18-11-2014

Science budget: Funding by numbers : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

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Science budget: Funding by numbers Julie Gould Nature 511, S52–S53 (24 July 2014) Published online 23 July 2014

doi:10.1038/511S52a

Corrected online 28 July 2014

Correction (August, 2014)

Australia and New Zealand both rely on assessment schemes to improve research quality, yet the money

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associated with each is very different. By Julie Gould. Subject terms: Economics

Institutions

Policy

Research management

All data are from 2010 unless otherwise stated, because 2010 provides the most recent, reliable, comparable and complete data. All dollar amounts are in US dollars, converted using a 2010 exchange rate. AUSTRALIA: Research assessment funding by state Australia’s budget for higher-education research and development is an order of magnitude larger than that of New Zealand, yet the amount of money determined by Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) is significantly smaller.

Research and Experimental Development, Higher Education Organisations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010), available at go.nature.com/1obhsa

Full size image (258 KB) Money matters http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v511/n7510_supp/full/511S52a.html

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18-11-2014

Science budget: Funding by numbers : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment comprises only 0.08% of all government funding for highereducation research and development (HERD).

Research and Experimental Development, Higher Education Organisations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010), available at go.nature.com/1obhsa

Full size image (120 KB) Scholarly spending New Zealand continues to increase its gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD), but Australia is starting to pull back.

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization Institute for Statistics.

Full size image (176 KB) Excellence in Research for Australia: timeline Policy-makers and government officials have changed funding allocations from funding formula favouring quantity to assessment criteria favouring quality.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v511/n7510_supp/full/511S52a.html

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18-11-2014

Science budget: Funding by numbers : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

Kwok, J. T. Impact of ERA Research Assessment on University Behaviour and their Staff (NTEU National Policy and Research Unit, 2013) available at go.nature.com/c2ypxa.

Full size image (62 KB) NEW ZEALAND: Research assessment funding by university The majority of New Zealand’s higher education funding is allocated by the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF), which spent a total of $168 million on tertiary education organizations in 2010.

Performance-Based Research Fund Annual Report 2010 (Tertiary Education Commission), available at go.nature.com/s5t6p7.

Full size image (324 KB) The great divide The system used by the PBRF to allocate funds to universities.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v511/n7510_supp/full/511S52a.html

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Science budget: Funding by numbers : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

Performance-Based Research Fund Annual Report 2010 (Tertiary Education Commission), available at go.nature.com/s5t6p7.

Full size image (149 KB) Printed material Any published articles* that include at least one author from Australia or New Zealand.

Scopus.

Full size image (176 KB) Money matters Almost 90% of all funding for higher-education research and development (HERD) in New Zealand is provided by the government and universities.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v511/n7510_supp/full/511S52a.html

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Science budget: Funding by numbers : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

Research and Development in New Zealand 2010 (Statistics New Zealand), available at go.nature.com/c7bbp5.

Full size image (113 KB) Performance-based Research Fund: timeline Before 2000, funding was provided to tertiary education organizations based on the number of researchers. Now funding is dependent upon individual performance reviews.

A History and Overview of the PRBF (New Zealand Ministry of Education), available at go.nature.com/vwXjbu.

Full size image (66 KB)

Change history

Corrected online 28 July 2014 The graph incorrectly labelled gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) figures as higher-education research and development. This has now been corrected along with the text.

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