is a major matter concerning the Humanities, the Academy has established a heritage policy.

The purpose of the policy is to state the Academy's position on heritage; encourage the preservation and/or conservation of Australia's natural and cultural heritage; and promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to Australia's natural and cultural heritage.

A policy document is available for download (.pdf, 172KB)

Union Académique Internationale

The Australian Academy of the Humanities is a member of the Union Académique Internationale (UAI) (International Union of Academies), an international federation of learned academies from countries all over the world. The UAI is committed to the success of collective research work, and to this end it supports numerous projects of a collaborative nature in a wide range of academic disciplines. This support is provided not only through collaboration with member academies but also with CIPSH and UNESCO.

The AAH's membership of the UAI dates from 1961. The current Academy delegate is Professor Sam Lieu.

• Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

• Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum

• Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum

• Website of the UAI