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There have been a number of changes to Block Grant funding which have been implemented in 2010. Further information can be sought from the DIISR website.

Research Infrastructure Block Grants (RIBG) Scheme

The Research Infrastructure Block Grants (RIBG) is funding provided by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) to all eligible Australian Higher Education Providers (HEPs), based on the Australian Competitive Grants Income averaged over the past two years.

QUT distributes RIBG funds to faculties annually based on their income from Australian Competitive Grants (51 accounts) over the past two years.

RIBG funds must be expended according to the DIISR expenditure guidelines in the calendar year in which they are released.

Joint Research Engagement (JRE)

JRE funding was introduced in 2010 with the aim of:

supporting the general fabric of the research and research training activities of HEPs
allow HEPs to manage their own research activities and set their own priorities
assist HEPs to respond flexibly to their research environment in accordance with their own strategies
enhance support for areas of research strength

This program replaces the Institutional Grant Scheme (IGS) but has been revised to remove the receipt of funds from competitive grants (category 1) and instead rewards for attracting funds from other sources, including industry and community partner and public sector research agencies (categories 2-4).

JRE funding is distributed by DIISR each year to those eligible higher education providers in Australia who have submitted data for the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) and Higher Education Student Collection. It is based on a formula using data from these Collections, averaged over the past two years:

60% research income (categories 2-4)
30% student load (most recent year available)
10% research publications (HERDC categories)

The funding is competitive and varies each year according to the performance of all higher education providers in Australia.

Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE)

The SRE initiative was introduced in 2010 with the objectives of:

helping address an identified shortfall in the funding available to meet the indirect costs associated with ACG research
supporting universities to build and maintain research excellence through the implementation of best practice financial management, performance and reporting frameworks.

SRE funding is distributed by DIISR each year to those eligible higher education providers in Australia who have submitted data for the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC). It is based on Australian Competitive Grant income reporting in the HERDC for the last available two years. Threshold 2 funding will be allocated in 2010 on the basis of universities' relative share of ACG income, moderated by a proxy performance factor based on the ration of full time equivalent (FTE) Research staff (Teaching & Research, Research Only) to Weighted Publications.

The Department will be undertaking a trial of Transparent Costing throughout 2010 with a view to full implementation in 2011. As QUT meets the threshold of $2.5m ACG income and is participating in the ERA initiative, we are eligible for all components of the funding (base and threshold 2).

SRE funding may be used to support any indirect costs associated with ACG research.

Research Training Scheme (RTS)

RTS Funding is distributed by DIISR each year to those eligible higher education providers in Australia who have submitted data for the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) and Higher Education Student Collection. It is based on a formula using data from the Collections, averaged over the past two years:

50% research higher degree completions
40% research income
10% research publication

The funding is competitive and varies each year according to the performance of all the higher education providers in Australia.

For details on how the RTS is calculated for QUT please see the QCR website.

Institutional Grant Scheme (IGS)

IGS funding has been replaced in 2010 by the JRE. Under the JRE the IGS funding formula will be revised to removed competitive grant income from the calculation methodology used to allocate this research block grant.

Historical information about IGS:

IGS Funding is distributed by DIISR to those eligible higher education providers in Australia who have submitted data for the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) and Higher Education Student Collection. It is based on a formula using data from these Collections, averaged over the past two years:

60% research income
30% student load
10% research publications

The funding is competitive and varies each year according to the performance of all the higher education providers in Australia.

For details on how the IGS is calculated for QUT please see the QCR website.