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Faculty Research Chairs /Associate Deans (Research)

Terms of Reference

FRCs play a key role in research management at the university, and shall:

• Serve as the primary link between the URC and its sub-committees and the research and research training activities within the faculties. 
• Interpret, disseminate and implement URC policies and procedures concerning research and HDR supervision and the selection mechanisms for URC research and research training awards to members of the faculty.
• Act within faculties to promote and develop research excellence.
• Ensure that mechanisms for the support, mentoring and funding of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are established (via the URC Faculty Research Grant and/or Research Strength support).
• Recommend ranking of faculty candidates for URC research and research training awards.
• Review and implement the Faculty Research Plan.
• Further the promotion and development of research activities and research excellence within the faculty.
• Serve as a forum for the discussion of ideas, issues and opportunities that concern research within the faculty.
• Have carriage of Faculty-based research initiatives.  

The FRC is responsible for the broad oversight of matters concerning HDR students and ensuring that Faculty arrangements for HDR student supervision meet UOW Code of Practice, Supervision requirements. The FRC, through the Faculty Research Grant and/or URC Research Strength support, ensures the provision of research funds and adequate infrastructure for HDR students. The FRC must report annually in the Faculty Research Report to the URC on HDR support.

FRC Chairs and Committees are encouraged to expand their promotion of research excellence and management of research and HDR students within their faculty.  Such activities should be identified and reported in the Faculty Research Plan.  Faculties can request URC funding in the Faculty Research Grant application to partially support innovative activities (e.g. grant editing, mentoring and support for ECRs, research performance awards, and faculty research grant schemes).

Roles and Responsibilities of Members

FRC membership should include:

• FRC Chair (appointed by Dean of Faculty, in consultation with DVC(R))
• Deputy Chair
• Dean of Faculty (ex officio)
• Research Strength Director(s) and/or Research Unit Leader(s)
• Heads of Schools/Departments and/or Postgraduate Coordinators or HPS
• HDR student representative (excluding staff who are also HDR students)
• Members of URC Committees

Other key members of RAID (eg, Directors, Managers of Innovation and Commercialisation) may be invited to attend to discuss or clarify specific issues.

FRC membership will vary with each faculty, but should reflect the scope of research activities within the faculty, including representation of research strengths, as well as faculty strategic research areas.  Further, because the FRC has carriage of policies and procedures supporting HDR students enrolled in the faculty, the committee should include appropriate representation of Postgraduate Coordinators (or Heads of Postgraduate Studies (HPS)) across the academic units within the faculty and the faculty’s representative to the TEC. 

It is not required that each of the above roles be filled by separate individuals; some individuals may fulfil more than one role (e.g. department heads may be the unit HPS, an Ethics Committee member may also be a Postgraduate Coordinator). With the exception of the HDR student representative, all FRC members should hold academic or research positions at the university.

Roles of the FRC Chair

The primary URSC role of the FRC Chair is to provide the link between faculty’s research interests and URSC business. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Development of research policy and procedures
• Providing faculty input in the selection of URSC research and research training awards
• Providing faculty feedback on URSC research issues
• Advising the DVC(R) and PVC(R) on faculty research issues, and
• Discussing issues concerning research practice and management at university level.

As a member of URSC in matters of ranking and allocation of scholarships and grants, the FRC Chair must act in accord with the best interest of the University as a whole, not solely as an advocate for the Faculty.  To accomplish these ends, the FRC Chair attends URSC meetings, informal meetings (e.g. FRC Chairs’ breakfast) and contributes to Working Parties as necessary.

At the faculty level, the FRC Chair is responsible for:

• Interpreting and disseminating information from RAID and URSC policies and procedures and should lead in their faculty-based implementation.
• Setting agendas and holding regular meetings of the FRC to advance both URC and Faculty research management.
• Play a central role in producing the Faculty Research Plan (with the Dean and key researchers in the faculty) and be proactive in its implementation and in monitoring its outcomes through the FRC.   
• Reporting to the URSC on research activity within the faculty and the use of the URC component of the Faculty research budget.

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