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About ARC
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ARC Profile
Contents
About the ARC
The ARC Team
National Competitive Grants Program
National Research Priorities
Discovery
Discovery Projects
Australian Laureate Fellowships
ARC Future Fellowships
Discovery Indigenous Researchers
Development
Linkage
Linkage Projects
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and
Facilities
ARC Research Centres
Special Research Initiatives
Research Excellence
About The ARC
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a statutory authority within the Australian Government's Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio. The ARC advises the Government on research matters and manages the National Competitive Grants Program, a significant component of Australia's investment in research and development. Through the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative the ARC is also tasked with identifying excellence in research, by comparing Australia's university research effort against international benchmarks, creating incentives to improve the quality of research and identifying emerging research areas and opportunities for further development.
The ARC's mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.
In seeking to achieve its mission, the ARC supports the highest-quality fundamental and applied research and research training through national competition across all disciplines, with the exception of clinical medicine and dentistry. In addition, the ARC brokers partnerships between researchers and industry, government, community organisations and the international community.
The outcomes of ARC-funded research deliver cultural, economic, social and environmental benefits to all Australians.
The ARC Team
The people of the ARC are a mix of academics, including a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and five professor-level Executive Directors (EDs) with strong research backgrounds, and about 100 career public servants.
The ARC's academic EDs are contracted, usually for between three and five years, to:
- oversee the assessment of funding proposals through a peer review process
- integrate the views of external reviewers with the views of selection advisory or College of Experts committees
- liaise and communicate with the research community and users of research
- identify emerging disciplinary and cross-disciplinary developments and innovative approaches to research
- conduct forums and reviews of the state of Australian research in an international context.
The EDs are among the most respected researchers in their fields and have extensive Australian and international research networks with whom they interact. They are well placed to assist researchers and research users to understand the Government's research objectives.
They are also able to provide high-quality advice to Government, through the ARC, to help ensure that its approaches to research are aligned with the realities of the research environment and can respond flexibly to changes in those conditions.
The ARC College of Experts supports the advancement of knowledge and contributes to national innovation through its role in assessing and ranking funding proposals, making funding recommendations, and providing strategic advice on emerging disciplines and cross-disciplinary developments.
The College's 77 members are drawn from a multitude of disciplines in the Australian research community - from higher education, industry and public sector research organisations. They are drawn together flexibly to form groupings of expertise to meet particular needs at different times. Members of the College of Experts are appointed for periods of between one and three years.
The College of Experts is supported by thousands of well credentialled Australian and international referees whose expert reviews underpin the peer review processes conducted by the ARC.
National Competitive Grants Program
The ARC funds research and researchers under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). As part of its commitment to nurturing the creative abilities and skills of Australia’s most promising researchers, the NCGP provides:
- support for the highest-quality research leading to the discovery of new ideas and the advancement of knowledge
- financial assistance towards facilities and equipment that researchers need to be internationally competitive
- support for the training and skills development of the next generation of researchers
- incentives for Australia’s most talented researchers to work in partnership with leading researchers throughout the national innovation system and internationally, and to form alliances with Australian industry.
The NCGP comprises two main elements - Discovery and Linkage - under which the ARC funds a range of complementary schemes to support researchers at different stages of their careers, build Australia's research capability, expand and enhance research networks and collaborations, and develop centres of research excellence.
Administration of the NCGP is usually scheme-based and across the following inter-disciplinary groupings:
- Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
- Engineering and Environmental Science
- Humanities and Creative Arts
- Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences
- Physics, Chemistry and Geoscience
- Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences.
Funding recommendations are made to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research by the CEO following independent and extensive competitive peer review by Australian and international experts.
National Research Priorities
ARC funding schemes aim to support research and research training in the Australian Government's four National Research Priority areas of:
- an environmentally sustainable Australia
- promoting and maintaining good health
- frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries
- safeguarding Australia.
Discovery
The ARC's Discovery schemes recognise the importance of fundamental research to the national innovation system. The national innovation system includes the people (for example, in government, higher education and business), processes and relationships involved in 'new' knowledge in a knowledge-based economy.
