Research Policy

1. Purpose

1.1 The Research Policy (the policy) outlines how research at UTS is conducted and managed. In support of the UTS Research Strategy (the research strategy), the policy establishes the research environment and culture in which UTS researchers work.

1.2 Research is fundamental to UTS’s purpose, in particular the delivery of excellent research with strong economic, environmental, cultural and social impact. Research is broadly defined by the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (the Australian Code) as 'the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions and understandings'.

1.3 Research at UTS involves critical and experimental inquiry guided by a hypothesis or intellectual position that is open to scrutiny from peers and formal analysis by experts in the field. UTS sees research as having a direct impact on communities, government, business and industry.

2. Scope

2.1 The policy applies to all staff, students and affiliates (hereafter researchers) conducting or managing research for UTS. In addition, UTS staff will undertake research in line with the provisions of the Enterprise agreements.

2.2 The policy is supported by procedures and guidelines to help researchers initiate, plan, conduct and complete their research. The policy should be used in conjunction with the procedures.

2.3 In addition to this policy, graduate research students and supervisors must comply with the Graduate Research and Supervision Policy and section 11, Student Rules.

2.4 University consulting is acknowledged as a specific type of research and is managed under the University Consulting Procedure (SharePoint).

3. Principles

3.1 The Australian Code establishes a framework for research to be conducted responsibly, ethically and with integrity by articulating the characteristics of an honest, ethical and conscientious research culture. Researchers must be familiar with, and comply with, the principles and responsibilities outlined in the Australian Code, this policy and the Academic Integrity Policy.

3.2 The principal objective of human and animal research ethics and biosafety review is to facilitate safe and ethical research. UTS affirms its commitment to the:

3.3 The UTS 2027 strategy establishes the goal of excellence in connected research. The research strategy provides a roadmap for researchers to deliver excellent research with impact, establishes characteristics of research excellence and connects researchers with the tools needed to create high-quality research outcomes.

3.4 Research must be conducted and managed in line with relevant legislative requirements, this policy and its procedures and guidelines to enable UTS to effectively support its research endeavours and report publicly on its research activities.

3.5 Research conducted at UTS must be the subject of peer review to ensure necessary standards via expert scrutiny in line with the requirements of the Australian Code.

3.6 The Research Office provides strategic and procedural guidance to researchers and is responsible for the development and publication of relevant procedures and guidelines. Researchers must conduct their research in line with this policy and all associated procedures and guidelines.

3.7 Research funding is assessed through a rigorous due diligence and risk assessment process (refer Guidelines and principles for accepting research funding (available at Funding your research (Staff Connect)). This allows UTS to comply with its values, external legislation (for example, Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cwlth)) and other external guidelines (for example, Guidelines to counter foreign interference in the Australian university sector). UTS will not seek or accept research funding in any form from the tobacco industry.

4. Policy statements

Research requirements

4.1 This policy supports the university’s research strategy by outlining a set of practical tasks and requirements for UTS researchers and research project leaders. This policy will help produce high-quality research with impact by:

identifying considerations and requirements for all researchers
supporting the development of high-quality, competitive research proposals
providing the necessary structure for researchers and authorisers/delegates to act responsibly, with rigour and honesty, promoting responsible leadership at all levels of research
encouraging fairness, respect and recognition for all those involved in UTS research
ensuring transparency and accountability when reporting research methodologies and findings
supporting the management of research data in a secure, accessible, interoperable and reusable manner
enabling open, equitable and worldwide access to research outcomes where possible.

4.2 Researchers, individually or collaboratively, will carry out research, scholarship and/or creative activities relevant to their discipline. In line with the Enterprise agreements, the requirement for researchers to undertake research is considered a natural part of a career at UTS. To this end, researchers will:

contribute to UTS's culture of responsible research conduct and undertake research with impact
provide support to and supervise graduate research students in line with the Graduate Research and Supervision Policy and engage in mentoring
disseminate research findings (through more than one medium or one audience), including through teaching
connect with external stakeholders and be a member of relevant professional bodies and communities
help to secure financial support for research activities from external sources (for example, government funding, industry partnerships and contracts, and commercialisation opportunities).

Research risks, opportunities and conflicts

4.3 Research direction and impact at UTS is determined by understanding the risks and opportunities of research. Before carrying out any research activities, researchers must undertake appropriate due diligence and risk assessments in line with the Risk Management Policy.

