OUR EXPERTISE
We have teams of expert advisors, data scientists and analysts that could help you with your goal.
OUR EXPERTISE
What’s your goal today?
Growth in research productivity
We can help you to identify the areas and the individuals where some research strengthening is an opportunity.
Benefits you get:
One of the two major goals of universities is contributing to knowledge through research. REEF can provide objective evidence on research productivity growth over time and cost and academic staff utilisation efficiency at a point in time.
This can be at ‘whole-of-institution’ level and importantly, within institution level including at individual field of research (FoR) level.
How we do it:
We build an evidence based picture of the research outcomes of an institution or academic unit level relative to the cost investment and the academic staff level. Comparisons to like institutions or other academic units can highlight the level of success or areas where strengthening can occur.
Strengthen quality in research and teaching
REEF can build tailored filters and weighted measures that will enable university leaders to make strategic investment decisions about research and teaching quality matters.
Benefits you get:
It is often difficult to empirically identify those areas where there are opportunities for improved quality, or to monitor initiatives for progress towards improved quality. If clients have such an evidence need and the data can be obtained, then REEF can provide you with an identification and a monitoring and evaluation capability.
How we do it:
Using empirical evidence-based approach and use data from a variety of sources REEF can be tailored and we will work with a client to establish the parameters of the engagement and the specific questions for which answers are needed.
Strengthen teaching cost efficiency
REEF can provide evidence-based advice on supporting stronger and more cost-efficient education policies and practices
Benefits you get:
A key benefit for client institutions is finding an optimal balance between high quality student education outcomes and the cost in the delivery of education. The Higher Education and Research Group can employ the REEF methodology to identify teaching strategies that can lead to strong teaching and learning outcomes in combination with effective cost management.
How we do it:
The REEF methodology is based on empirical data. These data can relate to costs, academic staff utilization and education income management. There are multiple options to support university management here. As one example, student attrition is a major cost both in terms of income lost and increased cost per average enrolment. Attrition both before and after the census date can significantly impact on the success of student outcomes. HERG can measure and advise on strategies relating to student attrition and its reduction. HERG can also support evidence-based academic staff workload models.
Build diversity and opportunity in education
REEF can build tailored filters and weighted measures that will enable university leaders to make strategic investment decisions about diversity and opportunity.
Benefits you get:
While the two principal outcomes from universities have traditionally been research and education, the REEF methodology can be extended to capture data on other activities within universities. These include both building diversity and inclusion in education. An example is the measurement in the success with teaching innovation aimed at lowering student attrition for students coming from certain backgrounds.
How we do it:
Using an empirical evidence-based approach and use data from a variety of sources. These include from individual universities as well as from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Federal Department of Education.
Support higher education policy development
If you are responsible for policy development, making policy recommendations or advising about research and education policy matters, REEF can provide clarity of evidence to inform your policy work.
Benefits you get:
Over the years, public policy decisions have significantly affected the higher education sector. Helping support the evidence base for proposed decisions is a key objective of the Higher Education and Research Group. Policy setting that involve structural change (including institutional mergers) can have significant and long-lived effects.
How we do it:
Like most engagements, an account manager from the Higher Education and Group will work with a client to establish the parameters of the engagement and the specific questions for which answers are needed. The focus is in finding high value client solutions.
Strengthen research cost efficiency
We can help you find optimal ways to support continued cost-efficient ways to grow research productivity into the future.
Benefits you get:
A key benefit for client institutions is finding optimal ways to support continued cost-efficient ways to grow research productivity into the future. One of many outcomes has been improved global rankings and a much more prominent place of Australian universities on the world stage. By using both whole-of-institution and, in particular, academic unit data, the REEF methodology can identify research strategies that can lead to strengthened research outcomes.
How we do it:
The REEF methodology is based on empirical data including both research and teaching data. These data can relate to costs, academic staff utilization in research. There are multiple options to support university management in respect of research. As one example, within-institution research activity modelling will show which academic units (or FoEs/FoRs) provide the strongest outcome per dollar of investment. REEF can also show the extent of research (and teaching ) outcomes in individual academic units. HERG can also support evidence-based academic staff workload models.
ABOUT REEF METHODOLOGY
Get to know our RESEARCH and EDUCATION EFFICIENCY FRONTIER (REEF) INDEX:
1.
What is REEF Methodology?
Research and Education Efficiency Frontier (REEF) is an unbiased and sector-specific measure of efficiency and productivity in higher education.
2.
Who could benefit from the REEF?
The analyses can benefit university management, those in governance roles, policy makers and others.
3.
What does REEF do?
It provides independent evidence-based analyses of efficiency and productivity in universities.
This includes costings and measurement of teaching and research outcomes.
4.
How does REEF work?
It uses an empirical econometric approach to produce productivity and cost analyses.
5.
What can REEF analyse?
The analyses can examine productivity outcomes at several levels:
- Whole of sector
- Individual institution
- Academic unit
- Others including at Field of Research
and Field of Education
6.
What are the key elements of REEF?
The analyses measure:
- Cost efficiency
- Academic staff utilisation efficiency
- Productivity changes over time
BENEFITS OF REEF
Benefits you gain as:
University Management
REEF provides support to strengthen research and teaching productivity and strengthen performance.
It generates evidence-based KPIs including workload models.
University Governance
REEF generates productivity, and cost & staff utilisation efficiency as key measures of
university success.
Public Policy Development
REEF provides an empirically based measure of teaching and
research costs.
Research Agencies & Regulators
REEF provides data for evaluating research success and measuring teaching outcomes.
Other Stakeholders
REEF provides criteria for establishing or continuing relationships within the higher education sector.