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Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development
Selection Report for Funding Commencing in 2009

Overview
Selection Process
Selection Criteria
Funding Levels and Duration
Summary of Recommendations
Project Size
Participants
Outcomes by Administering Organisation

Overview

The Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme aims 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 Researchers, either individually or in teams;
  • provide Indigenous Researchers with experience in the preparation of research funding proposals; and
  • expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability.

Selection Process

The closing date for Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development (DIRD) proposals was 2 May 2008. The DIRD Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) comprised three members of the ARC’s College of Experts. The SAC considered the assessments and any responses to those assessments, ranked the proposals, and prepared funding recommendations at a selection meeting conducted on 28 August 2008.

Selection Criteria

The assessment of proposals was based on the scheme’s selection criteria:

  • Investigators (40%)
  • Proposed project content (40%)
  • Quality of the research environment and/or Mentor and/or Supervisor (20%)

Funding Levels and Duration

DIRD Proposals may be awarded funding for up to three years subject to parliamentary appropriation. Indigenous Researcher Fellowships (IRFs) may be awarded for a duration of one or two years.

Summary of Recommendations

Twenty-six proposals were received with nine proposals approved for funding commencing in 2009. Total approved ARC funding for 2008-09 to 2011-12 is $928,000 with an average funding per approved proposal of $103,111. Eight proposals are approved for funding for two years and one proposal is approved for funding for three years. Eight proposals requested an IRF, of which one was approved for funding.

The overall success rate for DIRD proposals in this round is 34.6%, which is lower than the corresponding figure for proposals considered in 2007 (38.9%). Total requested funding over the financial years 2008-09 to 2011-12 was $3,816,071. Total funding for approved proposals is $928,000 or 24.3% of the total funding requested by those proposals.

Table 1: Numbers of proposals and success rates, by discipline group

Discipline Group
Proposals Received
Not Approved
Approved
Success rate %
BSB
1
1
0
0.0%
EE
0
0
0
0.0%
HCA
9
7
2
22.2%
MIC
1
0
1
100.0%
PCG
0
0
0
0.0%
SBE
15
9
6
40.0%
Total
26
17
9
34.6%

*BSB = Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EE = Engineering and Environmental Sciences; HCA = Humanities and Creative Arts; MIC = Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences; PCG = Physics, Chemistry and Geoscience; SBE = Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

Project Size

The following allocations are for DIRD proposals to commence in 2009

Table 2: Approved funding allocations for funding commencing in calendar year 2009.

2009
2010
2011
Total
$459,500
$418,500
$50,000
$928,000

The average first-year funding per approved proposal is $51,056.

Participants

The following table shows the role and gender of participants*. Of the nine proposals approved for funding, four are led by female researchers and five are led by male researchers.

Table 3: Success rates for participants, by gender, for funding commencing in calendar years 2007 to 2009
Number of participants
(all proposals)
Number of participants
(funded proposals)
Success rate %
Year
2007
2008
2009
2007
2008
2009**
2007
2008
2009**
Female Chief Investigators
11
7
18
10
4
4
90.9%
57.1%
22.2%
Male Chief Investigators
5
5
8
3
3
5
60.0%
60.0%
62.5%
Total
16
12
26
13
7
9
  
 
 
Female Indigenous Researcher Fellowships
1
4
8
1
3
1
100.0%
75.0%
12.5%
Male Indigenous Researcher Fellowships
4
2
0
1
2
0
25.0%
100.0%
0.0%

* Chief Investigators and Indigenous Researcher Fellows
**Approved

Table 4 shows the success rate of participants who have previously applied for, but not been awarded, funding for DIRD. This indicates that 50% of proposals involving participants whose earlier proposals had been unsuccessful have been approved for funding commencing in 2009.

Table 4: Numbers and success rate for participants who have previously applied for funding under DIRD

Proposals received 26
Proposals involving participants who have applied in previous rounds 8
Approved proposals involving participants who have applied in previous rounds 4
Success rate of participants who have applied in previous rounds (%) 50

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

The following table shows proposal numbers and total approved funding by Administering Organisation, for funding commencing in 2009.

Table 5: Numbers of proposals and success rates for funding commencing in 2009, by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation
Proposals received
Proposals approved
Success rate %
Approved funding over project life $
Australian Catholic University
1
0
0%
0
James Cook University
2
1
50%
150,000
Monash University
1
1
100%
190,000
Murdoch University
4
2
75%
180,000
Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
1
0
0%
0
The University of Adelaide
1
0
0%
0
The University of Melbourne
1
1
100%
48,000
The University of Newcastle
3
1
33.3%
55,000
The Australian National University
1
1
100%
30,000
The University of Sydney
1
0
0%
0
University of Southern Queensland
3
1
33.3%
185,000
University of Tasmania
1
0
0%
0
University of Technology Sydney
2
0
0%
0
University of Western Australia
2
0
0%
0
University of Western Sydney
2
1
50%
90,000
Total
26
9
34.6%
928,000

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