Paul Babie

Name (Individual/Organisation)

Paul Babie

Responses

Q10. Having regard to the Review’s Terms of Reference, the ARC Act itself, the function, structure and operation of the ARC, and the current and potential role of the ARC in fostering excellent Australian research of global significance, do you have any other comments or suggestions?

The ARC must introduce a small grants scheme. Such a scheme would be of great assistance to a significant proportion of Australia’s researchers, including, although by no means limited to, Early Career Researchers and Early Career Academics, and go a long way to consolidating and enhancing Australia’s reputation, capacity and capability in an area crucial to the maintenance of a vibrant and robust civil society and democracy. By providing small grant schemes, very many projects that currently are impossible to complete, and in many instances are of great importance, cannot be undertaken for want of 5,000 to 30,000. By allowing for such grants, many more scholars would obtain the minimal funding they need, enhance and improve the outstanding research of Australia's social sciences and humanities, and free up millions of dollars of additional funding to the sciences where large grants are needed. The model for such a scheme are the Government of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Talent, Insight, and Connection Grant schemes, the details of which can be found here https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/index-eng.aspx.

Submission received

05 December 2022

Publishing statement

Yes, I would like my submission to be published and my name and/or the name of the organisation to be published alongside the submission. Your submission will need to meet government accessibility requirements.