A strong capability in fundamental research (sometimes called discovery, basic or blue sky research) will result in the development of new ideas, the creation of jobs, economic growth and an enhanced quality of life in Australia.
The objectives of Discovery are to:
- support excellent fundamental research by individuals and teams
- enhance the scale and focus of research in the National Research Priorities
- assist researchers to undertake their research in conditions most conducive to achieving best results
- expand Australia's knowledge base and research capability
- foster the international competitiveness of Australian research
- encourage research training in high-quality research environments
- enhance international collaboration in research
The ARC's main Discovery schemes are: Discovery Projects, ARC Future Fellowships, Australian Laureate Fellowships and Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development.
Discovery Projects
The Discovery Projects scheme provides funding for research projects that can be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.
A variety of fellowships are offered under the scheme to nurture the talents of Australia’s most promising early-career researchers and support established researchers. The fellowships take into account the professional standing of individual researchers, as described below.
- Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships are available for early-career researchers (who have been awarded a PhD within the three years immediately preceding the closing date for applications) to undertake research of national and international significance and to broaden their research experience.
- Australian Research Fellowships and Queen Elizabeth II Fellowships are available for postdoctoral researchers of exceptional promise to undertake research in Australia of national and international significance.
- Australian Professorial Fellowships are available for outstanding researchers with proven international reputations to undertake research that is of major importance in its field and of significant benefit to Australia.
Proposals for funding under the Discovery Projects scheme are processed once a year.
Australian Laureate Fellowships
The Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme reflects the ARC’s commitment to support excellence in research by attracting world-class researchers and research leaders to key positions, and creating new rewards and incentives for the application of their talents in Australia.
Open to applications from outstanding researchers of international repute, the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme particularly encourages proposals involving Australian and non-Australian researchers currently working overseas by providing eligible Australian Laureate Fellows with Project Funding in addition to a salary supplement and salary-related (on-cost) support.
ARC Future Fellowships
The ARC Future Fellowships scheme was introduced to promote research in areas of critical national importance by giving outstanding researchers incentives to conduct their research in Australia. The aim of ARC Future Fellowships is to attract and retain the best and brightest mid-career researchers.
ARC Future Fellowships will encourage proposals from researchers working in areas of national priority. Preference will be given to those researchers who can demonstrate a capacity to build collaboration across industry and/or research institutions and/or with other disciplines.
Although international experience is important for Australian researchers, it is also important they have the opportunity to return home to continue their work. The ARC Future Fellowships scheme aims to encourage outstanding Australian researchers currently based overseas to return to Australia.
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development
The Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme provides support for Indigenous Researchers to undertake research projects that may lead to an understanding of a particular subject or meet the requirements of postgraduate research degrees.
The aims of the scheme are to:
- develop the research expertise of Indigenous Researchers who have not participated as a Chief Investigator on a project funded under any of the ARC’s other funding schemes or previously been awarded an ARC Fellowship;
- support fundamental research and research training by Indigenous Australian individuals and teams;
- provide Indigenous Researchers with experience in the preparation of research funding Proposals; and
- expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability.
Indigenous Researcher Fellowships, which provide a salary equivalent to the ARC's Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships, are also available under the Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme. These fellowships are for early-career researchers to undertake research of national and international significance and to broaden their research experience.
Applications for funding under the Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme are processed once a year. Applications are restricted to Indigenous researchers.
Linkage
The ARC's Linkage funding schemes aim to encourage and extend cooperative approaches to research and improve the use of research outcomes by strengthening links within Australia’s innovation system and with innovation systems internationally.
Linkage promotes national and international research partnerships between researchers and business, industry, community organisations and other publicly funded research agencies.
By supporting the development of partnerships, the ARC encourages the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research.
The main Linkage schemes are: Linkage Projects; Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities; ARC Research Centres; and Special Research Initiatives.
Linkage Projects
The Linkage Projects scheme supports collaborative research and development projects between higher education organisations and other organisations, including within industry, to enable the application of advanced knowledge to problems. Typically, research projects funded under the scheme involve risk.
