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Federation Fellowships 2006 Selection Report
(for funding commencing in 2006)
The Federation Fellowships were a major initiative arising from the Government's January 2001 statement Backing Australia's Ability: an innovation action plan for the future.
The aims of the Federation Fellowships are to:
a) attract and retain outstanding researchers of international renown;
b) build and strengthen world-class research capability in Australia;
c) expand Australia's knowledge base by supporting ground-breaking, internationally
competitive research;
d) forge strong links between researchers, industry and the international research
community; and
e) support research that will result in economic, environmental, social and
cultural benefits for Australia.
Selection Process
Proposals were assessed by a Selection Advisory Committee of the ARC Board and approved by the Minister. Members of the ARC's College of Experts provided assessments of proposals, for which they had relevant expertise, as advice to the Selection Advisory Committee. Fellowship candidates nominated external referees who also provided reports.
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria for Federation Fellowships are:
- investigator (50%);
- project/program of research activity (30%); and
- national benefit (20%).
Summary of Outcomes
The Federation Fellowships Funding Rules (for funding commencing in 2006) allow for a maximum number of 25 Federation Fellowships to be awarded in this funding round. A total of 164 proposals were submitted to the ARC. One of the submitted proposals was subsequently withdrawn by the Administering Organisation and, consequently, 163 proposals were considered for funding. The following overview summarises the characteristics of the considered proposals and the approved Federation Fellows.
Attracting and Retaining Outstanding Researchers
Applications were open to Eligible Organisations to nominate Federation Fellowship candidates who are outstanding researchers of international renown, resident either within Australia or overseas. The Federation Fellowships Funding Rules (for funding commencing in 2006) allow for a maximum number of five foreign nationals to be awarded a Federation Fellowship in this funding round.
In this funding round, existing Federation Fellows were able to re-apply for a Federation Fellowship during or after the penultimate year of their current Federation Fellowship. Six (4%) of the Fellowship candidates were existing Federation Fellows and, of these, four are approved for funding.
Of the 163 proposals considered, 35 (21%) of these were for Australians intending to return to Australia, and of these 5 are approved for funding. Nineteen (12%) were for foreign nationals, and of these, two proposals are approved for funding. One hundred and nine (67%) proposals were for resident Australians, of which 18 are approved for Federation Fellowships.
The following table shows the citizenship and residency status of Fellowship candidates and approved Fellows.
Table 1: Citizenship and residency status - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2005-06 | Commencing in 2006-07 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship/ residency status | % of considered proposals* |
% of funded proposals |
No. of considered proposals* |
% of considered proposals* |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| Returning Australians | 25% | 17% | 35 | 21% | 5 | 20% |
| Foreign Nationals | 23% | 21% | 19 | 12% | 2 | 8% |
| Resident Australians | 52% | 62% | 109 | 67% | 18 | 72% |
| TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 163 | 100% | 25 | 100% |
* The withdrawn proposal is not included in this table.
Approved Fellows: Returning Australians
There are five Fellowship candidates approved for funding in this category.
Table 2: Returning Australians approved for funding - current organisation and Administering Organisation
| Fellowship candidate | Current organisation | Administering Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Dr P Burn | University of Oxford | The University of Queensland |
| Prof DJ Karoly | University of Oklahoma | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof BF Kiernan | Yale University | The University of Sydney |
| Prof I Marusic | University of Minnesota | The University of Melbourne |
| A/Prof DM Studdert | Harvard School of Public Health | The University of Melbourne |
Approved Fellows: Foreign Nationals
There are two Fellowship candidates approved for funding in this category.
Table 3: Foreign nationals approved for funding - citizenship, current organisation and Administering Organisation
| Fellowship candidate | Country of citizenship | Current Organisation | Administering Organisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr TS Shippenberg | USA | National Institute on Drug Abuse | The University of Sydney |
| Prof PR Van Hentenryck | Belgium | Brown University | Monash University |
Approved Fellows: Resident Australians
There are 18 Fellowship candidates approved for funding in this category.
Table 4: Resident Australians approved for funding - current organisation and Administering Organisation
| Applicant | Current organisation | Administering Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Prof J Braithwaite* | The Australian National University | The Australian National University |
| Prof MC Burry | RMIT University | RMIT University |
| Prof DP Fairlie | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Prof CC Goodnow | The Australian National University | The Australian National University |
| Prof MA Green* | The University of New South Wales | The University of New South Wales |
| Prof PR Haddad | University of Tasmania | University of Tasmania |
| Prof PG Hall | The Australian National University | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof TP Hughes* | James Cook University | James Cook University |
| Prof TC Lindsey | The University of Melbourne | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof GI McFadden | The University of Melbourne | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof KA Nugent* | The University of Melbourne | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof MW Parker | St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research | St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research |
| Prof HP Possingham | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Dr J Rossjohn | Monash University | Monash University |
| Prof G Turner | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Prof G Vidal | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Prof GG Wallace | University of Wollongong | University of Wollongong |
| Prof AG White | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
* Existing Federation Fellows who are approved for a second Federation Fellowship in this funding round
Administering Organisation
The Administering Organisations of the 25 proposals approved for funding are:
James Cook University (1)
Monash University (2)
RMIT University (1)
St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research (1)
The Australian National University (2)
The University of Melbourne (7)
The University of New South Wales (1)
The University of Queensland (6)
The University of Sydney (2)
University of Tasmania (1)
University of Wollongong (1)
National Research Priorities
The 25 approved Fellowships fall under the following National Research Priorities with total funding approved over five years:
- An Environmentally Sustainable Australia (4): $6,644,440
- Promoting and Maintaining Good Health (3): $5,380,203
- Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries (13): $21,353,634
- Safeguarding Australia (5): $8,145,550
ARC Discipline Clusters
Although a number of the proposals lie squarely within particular discipline groupings, many overlap with two or three of the discipline groupings. In broad terms, the following table summarises the distribution.
