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Discovery Projects
Selection Report for funding Commencing in 2008

Overview
Objectives
Selection Process
Selection Criteria
Funding Duration
National Research Priorities
Summary of Outcomes
Early Career Researcher Proposals
Fellowships
Historical Outcomes for Fellowships
Partnerships to Fund Fellowships
Gender of Participants
International Collaboration
Outcomes by Administering Organisation
Scheme Budget

Overview

Recognising the importance of fundamental research to the national innovation system, Discovery Projects supports excellent research projects and individual researchers and teams of researchers. Under Discovery Projects, ARC Fellowships provide opportunities for emerging and established researchers to undertake research of national and international significance.

Objectives

The objectives of Discovery Projects 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; and
  • encourage research training in high-quality research environments.

Selection Process

The closing date for Discovery Projects proposals was 2 March 2007. Assessment of proposals was undertaken by the ARC College of Experts, which:

  • assigned independent readers/assessors to review the proposals;
  • sought Applicants' comments on assessors' reports;
  • identified ineligible proposals;
  • ranked each proposal relative to the others on the basis of the proposal, the assessors' reports and Applicants' responses to those assessments;
  • assessed and recommended budgets; and
  • prepared funding recommendations for submission to the CEO of the ARC.

The CEO considered the recommendations of the ARC College of Experts and the ARC Quality and Scrutiny Committee before making recommendations to the Minister who, in accordance with the ARC Act, determined the funding outcomes.

Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.

Selection Criteria

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

  • investigator(s)' track record relative to opportunities and capacity to undertake the research; (40%)
  • significance of and innovation in the proposed research; (30%)
  • approach and methodology; and (20%)
  • national benefit. (10%)

Funding Duration

Funding for Discovery Projects projects may be awarded for one to five years subject to parliamentary appropriation and the provisions of the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the ARC Act). Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships (APDs) are awarded for a standard duration of three years, but a four-year research and teaching option is available. Australian Research Fellowships (ARFs), Queen Elizabeth II Fellowships (QEIIs) and Australian Professorial Fellowships (APFs) are awarded for a standard duration of five years.

Table 1 shows that the average duration of projects funded has risen from 3.15 years in 2004 to 3.29 years in 2008.

Table 1: Average duration of projects: funding commencing in calendar years 2004 to 2008

2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Average number of requested years
3.39
3.43
3.5
3.62
3.59
Average number of funded years
3.15
3.16
3.18
3.28
3.29

National Research Priorities

Within this round, 3,539 of the 4,112 Discovery Projects proposals considered were identified by their proponents as addressing a National Research Priority. This represents 86.1% of proposals considered. Of those 3,539 proposals, 757 (21.4%) were approved for funding, representing 86.2% of the total 878 proposals approved for funding.

The overall commitment for proposals addressing National Research Priorities is $265,435,575 (88.2% of the total funding).

The greatest amount of funding ($127,126,140) is for projects in the area of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries.

Table 2: Numbers of proposals and success rates for Discovery Projects by National Research Priority

National Research Priority Area
Proposals received
Proposals approved

Success rate %

Funds over project life for approved proposals $
None selected
573
121
21.1%
$35,360,828
An Environmentally Sustainable Australia
668
140
21.0%
$52,534,346
Promoting and Maintaining Good Health
759
170
22.4%
$50,014,130
Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries
1520
328
21.6%
$127,126,140
Safeguarding Australia
592
119
20.1%
$35,760,959
Total proposals
4112
878
21.4%
$300,796,403
Total priority proposals
3539
757
21.4%
$265,435,575
% within priority areas
86.1%
86.2%
88.2%

Summary of Outcomes

The ARC received 4,121 proposals of which nine were withdrawn after submission. Of the 4,112 proposals which were considered for funding commencing in 2008, 878 were approved for funding and 3,234 were not approved for funding;  including 91 that were deemed ineligible (that is, they did not satisfy the eligibility criteria and/or other requirements for the submission of proposals). On the basis of these recommendations, the overall success rate for proposals is 21.4%, compared with the 20.4% success rate for proposals considered for funding commencing in 2007.

