National Benefits
The probable national benefits from the proposed research, and the mechanisms for capturing these benefits
The Network provides the opportunity to articulate a coherent national program that responds in diverse ways to the centrality of the concept of culture in cutting-edge humanities research. Success in this venture will enhance Australia's attractiveness as a destination for international postgraduate students, and further expand the humanities' capacity to develop partnerships with cultural institutions and industry. The sharing of research resources such as interview material—something that has not previously been done—will constitute a significant improvement in our national research capacity, and represent a substantial economy in our research expenditure in these areas.
The humanities sector presently lacks a focused and interrelated, project-based approach to research and it is precisely this lack that is addressed by the Network's five year plan to develop an integrated program of cultural research suitable for ARC funding.
Finally, the investment in a leading area of humanities research enabling it to further lead the development of interdisciplinary exchange in methods and approaches will dramatically enhance our national and international standing in this important and emerging area.
Through its interest in new media, cultural technologies and cultural literacies, the Network directly addresses the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies through the goals of Smart information use and Promoting an innovation culture and economy. Through its analysis of cultural histories and cultural identities, and in particular through its concentration of researchers working on cultural studies of Asia, it directly addresses the National Research Priority of Safeguarding Australia through the goal of Understanding our region and the world. Through the combination of approaches to understanding how our culture functions, and how its citizens make their place in it, it contributes in a general way to the National Research Priority of Promoting and maintaining good health through the goal of Strengthening and understanding Australia’s social fabric.