• Section 1 - Purpose
• Section 2 - Authority
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Procedure
• Establishment of Research Centres
• Membership
• Governance and Reporting
• Funding, Resources and Support
• Reviews 
• Variations
• Closure
• Section 5 - Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This procedure outlines requirements for establishment, approval, administration, governance, reporting, review and disestablishment for Research Centres and related responsibilities, in line with RMIT policy.

Section 2 - Authority

(2) Authority for this document is established by the Research Policy.

Section 3 - Scope

(3) This procedure applies to all staff, students, visiting researchers, honorary and adjunct appointees, and external contractors or consultants undertaking or supporting research at all RMIT Group and external research locations, and any research RMIT is obliged to consider.

Section 4 - Procedure

Establishment of Research Centres

(4) A Research Centre will meet the establishment criteria set and documented by the relevant college.

(5) The Director of a proposed Research Centre, or College ADVC R&I(s), will apply to establish a Research Centre using a Research Centre Plan (Plan) template provided by the lead college, including:

1. detail of how the proposed Research Centre meets or exceeds criteria for establishment as a Research Centre;
2. a strategy covering at least three years, including alignment with College priorities;
3. Research Centre business planning including performance indicators;
4. membership and roles and responsibilities of members in contributing and supporting strategy and business planning;
5. resourcing and funding arrangements aligned to the Centre’s strategy and activity plan;
6. governance, management, and reporting arrangements;
7. relationship, connection and differentiation to other RMIT Research Structures;
8. consultation undertaken with relevant stakeholders impacted by new Centre; and
9. In the case of a Cross-College Centre, the template will outline how the responsibilities will be shared across Colleges

(6) The Plan will be:

1. endorsed by the relevant College Research Committee (or joint endorsement by applicable Committees for cross-college proposals), and
2. approved by the relevant Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor(s), Research and Innovation (ADVC R&I) or equivalent in the college.

(7) In the event  a cross-college Research Centre is being established, the relevant ADVC R&Is will agree the establishment criteria, along with the Research Centre Establishment Plan template that must be used.

Membership

(8) A Research Centre will have a Research Centre Director or Co-Directors, and may have a Deputy Director(s). Where there are Co-Directors, sharing of responsibilities between the Directors will be clearly documented.

1. a. the position description and workload allocation for the Director or Co-Director roles should reflect the scale and activities proposed for the Centre.
2. the term of appointment for the Director or Co-Director roles should be agreed and set out in a letter of appointment to be issued by the appropriate College ADVCRI.

(9) Where a Director resigns, the College ADVC R&I may undertake the following in accordance with this procedure:

1. appoint an interim Director,
2. appoint a new Director, or
3. assess Centre viability in light of any significant, key personnel changes, and
4. where assessed as unviable, close the Research Centre.

(10) To appoint a new Director, the College ADVC R&I(s) will call for Expressions of Interest. The new Director will be approved by the College ADVC R&I or College ADVC R&Is in the case of cross-College Centres, in consultation with relevant School Dean(s).

(11) Membership can be through invitation or request. The Director initiates or approves membership changes. Centres will communicate and make clear the expected contribution of members to centre operations, performance and culture.  Membership should be reviewed annually as part of the Centre annual planning process.

(12) RMIT Academics can be a member of more than one Research Centre and/or Research Group at a time. RMIT Academics will inform the Director if they are members of other Research Structures and discuss ]how they will contribute to each Research Structure. Members will plan accordingly with the Director and their line manager.

(13) HDR candidates can be members of a Research Centre if they are currently enrolled at RMIT, making good progress with their candidature and if their membership is supported by their supervisor and approved by the Director.

Governance and Reporting

(14) The establishment criteria and performance indicators for Research Centres will be set by the relevant College ADVC R&I. While a Research Centre’s strategy, focus, leadership and membership may change over time, the establishment criteria and performance indicators set by the college should be met when establishing a Research Centre and throughout its planning and review cycles.

(15) Research Centres will have governance arrangements that are appropriate for their size and scale, that assign governance and management responsibilities to appropriate roles and may include an Advisory Committee.

