Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE)
The Federal Government introduced the Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) program in 2009 to help:
- address an identified shortfall in university funding to meet the indirect costs associated with Australian Competitive Grant (ACG) research
- support universities to build and maintain research excellence through the implementation of best practice financial management, performance and reporting frameworks.
The Staff Hours Survey is being run again in 2011 to identify the volatility in staff workloads. The difference recorded between 2010 and 2011 will inform consultation regarding the frequency of the Research Hours Data Collection.
The Staff Hours Survey will not be conducted in 2012, ensuring it does not overlap with the next Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) research assessment exercise. This means that the survey data collected in 2011 will be used in transparent costing calculations for 2012 and 2013 SRE allocations. As such, data integrity is very important and survey responses must aim to be a true record of activity during the survey period.
USQ benefits
Funding received from block grants such as SRE support a range of initiatives including Centre and Faculty research funding, as well as internal schemes like the Research Infrastructure Program (RIP), Early Career Researcher Program (ECRP) and Staff Doctoral Qualifications Scheme.
Eligibility
The target population is all employees of an institution whose continuing or fixed-term employment contract contains a research component and who have been identified as 'undertaking research'. Inclusion in the target population is where possible, based on current employment.
For the purpose of this data collection, 'undertaking research' is defined as: being engaged in creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge.
Further Information
For further information and documentation relating to SRE Research Hours Data Collection please see:
If you require any further information about the Sustainable Research Excellence project or survey please contact Katrina Hall, Director, Office of Research and Higher Degrees.
Privacy Statement
The de-identified data may be used by USQ for internal management purposes, such as resource and strategic planning, at the School, Department and/or Faculty level. Individual staff members will not be able to be identified and data will not be used to evaluate individual performance.
DIISR may use de-identified and/or aggregate data for programs other than SRE or may provide such data to other government departments.