The 878 recommended proposals represent a funding commitment of $93,479,736 in 2008 and a funding commitment of $300,796,403 over five years.

Table 3: Numbers of proposals and success rates for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in calendar years 2005 to 2008

Number of proposals:
2005
2006
2007
2008
Received
3,441
3,766
4,047
4,121
Withdrawn
27
24
14
9
Funded
1,055
917
822
878
Success Rate %
30.9%
24.5%
20.4%
21.4%

Table 4: Numbers of proposals and success rates for Discovery Projects by discipline group

Discipline group *
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate %
Requested funds over project life for approved Proposals $
Funds over project
life for approved Proposals $
BSB
748
160
21.4%
$103,731,329
$60,201,607
EE
479
94
19.6%
$72,805,725
$43,784,915
HCA
715
150
21.0%
$68,209,674
$42,323,739
MIC
637
135
21.2%
$85,925,057
$43,103,236
PCG
696
157
22.6%
$119,101,816
$62,626,088
SBE
837
182
21.7%
$82,280,515
$48,756,818
Total
4,112
878
21.4%
$532,054,116
$300,796,403

* 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

The average first-year funding per approved project is $106,469. The corresponding figure for 2007 was $105,019.

Table 5: Average first-year funding per project, for funding commencing in calendar years 2005 to 2008

2005
2006
2007
2008
Average first-year funding $
$94,340
$103,768
$105,019
$106,469

The average funding per approved project for 2008 is 65.4% of the average amount requested, which is higher than the corresponding figure for 2007 (64.3%). Discipline group percentages are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Funding requested and approved for Discovery Projects proposals, for the 2008 calendar year

Discipline
group
Average requested funding per approved proposal for 2008 $
Average funding per approved proposal for 2008 $
Average approved funding as a % of average requested funding for 2008
BSB
$177,999
$116,154
65.3%
EE
$202,743
$142,559
70.3%
HCA
$128,368
$88,141
68.7%
MIC
$167,877
$99,940
59.5%
PCG
$194,526
$123,978
63.7%
SBE
$126,347
$84,159
66.6%
All Disciplines
$162,861
$106,469
65.4%

Table 7: Average funding per project over project life, for funding commencing in calendar years 2005 to 2008

2005
2006
2007
2008
Average funding over project life $
$282,030
$298,350
$334,267
$342,593

Early Career Researcher Proposals

For the purposes of Discovery Projects proposals for funding commencing in 2008, Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are identified as researchers who have a PhD, or equivalent research qualification or experience, awarded on or after 1 March 2002. The ARC has identified funds to support Early Career Researchers within Discovery Projects, including through Early Career Researcher-only proposals (that is, proposals in which all the nominated researchers are Early Career Researchers).

ECR-only proposals are assessed against the same criteria as other Discovery Projects proposals.

ECR-only proposals accounted for 742 of the proposals considered, with 128 ECR-only proposals approved for funding commencing in 2008. This represents a success rate of 17.3% for ECR-only proposals.

Table 8 provides details of numbers, success rates and funding levels for ECR-only proposals and success rates by discipline group.

Table 8: Numbers of and success rates for ECR-only proposals by discipline group

Discipline group
ECR-only proposals considered
ECR-only proposals approved for funding
Success rate %
Approved funding for calendar year 2008 for ECR-only proposals $
ECR-only proposals: % of total funding approved for calendar year 2008
BSB
105
18
17.1%
$2,170,933
11.7%
EE
79
16
20.3%
$1,281,396
9.6%
HCA
166
21
12.7%
$1,721,755
13.0%
MIC
122
23
18.9%
$1,770,618
13.1%
PCG
126
29
23.0%
$3,056,384
15.7%
SBE
144
21
14.6%
$1,636,645
10.8%
Total
742
128
17.3%
$11,637,731
12.4%

Table 9: Success rates of proposals involving one or more ECR participants*, for funding commencing in calendar years 2004 to 2008

