Universities receive grants boost

Western Australian universities have secured $20.4 million in the latest Australian Research Council Discovery Grants, 7 per cent of the total funding on offer.

WA universities’ component of the national total of $295 million represents an increase of $8 million. Overall ARC funding increased by $58 million.

Last year, WA attracted 5 per cent of the total funding on offer.

The University of Western Australia gained an additional $6 million to take its 2004 total to $13.6 million, while Curtin University and Murdoch University almost doubled their funding performance to $4.3 million and $2.1 million respectively.

Edith Cowan University secured $397,000 of grants funding. 

Western Australian universities received 70 grants in the ARC’s funding program, up from 52 grants last year. Despite this increase, WA was ranked fifth behind New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory.

But while UWA attracted two thirds of the total ARC Discovery Grants handed out to Western Australian institutions, it received the lowest funding in its group of eight university partnership.

The group of eight includes the University of Adelaide ($15.2 million), The University of Melbourne ($37.9 million), and the University of Queensland ($25.4 million).

UWA pro vice-chancellor, research and innovation, Doug McEachern said the university’s performance this year was strong.

“It was a good outcome for us,” he said. “Last year we received $7 million and this year we got $13 million.”

Professor McEachern said a population guide suggesting WA should attract 10 per cent of funding was not a proper indicator of the sector’s research performance.

“Queensland, New South Wales and Melbourne do better because they have a greater concentration of the group of eight universities and they have Macquarie,” he said.

“The top eight research universities took out the top eight spots in funding. We are number eight but we are $4 million ahead of the next university.”

UWA also won $2.8 million in ARC linkage infrastructure grants.

Curtin University pro vice-chancellor of research and development, Barney Glover, said the university had one of its best funding years to date.

He said while WA universities didn’t attract 10 per cent of the funding in discovery grants, it exceeded its expected quota with the ARC’s linkage infrastructure grants.

A total of $28 million was allocated with WA attracting $3.1 million, or 11 per cent.

Murdoch University division of research and development director Paul D’Sylva said Murdoch had increased the value of its Discovery Grants by 71 per cent since 2003.