AnnRpt2000. book

 
The Australian National University Annual Report 2000
 
4
Commonwealth Government’s operating grant is provid-
ed to the ANU. The budget is formulated following wide-
ranging, annual consultations with the research, teaching
and administrative areas of the University prior to its pres-
entation to the Finance Committee and Council for ap-
proval. In addition to school, faculty and centre operating
grants, funds are allocated to the major equipment pro-
gram, the Library, for information technology infra-struc-
ture, to the Graduate School, for capital works and to the
administrative areas which support the academic endeav-
ours of the ANU.
University-wide strategy for the development of informa-
tion technology is provided through the Information
Technology Strategy Committee, which is supported by
several broadly based advisory committees which interact
with specific service providers. An academically based
committee structure ensures effective development of Li-
brary holdings and delivery mechanisms to support teach-
ing and research needs. Funds for capital works are
distributed in accordance with the University’s rolling, 10-
year capital management plan. A substantial allocation is
made within the University for both centrally and locally
administered undergraduate and graduate scholarships.
The resources for major research equipment are distribut-
ed competitively on a University-wide basis.
 
The Faculties’ budget: 
 
The allocation of the recurrent
grant to The Faculties occurs through a resource distribu-
tion process driven by weighted student numbers and re-
search performance. A planning group advises the Deputy
Vice-Chancellor on allocations to individual Faculties and
Centres.
 
Institute of Advanced Studies’ budget:
 
 Individual Re-
search Schools and Centres in the Institute of Advanced
Studies have approved strategic plans and their annual
funding allocations support planned on-going research
and research training programs. Programs are adjusted to
take up research opportunities or close off unproductive
directions, within a strategic framework. Additional funds
for major equipment and research infrastructure are allo-
cated on a competitive basis through the University’s Ma-
jor Equipment Committee and the Australian Research
Council’s Research Equipment Infrastructure and Facili-
ties Committee. The IAS may apply to the latter commit-
tee for research infrastructure funding in collaboration
with other universities.
 
Administrative budget:
 
 Budget allocations to the admin-
istrative divisions and other service areas of the University
support the key academic goals of the University.

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Review of 2000
 
5
 
Review of 2000
 
The year 2000 was highly successful for The Australian
National University.
In fulfilling the very special national role mandated by its
charter, the University continued to achieve significant re-
search results, deliver quality teaching and to accelerate the
development of its information technology environment
to support its participation in the increasingly global high-
er education sector.
The Australian higher education sector remains highly
competitive. In the current stringent resource environ-
ment, universities have been forced to undergo serious re-
structuring of both academic and administrative areas in
order to maintain their quality and their competitiveness.
While reductions in public funding for universities in re-
cent years have contributed to this restructuring, often in-
volving stress for staff and students, ANU is preparing to
take advantage of opportunities presented by the Govern-
ment’s research White Paper and the announcement ex-
pected in 2001 on policy initiatives to strengthen
Australia’s capacity to capitalise on innovation.
ANU strongly supported the research White Paper’s broad
policy directions and, especially, the Government’s deci-
sion to enable the Institute of Advanced Studies to com-
pete for those categories of Australian Research Council
and National Health and Medical Research Council re-
search grants for which it had previously not been able to
compete. Senior University and Departmental staff spent
considerable time during 2000 negotiating the parameters
within which the Institute would be able to compete. An
agreement is expected early in 2001.
The Vice Chancellor’s Plan for Growth, which was final-
ised in October, was aimed at harnessing the best ideas and
approaches into an agreed strategic plan to invest carefully
in growth to expand the University’s revenue base and to
encourage innovative teaching and research activity. De-
velopment of the plan involved 33 workshops with staff in
research schools, centres, faculties and administrative divi-
sions.
 
The University’s reputation
 
The reputation of ANU is determined by its performance
and the judgements made by others on its research, teach-
ing and managerial capacity. Another measurement is the
willingness of groups and individuals to enter collabora-
tive agreements or partnerships with the University. This
year has seen a very large number of these joint agree-
ments.
They include: 
•
Australian ownership of 21st century biological inno-
vations will be better protected under the new Australian
Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture. The Cen-
tre, at the Faculty of Law and the Research School of Bio-
logical Sciences, will be established over the next five years
with a $3 million investment by the Grains Research &
Development Corporation (GRDC). Additional funding
of $400,000 will be provided by the Commonwealth
Government in recognition of the relevance of the work
of the Centre beyond the grains industry. The Centre will
provide education, training and research and develop-
ment focussing on intellectual property issues as they
apply to agriculture and agricultural biotechnology.
•
A new way to connect industry and universities
attracted $3.5 million funding over three years. The
scheme, titled Uniche, links Orica, Australia’s largest
chemical company, the ANU Research School of Chemis-
try and the Department of Chemistry, the School of
Chemistry at the University of Melbourne and University
of Newcastle’s Discipline of Chemistry and Department
of Chemical Engineering. The Federal Government has
also provided funding through the Science Lectureships
initiative. Orica has contributed $1.7 million and ANU
— which is the lead agency for the project — will con-
tribute $500,000 in staffing, resources and expertise.
Uniche will develop a ‘sandwich course’ for science
undergraduate and postgraduate students that will pro-
vide students with a close association with the chemical
industry. The students will develop a close understanding
of industrial management and innovation.
•
The ACT Government invested $250,000 as seed
capital in Biotron Limited. The company led by Professor
Peter Gage, Professor of Physiology at the John Curtin
School of Medical Research, is developing a range of
medical products from the basic research carried out at
the John Curtin School. The $250,000 was provided
through the Canberra Business Development Fund that
aims to build local research into commercial products and
medical treatments.
•
The Iranian Government has endowed a lectureship
in Persian Language and Iranian Studies at the Centre for
Arab and Islamic Studies. The donation of $350,000 was
matched by the University
•
A national partnership of eight organisations includ-
ing ANU was formed in June to establish a national facil-
ity at ANU which will provide more computing capacity
than currently available in the Australian Higher Educa-
tion sector. The Australian Partnership for Advanced
Computing (APAC) will invest $80 million in advanced
computer systems, research, education and technology
diffusion. ANU contributed $6 million in kind (mostly
in staff from the existing ANU Supercomputer Facility)
and $3.5 million in funding.
•
Australia’s first academic position in Turkish Lan-
guage and Culture was established in August. Established
with an initial donation from the Government of Turkey
matched by the ANU Endowment for Excellence, the
position will help promote a greater understanding and
appreciation in Australia of the language, culture, eco-
nomic and political development of Turkey. The AL Mak-
toum Foundation, of the United Arab Emirates has
donated $2.5 million to advance the studies of Arab and

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