Discipline
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
BSB
21.1%
28.5%
23.3%
18.4%
17.2%
EE
28.6%
30.2%
20.9%
23.0%
20.0%
HCA
22.0%
22.6%
18.5%
15.3%
15.2%
MIC
25.3%
29.5%
22.5%
20.9%
19.5%
PCG
27.2%
29.8%
21.3%
19.0%
22.8%
SBE
22.4%
25.0%
20.3%
12.7%
20.6%
Total
24.1%
27.4%
21.0%
17.8%
19.3%

* These are proposals where at least one of the researchers nominated as a Chief Investigator, Partner Investigator or Fellowship candidate is an ECR. They include ECR-Only Proposals (where all named participants are ECRs), as well as proposals in which there are non-ECR participants.

Table 10 shows the funding allocations for proposals for funding commencing 2004-2008 and the percentage of total funds allocated to projects involving ECRs. This indicates that the highest percentage of funding to projects involving ECRs over the last five years is for projects commencing in 2007. For projects commencing in 2008, the total amount of funding allocated to projects with ECRs is $105,392,482.

Table 10: Funding allocations for projects involving ECR participants, for funding commencing in calendar years 2004 to 2008

2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Funding allocations for projects involving ECRs $
$65,950,618
$98,824,695
$87,890,148
$98,620,487
$105,392,482
Funding allocations for all projects $
$237,946,364
$297,541,647
$273,586,773
$274,767,586
$300,796,403
% of total funds for all projects allocated to projects involving ECRs
27.7%
33.2%
32.1%
35.9%
35.0%

Fellowships

A number of different types of fellowship are offered in Discovery Projects. Researchers are encouraged to tailor their proposals to their specific research needs and proposals may request funding for one or more fellowship/s together with research project support. (Fellowship candidates who do not request project funding are required to demonstrate that their research costs will be supported by the Administering Organisation.)

The ARC offers three categories of fellowship under Discovery Projects:

  • Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (APD) – offered for a duration of three or four years;
  • Australian Research Fellowship (ARF) and Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship (QEII) – offered for a duration of five years; and
  • Australian Professorial Fellowship (APF) – offered for a duration of five years.

ARFs and QEIIs are treated as a single category, with the top candidates being awarded QEII Fellowships. All fellowships are tenable at approved universities and certain museums and herbaria. In addition, APDs and QEIIs are tenable at other approved organisations, which provide an appropriate training environment.

Of the 4,112 proposals considered, 1,201 included requests for a total of 1,228 fellowships. The minimum number of fellowships to be awarded in this round is 175 (110 APDs, 50 ARF/QEIIs, and 15 APFs), although the 50:50 salary option (see table 16) has enabled the ARC to fund a larger number. In total, 206 fellowships were approved for funding, representing an ARC salary and salary-related on-costs support commitment for new fellows of $16,628,398 for the calendar year 2008.

Table 11 shows that the average success rate across all discipline groups for fellowships is 16.8%. Table 12 shows success rates by discipline group for APDs, ARF/QEIIs and APFs.

Table 11: Numbers of and success rates for Discovery Projects fellowship candidates by discipline group

Discipline group Fellowships requested Fellowships approved Success rate %
BSB
235
40
17.0%
EE
133
20
15.0%
HCA
230
36
15.7%
MIC
159
29
18.2%
PCG
315
52
16.5%
SBE
156
29
18.6%
Total
1,228
206
16.8%

Table 12: Numbers of and success rates for APD, ARF/QEII and APF candidates by discipline group

  APD ARF/QEII APF
Discip-line
group
Request-ed
Approved
Success rate %
Request-ed
Approved
Success rate %
Request-ed
Approved
Success rate %
BSB
124
20
16.1
90
16
17.8
21
4
19.0
EE
76
12
15.8
38
5
13.2
19
3
15.8
HCA
152
24
15.8
44
7
15.9
34
5
14.7
MIC
85
17
20.0
43
7
16.3
31
5
16.1
PCG
143
29
20.3
122
16
13.1
50
7
14.0
SBE
96
18
18.8
35
7
20.0
25
4
16.0
Total
676
120
17.8
372
58
15.6
180
28
15.6

(See Tables 15 and 16 for an outline of the salary support options for fellowship candidates.)

