However, Virginia Walsh, the Go8's Executive director, points out,

As regards the Research Quality Framework (RQF) it is interesting to compare the statements of the Go8 with that of the Minister, Ms Bishop. From the Go8:

"Ms Walsh noted the small amount of $3 million in new funding for the Research Quality Framework. She said 'the development of a research assessment process has been an important focus in recent times for all universities - especially for the research intensive Go8. This money will only support limited evaluation of the ways in which the quality of research can be assessed and rewarded. Significant additional money is required to ensure that this work proceeds in close consultation with university researchers and that the best research assessment model is developed.'"

While Ms Bishop's statement rather equivocally puts it this way:

"Australia is moving towards a national Research Quality Framework (RQF) following the announcement of $3 million funding in the 2006-07 Budget. [Ms]Bishop said that once developed, the RQF will more readily identify and reward the highest quality research undertaken in Australia’s publicly funded research sector. 'It will also recognise research that provides significant broader impact to Australia, whether economic, social, environmental or cultural. The RQF will be the first research assessment exercise carried out internationally that considers research impact.

"'The RQF will bring Australia in line with other research-led economies and will fill the gap that currently exists where there is no system-wide or expert-based way to measure the quality and impact of Australian research.

"'The funding announced in this Budget will allow further development of the model and the next phase of the process. The recently appointed RQF Development Advisory Group will advise the Government on how the RQF model, if adopted by the Government, could be most effectively implemented.

"'This initiative - to formulate a world’s best-practice RQF for evaluating research quality and impact - seeks to ensure taxpayers’ money is being invested in research of the highest quality which delivers real benefits to the wider community.'"

The comment that "The RQF will bring Australia in line with other research-led economies and will fill the gap that currently exists where there is no system-wide or expert-based way to measure the quality and impact of Australian research," is at best misleading. The only system that is reasonably similar to the proposed RQF is the UK's Research Assessment Exercise, and it has been repudiated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in his recent budget address.

The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee says

President Professor Gerard Sutton said that of the new initiatives [promulgated in the budget], the most significant for the sector was the Capital Development Pool funding, and the increase in the cap for FEE-HELP students.

“The $95.5m over four years is a 50 % increase in base funding for the Capital Development Pool. This will provide universities with funds to undertake new infrastructure projects. There is also additional capital funding for the Australian National University,” Professor Sutton said.

“The long-held AVCC position in relation to FEE-HELP has been recognised in this Budget: the cap for all students will be increased to $80,000 (from $50,950) and the cap for students in medicine, vet science and dentistry will be increased to $100,000.

“In addition, the $10 million over four years in support for small businesses to establish student services for our regional campuses is welcomed”, he said.

“There is a need for Government to substantially increase research funding before any meaningful change is made to the current research funding allocation process.

“Measures to monitor research quality and impact are high on the current agenda for universities and Government. It is therefore disappointing to note that there is no additional funding provided to enable universities to implement the outcome of any research assessment process,” Professor Sutton said.

So far neither the Australian Academy of Science nor the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies has released statements regarding the budget but an extended bon mot from Catherin Armitage's Australian piece makes a good tail piece:

In a budget media release Education Minister Julie Bishop refers to science and innovation as "a vital area, critical to Australia's prosperity". How universities would love to be so described by their chief advocate in the Howard Government. Yet in her ministerial foreword to the Department of Education, Science and Training budget measures she musters no praise for universities, nor even a mention.

Under the banner of "investing in our young people", Bishop states: "The pathways young people follow from school to training or further study and eventually the work force are more varied than in the past, and this needs to be reflected in the education sector." To universities, that spells "ouch".