4.4 Researchers must manage risks in line with the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy, the health and safety management framework and any relevant faculty/unit risk and health and safety requirements.

4.5 Researchers must understand and comply with the university’s requirements on identifying and declaring any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest in line with the Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Policy and the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint).

4.6 Researchers must be cognisant of all potential spheres of influence and report any conflicts of interest or other types of influence that may arise during the undertaking of any research-related activities. This includes the university’s obligation to comply with the Guidelines to counter foreign interference in the Australian university sector.

Research ethics and biosafety

4.7 Researchers and research project leaders must ensure research integrity in line with the requirements of the Australian Code, the Academic Integrity Policy and the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint). The UTS research integrity framework has been developed to implement the requirements of the Australian Code (available at Research Ethics and Integrity (SharePoint)).

4.8 Research project leaders must obtain all necessary ethics and biosafety approvals before the start of any work involving:

human participants and/or their data
innovations, interventions and therapies, including clinical and non-clinical trials
the care and use of animals for scientific purposes
biological hazards (such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), pathogens, ionising radiation, cytotoxic substances and imported biological materials).

4.9 Researchers and research project leaders must follow the research ethics and biosafety requirements outlined in the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint). Further guidance on animal ethics, biosafety, clinical trials and human research ethics is available at Research Ethics and Integrity (SharePoint) and Ethics and integrity.

Research collaborations

4.10 Research collaborations are encouraged by the research strategy and must be guided by Collaborative Research (a guide supporting the Australian Code). Research projects that involve international collaborations must also comply with the Defence Trade Controls Compliance Procedure (SharePoint) and the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cwlth) where necessary. More information is outlined at International collaboration and engagement: Regulatory considerations (SharePoint).

4.11 Research that involves collaboration or partnership with the Department of Defence may fall under the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP). Researchers engaging in DISP collaborations must comply with the Defence Industry Security Program Procedure (SharePoint).

Research planning

4.12 All research requires effective planning. Before starting any research, whether funded or unfunded, a discrete project, program of inquiry or entire career, researchers should consider:

who or what will benefit from the research
the intended outcomes of the research
the impact of the research
how community, government and/or industry will be engaged to ensure the right questions are being asked and the right problems are being solved
who will participate in the research and whether any approvals or consent will be required
what resources will be required
how the research findings will be disseminated and translated into practice, and
how the results of the research will be protected, recorded and archived at the end of the research project.

Research proposals

4.13 A research proposal forms the starting point of a research project. The content and detail of a proposal will vary depending on the purpose and audience but it will serve as a guide to the purpose and intent of the project.

4.14 At a minimum, a research proposal should set out what will be done in a research project, who will be involved, timelines, deliverables, how the project will have impact and how it will be managed in line with the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint).

4.15 Research project leaders are responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in the research proposal, and for the general management and oversight of research projects, as outlined in the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint).

Costing, pricing and expenditure

4.16 The costing, pricing and expenditure of research forms part of the research proposal. The research project leader must comply with the Research Finance Procedure (SharePoint) to ensure appropriate expenditure and management of funds.

4.17 In accurately costing and pricing a research project, the research project leader must:

provide sufficient justification to allow the authorised delegate to make an informed decision in approving a project proposal or a research contract
be able to justify the investment of UTS staff time, resources, facilities and other direct or indirect costs, where requested by the authorised delegate
follow the requirements outlined in the Research Finance Procedure (SharePoint).

Approvals

4.18 All research projects must be formally approved before any research activity begins. This includes all human and animal ethics and biosafety approvals (refer Research Ethics and Integrity (SharePoint)) and a Working with Children Check where relevant (refer Child Protection Policy). The research project leader must provide all the necessary information in the proposal to allow the UTS delegate to approve the project, in line with the UTS Delegations and the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint). This includes having approval for the proposal by the research project leader's faculty/institute.

4.19 In approving a research proposal, the UTS delegate must ensure that:

all requirements of the approval process have been met before submission to the client and/or before the research project begins
costing and pricing is accurate, and
the proposal outlines compliance with the international regulatory environment (refer International collaboration and engagement: Regulatory considerations (SharePoint)).

Research contracts

4.20 Most research projects require a research contract. Research contracts must be negotiated and agreed in line with the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint). A research contract cannot be negotiated or signed until the research proposal has been approved.