Table 5: Disciplines of all proposals - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2005-06 | Commencing in 2006-07 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Discipline Grouping | % of considered proposals* |
% of funded proposals |
No. of considered proposals* |
% of considered proposals* |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| BSB | 22% | 25% | 32 | 20% | 6 | 24% |
| EE | 15% | 13% | 24 | 15% | 3 | 12% |
| HCA | 12% | 17% | 21 | 13% | 4 | 16% |
| MIC | 12% | 8% | 27 | 16% | 4 | 16% |
| PCG | 26% | 29% | 44 | 27% | 6 | 24% |
| SBE | 13% | 8% | 15 | 9% | 2 | 8% |
| TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 163 | 100% | 25 | 100% |
* The withdrawn proposal is not included in this table.
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
Stage In Career
Consistent with the scheme's objectives, the ARC encourages proposals from early- to mid-career researchers who could play a leadership role in building Australia's internationally-competitive research capacity. As shown in Table 6, 34% of all Fellowship candidates are within 15 years of the award of their PhD. Of the approved Fellows, 28% are within 15 years of the award of their PhD.
Table 6: Years since the award of PhD - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2005-06 | Commencing in 2006-07 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years since award of PhD | % of considered proposals* |
% of funded proposals |
No. of considered proposals* |
% of considered proposals* |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| 0-15 years | 33% | 42% | 56 | 34% | 7 | 28% |
| 16-20 years | 28% | 29% | 38 | 23% | 5 | 20% |
| 21/+ years | 39% | 29% | 66 | 40% | 12 | 48% |
| Not applicable | <1% | - | 3 | 2% | 1 | 4% |
| TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 163 | 100% | 25 | 100% |
* The withdrawn proposal is not included in this table.
Age and Gender
As Table 7 shows, there are 18 Fellowship candidates approved for funding under the age of 50.
Table 7: Age distribution of Fellowship candidates - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2005-06 | Commencing in 2006-07 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age cohort | % of considered proposals* |
% of funded proposals |
No. of considered proposals* |
% of considered proposals* |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| < 40 years | 15% | 25% | 22 | 13% | 4 | 16% |
| 40-49 years | 47% | 38% | 79 | 48% | 14 | 56% |
| 50-59 years | 32% | 33% | 53 | 33% | 7 | 28% |
| 60 / + years | 6% | 4% | 9 | 6% | 0 | 0% |
| TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 163 | 100% | 25 | 100% |
* The withdrawn proposal is not included in this table.
Of the 163 Fellowship candidates, 14 (9%) were female; of the 25 approved Fellows, one is female.
Start-up Project Funding
Fellowship recipients who have had their place of work and place of residence outside Australia for a period of time are eligible to receive start-up project funding up to a maximum of $400,000 over two years, in addition to salary support.
Of the 25 approved proposals 6 requested start-up project funding. A total of $1,996,077 over two years is approved in addition to salary support for the Fellowships.
Table 8 shows the approved Fellows that requested start-up project funding and the amount approved.
Table 8: Approved Start-up Project Funding by Fellowship recipient and year
| Fellowship Candidate | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr P Burn | $199,602 | $199,602 | $399,204 |
| Prof DJ Karoly | $230,000 | $90,000 | $320,000 |
| Prof BF Kiernan | $100,000 | $140,000 | $240,000 |
| Prof I Marusic | $160,000 | $240,000 | $400,000 |
| Dr TS Shippenberg | $380,100 | $18,533 | $398,633 |
| A/Prof DM Studdert | $118,530 | $119,710 | $238,240 |
| TOTAL | $1,188,232 | $807,845 | $1,996,077 |
Total Scheme Budget
Subject to the provisions of the ARC Act, the following budgets have been allocated for Federation Fellowships (for funding commencing in 2006). The total budget for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 includes the Start-up Project Funding for approved Fellowships.
Table 9: Total program budget by year
| Budget item | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary support |
$7,589,328 | $7,905,550 | $7,905,550 | $7,905,550 | $7,905,550 | $316,222 | $39,527,750 |
| Start-up project funding | $1,188,232 | $807,845 | $1,996,077 | ||||
| TOTAL | $8,777,560 | $8,713,395 | $7,905,550 | $7,905,550 | $7,905,550 | $316,222 | $41,523,827 |