(16) Directors of Research Centres will report annually on the previous calendar year to the College Research Committee by April of each year.

(17) The annual report will include the Research Centre’s plan for the next calendar year and include the following:

1. the Research Centre’s achievements against its Plan and analysis of the Centre’s progress against performance indicators;
2. any performance indicator that is not being met, or that is not on track to be met, and reasons for this;
3. any variations and reason for major variations; and
4. any difficulties facing the Research Centre which may affect its future operation.

(18) The relevant College ADVC R&I, or nominee, will provide feedback on reports within two months including a recommendation that the Research Centre should be continued, reconstituted, reviewed or closed. The Director will communicate the report outcomes and ADVC R&I feedback to the Research Centre’s members, excluding any commercial-in-confidence, commercially sensitive, or non-essential personal information.

(19) College ADVC R&Is will meet annually to discuss the performance, governance and positioning of Research Centres, in consideration of other research structures in the university

Funding, Resources and Support

(20) Research Centres’ will be provided with administrative support, operating budget, capital assistance, equipment maintenance and upgrades, research-related travel and other resources associated with Research Centre members to deliver on strategy and annual plans. An agreed level of support will be provided by the relevant school(s), college(s)in line with relevant University policies and procedures.

(21) Research Centres may seek support from internal and external grant schemes in accordance with RMIT’s Research Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility and Due Diligence Instruction.

Reviews 

(22) The college will ensure Research Centres are independently, externally reviewed at regular intervals (i.e. every 5 years). Reviews can also be requested by the College ADVC R&I(s) or Research Committee(s). A review provides an opportunity for continuous improvement and may be required if the Research Centre does not meet performance indicators, there are major membership changes or if the Director leaves.

(23) Reviews will be appropriate to the size and scale of the Research Centre and have a documented Terms of Reference. The Chair will be external to RMIT and external panel members will together represent more than half of the membership.

(24) Review panel members will have relevant knowledge and expertise.

(25) The review will include assessment of and advice on:

1. the Research Centre’s impact and achievements against its current criteria identified in its most recent Plan;
2. recommended updates to the Research Centre’s performance criteria in light of benchmarking;
3. the Research Centre’s contribution to the overall research performance of the University; and,
4. any difficulties facing the Research Centre which may affect its future operation, including recommendations to address such difficulties.

(26) The panel will report within three months of the review concluding. The review report will include findings, recognition of achievements and a recommendation as to whether the Research Centre should be continued, reconstituted or closed.

(27) The Chair or proxy will send the review report, along with any response from the Director, to the College Research Committee for noting and ADVC R&I for acceptance.

(28) The ADVC R&I communicates the outcome of the review to key stakeholders, including College Research Committees, college and school leaders, research centre members, and the broader RMIT community.

Variations

(29) Major variations will be notified to and approved by the ADVC R&I. Major variations include changes to the name of the Research Centre, the Director, and the strategy. Upon approval, the Director (or relevant College delegate) will communicate these major variations to all Research Centre members.

(30) Minor variations will be approved by the Director and included in the annual report. Minor variations include changes to the work plan or membership. The Director will ensure that any minor variations materially impacting ongoing research activities are communicated to the relevant members in a timely manner.

Closure

(31) The Director, ADVC R&I(s) or Dean/Head of School may recommend closing a Research Centre if:

1. its focus/aims and objectives have been fulfilled, have not been met or are no longer aligned with RMIT strategy or college strategy; or,
2. it is no longer adequately meeting its establishment criteria or performance indicators; or,
3. it fails to comply with reporting or review requirements; or,
4. the review report recommends closure.

(32) The application to close a Research Centre will include a closure plan, covering:

1. what will happen to all resources, research data, funding and active industry or external partnerships;
2. transition arrangements for associated staff and Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates;
3. a timeline for closure; and
4. assignment of responsibility for closure to appropriate role/s.

(33) The application will be approved by the ADVC R&I. The ADVC R&I communicates the closure of a Research Centre to key stakeholders, including the Centre's membership, College Research Committees, college and school leaders and the broader RMIT community.

Section 5 - Definitions