4.21 The research project leader must ensure that all researchers involved in a research project are aware of their responsibilities and obligations under the research contract.

4.22 Agreements and commitments in relation to intellectual property (IP), including its commercialisation (refer Commercial Activities Policy), provision of rights, transfer of ownership or transfer of university material relating to university IP, must be outlined in the research contract and approved by the authorised UTS delegate.

Research data, primary materials and records

4.23 The effective management of research data enables and supports research collaborations and the publication and validation of research. Researchers must manage all research data, primary materials and research records in line with the Research Data Management Procedure (RDM Procedure). The RDM Procedure must be used in conjunction with the Records Management Policy as appropriate.

4.24 Researchers must adhere to any data management or recording requirements that are outlined in the research contract. Variations to the contract should be managed in line with the RDM Procedure. Discrepancies between the contract and any UTS record management requirements should be identified and resolved in line with the RDM Procedure.

4.25 Research involving the sharing of data outside UTS must include data sharing arrangements in the research contract or a separate data licence agreement. This includes projects where a researcher leaves UTS and requires continuing access to the data.

Research outputs and project completion

4.26 Research outputs take many forms and are critical to UTS's research reputation and impact. Research outputs must be shared responsibly, accurately and as widely as possible in line with the Open Access Policy. Exceptions to this may occur where:

commercial, legal, technical, privacy or ethical constraints (as part of an approved research contract) prevent sharing of data and data outputs
researchers have the right to keep research data associated with publications confidential until the results have been published.

4.27 Researchers must manage research outputs and all associated data in line with the RDM Procedure.

4.28 Researchers should think strategically about when, where and how to disseminate their research findings, and to make informed decisions to avoid being exposed to predatory publishers and conference organisers.

4.29 Research project leaders must manage the authorship and attribution of research outputs in line with the Australian Code and the Authorship Procedure.

4.30 Research project leaders are responsible for ensuring the full completion of a research project in line with the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint).

Evaluating and monitoring performance

4.31 The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) is responsible for the evaluation and monitoring of research performance at UTS, which involves annual reporting to Council.

4.32 Impact must be considered in all research projects. UTS uses a number of internal and external measures to determine the impact of its research (for example, the Australian Research Council's Engagement and Impact Assessment).

4.33 Researchers undergo an annual planning and review process in line with the Enterprise agreements and are supported at UTS through a number of research-focused professional development opportunities.

Reporting requirements

4.34 UTS collects and reports on research quality, impact and engagement through participation in the Australian Research Council's Excellence in Research for Australia and Engagement and Impact Assessment. Researchers are required to submit data to both these exercises as requested/managed by the Research Office.

4.35 UTS collects data on all of its research outputs annually (refer Symplectic Elements Support: Research Outputs Collection (SharePoint)). Researchers are required to submit data on their authored research outputs to this annual collection in line with the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint).

4.36 UTS collects and reports data on all of its research income on an annual basis, as guided by the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) specification. Researchers are required to confirm that an externally funded research project meets the definition of research in line with the HERDC specification.

4.37 Faculties must report to the Research Office and the Graduate Research School on the departure of researchers from UTS so that any necessary amendments to research contracts, ethics, graduate research supervision or other reporting requirements can be managed.

Policy breaches, concerns and complaints

4.38 Breaches of this policy or its associated procedures will be managed in line with the Code of Conduct, the Graduate Research and Supervision Policy (and section 11, Student Rules) or the guidelines for research integrity breaches (Research Ethics and Integrity (SharePoint)), depending on the nature and circumstances of the breach.

4.39 Under the Code of Conduct and the Student Rules, UTS may take action against researchers if they breach this policy or any other university requirement. Any such action may result in the imposition of sanctions up to and including termination of employment, appointment or engagement.

4.40 Researchers are expected to manage complaints in line with the following:

Concerns or complaints around workplace behaviour or researcher conduct should be resolved in line with the Code of Conduct and the Staff Complaints Policy.
Concerns or complaints relating to ethics or biosafety, including conscientious objections, should be resolved in line with the relevant UTS guidance on animal ethics, biosafety, clinical trials, human research ethics and research integrity breaches available at Research Ethics and Integrity (SharePoint) or the Student Complaints Policy.
Concerns or complaints relating to research integrity, including potential breaches of this policy and/or the Australian Code, should be resolved in line with the guidelines for research integrity breaches (Research Ethics and Integrity (SharePoint) (for staff) or section 16, Student Rules (for students)).

