Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
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Submission 45
AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL
23 October 1997
Dear Mr McMahon
Inquiry into the Appropriate Roles of Institutes of Technical
and Further Education
You wrote to Professor Vicki Sara, the Chair of the Australian Research
Council (ARC), on 17 September 1997 inviting her to make a submission
to the Inquiry on behalf of the ARC. Professor Sara has asked me to provide
you with the Council's submission on her behalf.
The statutory functions of the ARC are to make recommendations
to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
about the distribution of funds under research programs referred to the
Council by the Minister and to inquire into and inform and advise the
Minister via the National Board of Employment, Education and Training
about national research priorities and the coordination of research policy.
The ARC sees little role for the institutes of technical and further
education in the research activities that are the focus of these functions.
However, you may be interested to note that in response
to representation from the Research Advisory Council of the Australian
National Training Authority in late 1995, the ARC indicated that it would
welcome collaboration between researchers in higher education and vocational
education and training institutions and that it would be pleased to consider
funding appropriate projects jointly with the Research Advisory Council.
At that time the ARC also indicated that it would be pleased to assist
by identifying where relevant research was being undertaken within higher
education institutions and suggested that the Research Advisory Council
may wish to convene a workshop to explore these matters.
I understand that there has been no further progress on these matters
since early in 1996. I believe, however, that the ARC remains open to
opportunities to encourage research collaboration between the vocational
education and training and higher education sectors.
Yours sincerely
Professor Anne Edwards
Deputy Chair
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