Quick Facts—ERA 2015 Outcomes
What is ERA?

ERA measures the quality of research produced by Australian universities against world standards.

ERA uses expert review of a broad range of indicators of research quality (both quantitative and
qualitative) to provide ratings of discipline areas in each university (referred to as Units of Evaluation
or UoEs).

Discipline areas are defined by the Australian and New Zealand Research Classification (ANZSRC) for
broad Fields of Research (FoR) (i.e. two-digit FoR codes, for example, 02 Physical Sciences) and the
specific Fields of Research (i.e. four-digit FoR codes, for example 0206 Quantum Physics).
In ERA 2015 there were UoEs assessed in 142 four-digit disciplines (out of a possible 157), and all 22
two-digit disciplines.
In order to determine the ratings, committees of experts (referred to as Research Evaluation
Committees (RECs) review the information submitted by universities through an extensive process
conducted from June through October 2015. The ARC appointed 155 REC members and over 1300
peer reviewers to conduct the ERA 2015 evaluation.
The ERA expert committees provide ratings for each UoE on a five point scale ranging from 1—well
below world standard, through 3—at world standard and 5—well above world standard (see table
below).



ERA 2015 Outcomes

ERA 2015 outcomes show that Australia’s universities continue to produce high quality research
across a wide range of disciplines.

The overall research quality is improving and reflects the role that ERA plays in focussing universities
on research quality. Of the UoEs assessed in both ERA 2015 and the previous round, ERA 2012, 56
per cent of these maintained the same rating, while 29% improved their rating by one. The ERA
results show an extraordinary breadth of outstanding research performance in Australia.

The disciplines in which Australia has a particular strength are listed in the key statistics below.
Consistent with the strong overall improvement of research quality, the number of Australian
disciplinary strengths has increased from the previous ERA rounds.

There was steady growth in Australia’s university research activity between the ERA 2012 and ERA
2015 rounds, including increases in:
-
the total number of assessed UoEs, up 6% to 2460
-
the number of research outputs submitted, up 5% to 432 747
-
the number of research staff submitted, up 11% to 67 579
-
total number of patents, up 20% to 936.
Key Statistics
The following tables present the key statistics from ERA 2015 including relevant changes from previous ERA rounds.
Comparison of ERA 2015 data with ERA 2012 data (% change 2012/15)
No of Units
of Evaluation
(UoEs)
Number
of
Outputs
Total HERDC
income
(Cat 1, 2 ,3 ,4)
HERDC
Cat 1
income
(ACG)
HERDC
Cat 2
income
(OPS)
+5%
+13%
+28%
+8%
+6%
Esteem
Number
of
Patents
Number of
FTE (incl
'other' non
academic)
Headcount of
salaried and
non-salaried
research staff
+10%
+20%
+4%
+11%
Unique Research Outputs Submitted
Research output type
ERA 2015
Books
5,488
Book Chapters
45,269
Conference Publications
69,610
Journal Articles
301,499
Curated Exhibitions
753
Live Performances
913
Original Creative Works
5,244
Recorded and Rendered Works
727
Research Report for External Body
2,453
Portfolio of Non-Traditional Research Output
Total
791
432,747
Total Researchers submitted
FTE
Headcount
ERA 2015
43,582
67,579
ERA 2012
41,774
60,668
ERA 2010
39,668
55,842
Research Income by Categories
Income category
ERA 2010
ERA 2012
ERA 2015
CAT1: Australian Competitive Grants
3,185,991,970
3,752,484,731
4,821,070,738
CAT2: Other Public Sector Research Income
1,909,803,215
2,385,947,220
2,572,103,175
1,515,456,936
1,589,167,765
1,606,335,280
CAT3ii: International A
198,987,195
208,272,532
246,740,222
CAT 3iii: International B
354,471,524
459,656,183
325,358,856
381,375,340
372,196,639
328,642,028
7,546,086,180
8,767,725,070
9,900,250,299
CAT3: Industry and Other Research Income
CAT3i: Australian
CAT 4: Cooperative Research Centre Research
Income
Total
ERA Rating Scale
ERA utilises a five-point rating scale ranging from 1 through to 5. The rating scale is broadly consistent with the approach taken in
research evaluation processes in other countries to allow for international comparison.
Rating
Descriptor
5
The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of outstanding performance well
above world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation.
4
The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance above world
standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation.
3
The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of average performance at world
standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation.
2
The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance below world
standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation.
1
The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance well below world
standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation.
Please note: The tables show the ratings for assessed UoEs. The UoE must meet the relevant low volume threshold for assessment
to occur. Where the institution did not meet the low volume threshold, ‘n/a’ (i.e. not assessed) is shown in the table. In some cases
UoEs were not rated (‘n/r’) by the Research Evaluation Committee due to coding issues.
Australia’s National Research Strengths
This is defined as Specific disciplines (four-digit FoRs) where ten or more Australian universities were rated at above world
standard or higher, including four or more Australian universities rated at well above world standard. This is consistent with the
method used for previous rounds.
01
0101
0102
0104
Mathematical Sciences
Pure Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Statistics
02
0201
0204
0205
Physical Sciences
Astronomical and Space Sciences
Condensed Matter Physics
Optical Physics
03
0301
0302
0303
0306
Chemical Sciences
Analytical Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry
Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
04
0403
0406
Earth Sciences
Geology
Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
05
0501
0502
0503
Environmental Sciences
Ecological Applications
Environmental Science and Management
Soil Sciences
06
0602
0604
0607
Biological Sciences
Ecology
Genetics
Plant Biology
0608
Zoology
09
0905
0906
0912
0913
Engineering
Civil Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Materials Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
11
1102
1103
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1115
1116
1117
Medical and Health Sciences
Cardiovascular Medicine and Haematology
Clinical Sciences
Human Movement and Sports Science
Immunology
Medical Microbiology
Neurosciences
Nursing
Nutrition and Dietetics
Oncology and Carcinogenesis
Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Medical Physiology
Public Health and Health Services
15
1503
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Business and Management
16
1606
Studies in Human Society
Political Science
17
1701
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Psychology
18
1801
Law and Legal Studies
Law
20
2002
2005
Language, Communication and Culture
Cultural Studies
Literary Studies
21
2103
History and Archaeology
Historical Studies
22
2203
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Philosophy