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Policy owner: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) is responsible for enforcement of this policy, ensuring that its principles and statements are observed. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) is also responsible for approval of any associated university-level procedures and/or guidelines associated with this policy. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) is the designated officer for receiving research integrity complaints as required by the Australian Code.

5.2 Policy contact: The Director, Research Office is the primary point of contact for advice on implementing and administering this policy.

5.3 Implementation and governance roles:

Associate deans (research) and institute directors are responsible for managing faculty and institute requirements in this policy and for promoting awareness of the responsible conduct and management of research at UTS. This includes responsibility for arranging data licence agreements for researchers who leave UTS but remain involved in a research project.

Manager, Research Integrity and Governance is responsible for managing complaints relating to research integrity, and for providing oversight and guidance in line with this policy to ensure that UTS research data is stored, retained, made accessible for use and reuse and/or disposed of according to legal, statutory, ethical and funding bodies requirements.

eResearch Manager is the primary point of contact for IT systems and storage advice in relation to research data management.

Manager, Research Finance is the primary point of contact for advice on direct and indirect cost implications, implementing and administering research investment accounts, financial acquittals of research projects and closure of financial activity codes for research projects.

UTS delegate (as outlined in the Delegations) is responsible for approving research proposals, contracts and intellectual property arrangements in line with this policy and the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint).

Research project leaders have primary responsibility for developing the research proposal and managing the research project, including financial and administrative aspects, and final reporting in line with this policy, the Research Management Procedure (SharePoint) and other research-related procedures. The research project leader is also responsible for promoting responsible research practices and for mentoring and supporting researchers and graduate research students throughout the research project.

All researchers are responsible for understanding and complying with this policy and associated policies, procedures and guidelines. Researchers should work collaboratively to support the research project and to gain relevant approvals and meet agreed deadlines and project outcomes.

6. Definitions

The following definitions apply for this policy and all associated procedures. These are in addition to the definitions outlined in Schedule 1, Student Rules. Definitions in the singular also include the plural meaning of the word.

Academic integrity is defined in the Academic Integrity Policy.

Affiliate is defined in the Code of Conduct.

An author is an individual who has made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution to research and its output and agrees to be listed as an author. This definition is taken from Authorship (an Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research guide).

Authorship is also further defined in the Australian Code.

Biosafety material includes genetically modified organisms, infectious materials, pathogens, ionising radiation and cytotoxic substances.

Client (also funder) means any individual or organisation that commissions or funds research, which may include UTS for internally supported research.

Collaboration (also research collaboration or collaborative research) means research conducted with any partner(s) external to UTS, including research organisations, industry, government and not-for-profit organisations in Australia or internationally.

Conscientious objection, for the purpose of this policy, means a complaint or objection in relation to the care and use of animals in UTS’s teaching and/or research activities. Students may register a conscientious objection via the Student Complaints Policy or this policy (refer Policy breaches, concerns and complaints). Students will not be disadvantaged for raising an objection.

Data licence agreement means an outline of permitted ownership, use of data and may include requirements for data access and/or data sharing. These should be developed in line with normal research contract arrangements and approved by a UTS delegate.

Full and transparent cost means all direct and indirect costs incurred as defined within the project's research contract and/or cost proposal.

Impact means the demonstrable contribution that research makes to the wider community (the economy, environment and society) beyond academic interest or discovery.

Intellectual property (also IP) is defined in the Intellectual Property Policy.

Material transfer agreement (MTA) is a contract that governs the transfer of tangible research materials from one organisation to another when the recipient intends to use it for their own research purposes. The MTA defines the rights of the provider and the recipient for the materials and any derivatives.

Memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a non-binding agreement between 2 or more parties that expresses a common intention to act in a certain way. It is often used in cases where the parties either do not want or cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. For example, an MOU might be used to strengthen an existing informal relationship with another party.

Predatory publisher or conference organiser means an exploitative or opportunistic media company whose primary goal is to make money from researchers work and outputs. These companies normally have little or no quality assurance or peer review processes.