Historical Outcomes for Fellowships

A separate Research Fellowship scheme existed until 2001. In 2002, fellowship proposals were integrated into Discovery Projects. Success rate comparisons are given in Table 13.

Table 13: Numbers of and success rates for fellowship candidates, for funding commencing in calendar years 2002 to 2008

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Number requested
830
1,005
871
1,010
1,159
1,276
1,228
Fellowships awarded
163
166
161
167
168
197
206
Success rate %
19.6%
16.5%
18.5%
16.5%
14.5%
15.4%
16.8%

Partnerships to Fund Fellowships

All fellowships are offered on a full-time basis only. However, the ARC offers a number of salary support options in the form of ARC/Administering Organisation joint funding arrangements to enable flexibility in the activities of the researcher.

For APDs, a four-year '75% research and 25% teaching' option was introduced to provide a development opportunity. Under this option, a fellow may spend 25% of her/his time on activities other than the proposed research project, such as teaching.  The usual APD is a three-year full-time research position.  Of the 676 APDs requested, 126 were for ARC salary funding at 75% over four years.

The ARC offers a 50:50 salary support option for ARF/QEIIs and APFs. Under this option the ARC funds 50% of the salary and salary-related on-costs for research fellows who hold continuing appointments at their organisation, with the Administering Organisation also contributing 50% of the salary and salary-related on-costs over the standard duration of five years.  The fellow is supported to conduct full-time research.

Table 14 indicates the number of and success rates for approved APD candidates by salary support option requested.

Table 14: Numbers of and success rates for APD candidates by salary support option

APDs requested
APDs approved
Success rate %
100% ARC salary contribution requested over three years
550
95
17.3%
75% ARC salary contribution requested over four years
126
25
19.8%
Total
676
120
17.8%

Table 15 indicates the number of and success rates for ARF/QEII and APF candidates by salary support option.

Table 15: Numbers of and success rates for ARF/QEII and APF candidates by salary support option

  ARF/QEII APF
Requested
Approved
Success rate %
Requested
Approved
Success rate %
100% ARC salary contribution requested over five years
284
39
13.7%
60
4
6.7%
50% ARC salary contribution requested over five years
88
19
21.6%
120
24
20.0%
Total
372
58
15.6%
180
28
15.6%

Table 16 provides historical figures for fellowships by salary support option, and indicates that in 2008 there is a rise in the number of fellowships funded under joint funding arrangements between the ARC and Administering Organisations.

Table 16: Numbers of fellowship candidates for funding commencing in calendar years 2004 to 2008 by salary support option

Year
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
50 or 75%
100%
50 or 75%
100%
50 or 75%
100%
50 or 75%
100%
50 or 75%
100%
APD
19
93
14
98
18
92
23
87
25
95
ARF/QEII
1
32
2
30
5
28
13
45
19
39
APF
12
12
9
14
13
12
24
5
24
4
Total number
32
137
25
142
36
132
60
137
68
138

Gender of Participants

The total number of nominated researchers (Chief Investigators, Partner Investigators, APFs, ARF/QEIIs and APDs) on all proposals considered was 9,097. Of these, 2,305 (25.3%) are female and 6,792 (74.7%) are male. Success rates by gender are shown in Table 17. In the proposals approved for funding, 485 of nominated researchers (23.3%) are female and 1,595 (76.7%) are male. The overall success rates for female and male investigators is 21.0% and 23.5% respectively.

Table 17: Comparative success rates for participants by gender

Gender
Number of participants
Percentage of participants %
Number of approved participants
Percentage of approved participants %

Success rate %

Female
2305
25.3%
485
23.3%
21.0%
Male
6792
74.7%
1595
76.7%
23.5%
Total
9097
100.0%
2080
100.0%
22.9%

Of the 854 ECRs nominated on ECR-only proposals, 327 (38.3%) are female and 527 (61.7%) are male. Of the 137 participants on ECR-only proposals approved for funding, 40 (29.2%) are female and 97 (70.8%) are male.

