Librarians in research and academia are keeping a close eye on changes to Research Assessment under the new Government. Michael Jubb from the UK based Research Information Blog has a post about how the new Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA), replacing the Research Quality Framework (RQF) compares to what’s happening in the UK -

What’s interesting here is the explicit statement that the new system “will assess research quality using a combination of metrics and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts”. This is precisely what several organisations, including RCUK, have been urging in the UK. So there is clearly going to be considerable interest in the UK in how the new initiative works out in Australia.

What’s even more interesting is the turnabout from just a couple of ago. Then, when the Research Quality Framework was ramping up, we heard how the UK had abandoned their very similar Research Assessment Exercise in favour of the Research Assessment Framework. It seemed quite likely then that the RQF wouldn’t last, but it’s intriguing that it’s replacement is being looked at closely by the UK which has been looking at metrics and research quality for a few years longer than Australia. How times change!