Primary material is a physical object acquired through a process of scholarly investigation that may derive research data. Examples include:

raw physical materials such as rock samples
biological materials such as biospecimens, cell lines and related products (genetic material), or
physical artefacts such as film, photographs or recordings (not stored or available elsewhere).

Research at UTS is defined in the purpose of this policy.

Research contract (also contract, research project agreement or research agreement) means the written, approved, legally binding arrangement executed in line with this policy between UTS and the client. This includes but is not limited to a contract for research services, memorandum of understanding, data sharing agreement, material transfer agreement, an acceptance letter, work order or internal approval that commits the university to the receipt of funds or to otherwise undertake a research project.

Research data means data collected, generated or created during research, used to validate research findings and/or used to enable reproduction of the research. It can be digital, non-digital, observational, experimental, simulation, derived or reference material.

Research integrity means a form of academic integrity that requires researchers to ensure their findings are based on sound research methodology, honesty and accuracy. Research integrity ensures that the results of research are rigorous, defensible and reproducible.

Research outcome is a change resulting from the application or use of the results of research.

Research output means the variety of forms in which research can be made public. UTS recognises 2 broad types of research outputs: traditional outputs (for example, books, journal articles, conference papers, monographs) or non-traditional research outputs (for example, creative works, events, exhibitions, consultancy reports).

Research project means any research-related activity that has investigation as a primary objective, has a defined plan, methodology, resources, timeline and deliverables and has the potential to contribute new knowledge, both theoretical and practical.

Research project leader means the named UTS academic staff member with overall responsibility for the research project including the proposal, project management, research conduct, reporting and delivery of outcomes and for the listing order of research project members. Research project leader is also called 'first named chief investigator' or CI as used by funding bodies or elsewhere in UTS research processes and systems. Honorary title holders cannot hold the position of research project leader unless approved by the dean (or equivalent) of the relevant faculty/institute.

Research proposal (or proposal) means an outline of a proposed research project or activity. Proposals are normally required for funding applications for competitive grants (including those that are led by another institution), tenders, contract research proposals, expressions of interest, intellectual property commercialisation and fellowships.

Research records means any documentation or information prepared, maintained or stored as evidence by the university or individuals for use in their work, and includes correspondence (hardcopy and electronic), grant application documentation, human or animal ethics protocols (applications, approvals and related documents), signed participant consent forms and information sheets for research participants, research data management plans, authorship agreements, technical reports, research reports (to project or funding board) and other items like these.

Tobacco industry means individuals, divisions of corporations and other entities that primarily manufacture, market or advocate the use of tobacco products; or any organisation, including foundations, which are funded by or directly connected to these individuals, divisions of corporations and other entities.

UTS delegate (also delegate) means the relevant holder of a position that has a delegation in respect of research management under section 5 of the UTS Delegations. In particular, those delegates listed in Delegation 5.2 (external research grants and agreements).

University consulting is defined in the University Consulting Procedure (SharePoint).

Approval information

Policy contact	Director, Research Office
Approval authority	Academic Board
Review date	2023
File number	UR20/1819
Superseded documents	Research Management Policy (UR17/3686) Research Ethics and Integrity Policy (UR17/3691)

Version history

Version	Approved by	Approval date	Effective date	Sections modified
1.0	Academic Board (AB/20-5/87)	11/11/2020	16/02/2021	New policy.
1.1	Director, Governance Support Unit	19/03/2021	01/04/2021	Minor amendments to include reference to new international collaboration and engagement site.
1.2	Deputy Director, Corporate Governance (Delegation 3.14.2)	03/08/2022	04/08/2022	Change to reflect new title of Manager, Research Integrity and Governance.
1.3	Academic Board (AB/22-4/67)	28/09/2022	02/11/2022	Updates to clarify ethics and biosafety requirements and alignment with the Australian Code. Updates to clarify roles and responsibilities of both researchers and research project leaders. New definition of conscientious objection.
1.4	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	29/05/2023	01/07/2023	Changes to reflect the new Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Policy and new title of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy.
1.5	Academic Board (AB/23-5/92)	15/11/2023	12/12/2023	Changes to reflect the new Academic Integrity Policy.
1.6	Deputy Director, Corporate Governance (Delegation 3.14.2)	29/01/2024	31/01/2024	Minor update to include reference to research funding guidelines and principles.
1.7	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	20/06/2024	28/06/2024	Updates following review of Child Protection Policy.