Research Policy Committee

In March 1994 the Academic Board resolved to reconstitute the Research Committee with new terms of reference and composition as a committee of the Academic Board to be called the Research Policy Committee. The Committee was serviced by the Research Office. The period of membership was to be staggered to preserve continuity of the Committee. Its composition was amended in May 1994 to provide for membership by a postgraduate research student, who was a member of the Board, appointed by the Board.

Terms of reference:

The Committee is to

(1) promote research, scholarship and other creative work within the University of Sydney;

(2) identify issues of academic research policy and to make recommendations to the Board, including recommendations for new and amended policies, regarding these issues;

(3) monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the Board's policies pertaining to research and to identify resource needs arising from the Board's policies, and to draw any deficiencies to the attention of the Vice-Chancellor and the Academic Board;

(4) promote and foster the work of Faculty research committees; and

(5) and consider and report on any matter referred to it by the Academic Board, any of its Standing Committees, the Chair of the Board or the Vice-Chancellor.

In carrying out its work the Committee will:

(1) determine the priority it gives to issues in the conduct of its business;

(2) create short-term working parties as it thinks necessary, with such members as it requires, to analyse and report on the likely impact of the options for responding to issues before it. Members of working parties need not necessarily be members of the Academic Board;

(3) seek the advice of Faculty research committees as appropriate;

(4) convene at least twice per year a meeting of the Research Forum, comprising members of Faculty research committees and the Board's Research Committee; and

(5) report as authorised in (5) above, while making all reports and recommendations available to the Academic Board for its consideration.

A Research Forum, in which chairs of all Faculty/College research committees meet with members of the Research Policy Committee, was to be convened four times a year by the Chair of the Research Policy Committee.

The review of the Academic Board in 1995 with its following restructure in 1996 meant that all Committees of the previous Board formally lapsed. See Minutes Academic Board 13 November 1996 (item 6 p.2); under Item 13 the following Standing Committees of the Academic Board were established: Undergraduate Studies Committee, Graduate Studies Committee, Teaching and Learning Committee, Research Committee, Library and Information Technology Committee; and Academic Staffing Committee.