Research Block Grants

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Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC)

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About the HERDC

The HERDC comprises of research income data submitted by universities to the department annually. Each year, the department updates the HERDC Specifications in consultation with universities and other relevant stakeholders. The HERDC Specifications control the collection of higher education research data and are designed to ensure the Australian Government's research block grants are allocated in a fair and transparent way and to support the policy intent of the funding.

Data collected, along with data from the Higher Education Student Data Collection, is used to determine annual allocations to universities for the research block grants.

Draft HERDC Specifications for the collection of 2020 data

The Draft HERDC Specifications (for the collection of 2020 data) are now available. The department is currently assessing stakeholder feedback in response to the Draft HERDC Specifications and will publish the Final HERDC Specifications by the end of 2020.

The Category 1 Self-Assessment – Frequently Asked Questions is designed to assist universities to self-assess their R&D income, in conjunction with the Draft HERDC specifications for 2020 data to determine if it can be reported as Category 1.

Historical Information - HERDC Specifications

HERDC Specifications prior to 2010 are also available by request. 

Further Enquiries

For HERDC related enquiries, please email the department at: RBGrants@dese.gov.au with "HERDC" in the subject line.