Proposals for funding under Linkage Projects must involve a collaborating organisation from outside the higher education sector. The collaborating organisation must make a significant contribution (equal to, or greater than, the ARC funding), in cash and/or in kind, to the project.
Under the Linkage Projects scheme, the ARC offers postgraduate awards and fellowships to provide industry-oriented research training and enable postdoctoral researchers to pursue internationally competitive research opportunities in collaboration with industry.
Linkage Projects awards and fellowships offered by the ARC are:
- Australian Postgraduate Awards (Industry), available for postgraduate research students.
- Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships (Industry), available for researchers with fewer than three years’ postdoctoral experience at the closing date for applications.
- Linkage Industry Fellowships, which enable the temporary transfer of a researcher to a project partner organisation.
In recommending funding for proposals under Linkage Projects, the ARC may take into consideration the likely benefit of the research to Australian regional and rural communities.
Applications for funding under the Linkage Projects scheme are processed twice a year.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
The Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme fosters collaboration through its support of the cooperative use of national and international research facilities.
Essentially, the scheme provides funding for large-scale cooperative initiatives so that expensive infrastructure, equipment and facilities can be shared by researchers in partnered organisations. However, the ARC may fund single-organisation proposals in some circumstances.
Under the scheme, applicants may seek funding for:
- infrastructure, equipment and facility purchases, construction and installation
- major computing/data facilities, animal houses, herbaria and experimental farms
- salaries directly associated with creating and installing infrastructure, equipment or facilities
- consortium membership costs, travel to the facility and secretariat costs in the case of Australia's participation in the use of significant international-scale research facilities
- library and research information infrastructure.
Applications for funding under the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme are processed once a year.
ARC Research Centres
ARC-funded research centres support large teams to undertake focused and sustained investigations into, and find solutions to, challenging and important problems. The funding enables groups of first-class researchers to come together to work on a problem and to leverage additional research funding from other sources.
ARC Centres of Excellence
ARC Centres of Excellence are prestigious hubs of expertise through which high-quality researchers maintain and develop Australia’s international standing in research areas of national priority. Through ARC Centres of Excellence, a high level of collaboration occurs between universities and other organisations in Australia and overseas.
Applications for funding of ARC Centres of Excellence are invited periodically.
Co-funded Centres of Excellence
The ARC currently co-funds three Centres of Excellence:
- the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, with the Grains Research and Development Corporation
- the Australian Stem Cell Centre, with the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
- National ICT Australia, also called NICTA, with the Department of Broadband Communications, Information and the Digital Economy.
Applications for funding of co-funded Centres of Excellence are invited periodically.
Special Research Initiatives
The ARC takes a proactive approach, in consultation with research organisations, professional associations and peak higher education bodies, to identifying new or emerging areas of research and providing funding for them under the Special Research Initiatives scheme. Specifically, funding is provided under the scheme to support:
- cooperative activities among researchers
- cooperative development of national and international linkages
- cooperative development of innovative research areas
- rapid response to unforeseen opportunities, such as conducting field-work at an erupting volcano
- activities aimed at building the scale and focus of research and research training
- other activities the ARC judges to be consistent with the scheme's objectives.
Activities funded under this scheme may include, but are not restricted to, one-off conferences, workshops and seminars.
Funding may also be used to develop networks and initiate collaborations that would be unlikely otherwise to occur and, where appropriate, disseminate the outcomes of the collaborative activities funded under the scheme.
Applications for Special Research Initiatives funding are by means of occasional calls for proposals.
Excellence in Research for Australia initiative
The development of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative announced by the Australian Government on 26 February 2008.
The ERA initiative will assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.
Among the main functions of the REB team are the following:
- development and implementation of the ERA policy;
- external communications and consultation with the higher education and research sector regarding the ERA policy development and implementation;
- contributing to the development of government policy for open access for publicly funded research, including the development and implementation of an Accessibility Framework.
- development of metrics methodologies for ERA;
- development and consultation of the Outlet Ranking list and maintenance of the list;
- quality assurance for the use of metrics for ERA;
- management of the ERA evaluation process; and
- establishment and management of the Research Assessment Committees.
5/1/09