Of the 1,228 nominated fellowship candidates, 404 (32.9%) are female and 824 (67.1%) are male. Of the 206 fellowship candidates approved for funding, 65 (31.6%) are female and 141 (68.4%) are male.

International Collaboration

Applicants foreshadowed 4,347 instances of collaboration with researchers in 109 overseas locations on 2,118 proposals. Of the 878 proposals approved for funding, 517 foreshadowed 1,135 instances of collaboration with researchers in 75 overseas locations.

The highest incidence of collaboration foreshadowed is with researchers in the USA, accounting for 279 of the proposals approved for funding. The second highest incidence of collaboration foreshadowed is with researchers in the United Kingdom, accounting for 170 of the proposals approved for funding.

Figure 1. Collaborations by location in approved proposals

Collaborations by location in approved proposals

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

The following table shows proposal numbers and total ARC funding by Administering Organisation for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2008.

Table 18: Numbers of proposals and success rates, for funding commencing in 2008, by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation Proposals considered Proposals approved Success rate % Funding over project life $
Australian Catholic University
7
0
0.0
0
Baker Heart Research Institute
1
0
0.0
0
Bond University
3
0
0.0
0
Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority
1
0
0.0
0
Central Queensland University
7
0
0.0
0
Charles Darwin University
5
2
40.0
585,000
Charles Sturt University
24
3
12.5
662,196
CSIRO
2
1
50.0
586,530
Curtin University of Technology
92
9
9.8
3,070,697
Deakin University
83
4
4.8
1,533,040
Edith Cowan University
18
1
5.6
202,593
Flinders University
64
9
14.1
3,047,575
Griffith University
112
23
20.5
6,623,272
James Cook University
46
11
23.9
3,543,124
La Trobe University
76
15
19.7
4,677,494
Macquarie University
142
36
25.4
11,048,597
Melbourne College of Divinity
2
0
0.0
0
Monash University
358
75
20.9
27,659,169
Murdoch University
38
5
13.2
1,293,166
Museum Victoria
1
0
0.0
0
Queensland University of Technology
97
24
24.7
7,287,572
RMIT University
55
5
9.1
1,066,444
Royal Botanic Gardens and National Herbarium of Victoria
1
0
0.0
0
Southern Cross University
9
2
22.2
660,000
Swinburne University of Technology
64
12
18.8
4,222,240
The Australian Museum
2
0
0.0
0
The Australian National University
286
78
27.3
30,827,792
The Australian Wine Research Institute
2
0
0.0
0
The University of Adelaide
157
41
26.1
14,143,514
The University of Melbourne
406
112
27.6
38,004,295
The University of New England
26
2
7.7
402,062
The University of New South Wales
390
87
22.3
26,004,779
The University of Newcastle
132
31
23.5
10,353,165
The University of Queensland
361
71
19.7
28,724,683
The University of Sydney
391
98
25.1
34,497,035
The University of Western Australia
166
35
21.1
13,089,935
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
12
3
25.0
965,103
University of Ballarat
10
0
0.0
0
University of Canberra
5
2
40.0
555,934
University of South Australia
68
14
20.6
3,555,526
University of Southern Queensland
31
1
3.2
187,000
University of Tasmania
74
10
13.5
2,850,581
University of Technology, Sydney
90
12
13.3
3,773,676
University of the Sunshine Coast
2
0
0.0
0
University of Western Sydney
42
12
28.6
3,755,509
University of Wollongong
132
32
24.2
11,337,105
Victoria University
19
0
0.0
0
Total
4112
878
21.4
300,796,403

Scheme Budget

The following table shows funds for approved Discovery Projects proposals for commencement in 2008.

Table 19: Funds for approved Discovery Projects proposals for funding commencing in 2008

2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Total
$93,479,736
$89,676,013
$84,934,611
$20,714,789
$11,991,254
$300,796,403
Content Last Modified:

26/9/07

 

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