Universities Australia has launched a new campaign to increase public awareness of the importance of research and continued tertiary funding.

But the body representing Australia’s universities said it is not a political statement.

Universities Australia (UA) has been questioned over the motivation for its new campaign, running under the banner ‘Keep It Clever’, as $2.3 billion in university funding hangs in the balance.

“It is not a pre-budget pitch, and I think what is important to note here is that this is a long-term campaign,” UA chief executive Belinda Robinson has told the ABC.

“This is not a campaign that is designed to achieve any particular policy purpose in the short-term.”

“Countries around the world are heavily investing in their universities and research programs, and we need to make sure that the Australian systems are not left behind.

“We know really underpinning successful nations is a very strong research and higher education sector.

“There’s very little understanding out there in the community about the role of universities as an industry in itself,” she said.

The campaign highlights OECD figures which rank Australia's public investment in tertiary education at just 25th out of 30 advanced economies.

It is a tricky time for many universities though, with a previous government promise to move $2.3 billion to pay for education funding reforms based on the Gonski report.

But the cuts have not passed Federal Parliament, and are now being rejected by the party that proposed them, which is now in Opposition.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Christopher Pyne has told media outlets that the Coalition has been forced to adopt Labor's cuts.