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Federation Fellowships
Selection Report (for funding commencing in 2007)
Objectives
Selection Process
Selection Criteria
Summary of Outcomes
Attracting and Retaining Outstanding Researchers
Approved Fellows: Returning Australians
Approved Fellows: Foreign Nationals
Approved Fellows: Resident Australians
Administering Organisation
National Research Priorities
Disciplines
Stage in Career
Age and Gender
Start-up Project Funding
Total Scheme Budget
Objectives
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 objectives of the Federation Fellowships scheme are to:
- attract and retain outstanding researchers of international renown;
- build and strengthen world-class research capability in Australia;
- expand Australia's knowledge base by supporting ground-breaking, internationally competitive research;
- forge strong links among researchers, industry and the international research community; and
- support research that will result in economic, environmental, social or cultural benefits for Australia.
Selection Process
Proposals were assessed by an ARC Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) chaired by an outstanding overseas researcher. The SAC was informed and advised by assessments provided by readers who had relevant expertise. These readers were members of the ARC's College of Experts, Australian Readers and International Readers. Fellowship candidates were also able to submit two reports from external referees.
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 2007) allow for a maximum number of 25 Federation Fellowships to be awarded in this funding round. A total of 129 proposals were submitted to the ARC. The following overview summarises the characteristics of the considered proposals and the approved Federation Fellows.
Attracting and Retaining Outstanding Researchers
Proposals 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 2007) allow for a maximum of five foreign nationals to be awarded a Federation Fellowship in this funding round.
Federation Fellows are able to re-apply for a Federation Fellowship during the fourth or fifth year of their current Federation Fellowship. Eight existing Federation Fellows are approved for funding.
Of the 129 proposals considered, 21 (16%) were for Australians intending to return to Australia and, of these, one is approved for funding. Eighteen (14%) were for foreign nationals and, of these, two proposals are approved for funding. Ninety (70%) proposals were for resident Australians, of which 17 are approved for Federation Fellowships. Of these 17, three existing Fellows had returned to Australia in a preceding round.
Apart from the two foreign nationals, 11 of the remaining 18 approved Fellows obtained their PhDs outside Australia. Of the seven who obtained their PhDs in Australia, four are second-time Federation Fellows.
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 2006-07 | Commencing in 2007-08 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship/ residency status | % of considered proposals |
% of approved proposals | No. of considered proposals | % of considered proposals | No. of approved proposals | % of approved proposals |
| Returning Australians | 21% |
20% |
21 |
16% |
1 |
5% |
| Foreign Nationals | 12% |
8% |
18 |
14% |
2 |
10% |
| Resident Australians | 67% |
72% |
90 |
70% |
17 |
85% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
100% |
129 |
100% |
20 |
100% |
Approved Fellows: Returning Australians
There is one Fellowship candidate approved for funding in this category.
Table 2: Returning Australian approved for funding - Current Organisation and Administering Organisation
| Fellowship candidate | Current Organisation | Administering Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| A/Prof T Gherghetta | University of Minnesota | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prof J Hodges | United Kingdom | Medical Research Council U.K. | The University of New South Wales |
| Prof H Niemann | Germany | Institut fur Tierzucht Mariensee | The University of Adelaide |
Approved Fellows: Resident Australians
There are 17 Fellowship candidates approved for funding in this category.
Table 4: Resident Australians approved for funding - Current Organisation and Administering Organisation
| Fellowship candidate | Current Organisation | Administering Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Dr J Bland-Hawthorn | Anglo-Australian Observatory | The University of Sydney |
| Prof F Caruso* | The University of Melbourne | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof R Clark* | The University of New South Wales | The University of New South Wales |
| Prof H Durrant-Whyte* | The University of Sydney | The University of Sydney |
| Prof B Eggleton* | The University of Sydney | The University of Sydney |
| Dr W Heath | The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research | The University of Melbourne |
| Prof Y Kivshar* | The Australian National University | The Australian National University |
| Prof P Koopman | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Prof D MacFarlane | Monash University | Monash University |
| Prof B McSherry | Monash University | Monash University |
| Prof G Milburn* | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Prof D Pannell | The University of Western Australia | The University of Western Australia |
| Prof I Petersen | The University of New South Wales | The University of New South Wales |
| Prof C Praeger | The University of Western Australia | The University of Western Australia |
| Prof H Price* | The University of Sydney | The University of Sydney |
| Prof J Quiggin* | The University of Queensland | The University of Queensland |
| Dr P Waterhouse | CSIRO Plant Industry | The University of Sydney |
* Existing Federation Fellows who have received a second Federation Fellowship in this funding round
Administering Organisation
The Administering Organisations of the 20 proposals approved for funding are:
Monash University (2)
The Australian National University (1)
The University of Adelaide (1)
The University of Melbourne (3)
The University of New South Wales (3)
The University of Queensland (3)
The University of Sydney (5)
The University of Western Australia (2)
National Research Priorities
Of the 20 approved Fellowships, 19 nominated their research proposal as falling under an area of National Research Priority with total funding approved over five years as follows:
- An Environmentally Sustainable Australia (2): $3,212,420
- Promoting and Maintaining Good Health (3): $5,607,214
- Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries (14): $24,050,165.
One proposal did not nominate a National Research priority.
Disciplines
Although a number of 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 of proposals within disciplines.
Table 5: Disciplines of all proposals - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2006-07 | Commencing in 2007-08 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disciplines | % of considered proposals |
% of approved proposals |
No. of considered proposals |
% of considered proposals |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| BSB | 20% |
24% |
31 |
24% |
4 |
20% |
| EE | 15% |
12% |
19 |
15% |
2 |
10% |
| HCA | 13% |
16% |
11 |
9% |
2 |
10% |
| MIC | 16% |
16% |
20 |
15% |
3 |
15% |
| PCG | 27% |
24% |
34 |
26% |
6 |
30% |
| SBE | 9% |
8% |
14 |
11% |
3 |
15% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
100% |
129 |
100% |
20 |
100% |
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 will play a leadership role in building Australia's internationally competitive research capacity. As shown in Table 6, 33% of Fellowship candidates were within 15 years of the award of their PhD. Of the approved Fellows, 25% are within 15 years of the award of their PhD.
Table 6: Years since the award of PhD - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2006-07 | Commencing in 2007-08 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years since award of PhD | % of considered proposals |
% of approved proposals |
No. of considered proposals |
% of considered proposals |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| 0-15 years | 34% |
28% |
42 |
33% |
5 |
25% |
| 16-20 years | 23% |
20% |
35 |
27% |
5 |
25% |
| 21/+ years | 40% |
48% |
50 |
39% |
10 |
50% |
| No PhD | 2% |
4% |
2 |
1% |
0 |
0% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
100% |
129 |
100% |
20 |
100% |
Age and Gender
As Table 7 shows, there are 13 Fellowships awarded to researchers under the age of 50.
Table 7: Age distribution of Fellowship candidates - current and previous rounds
| Commencing in 2006-07 | Commencing in 2007-08 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age cohort | % of considered proposals |
% of approved proposals |
No. of considered proposals |
% of considered proposals |
No. of approved proposals |
% of approved proposals |
| <40 years | 13% |
16% |
16 |
13% |
2 |
10% |
| 40-49 years | 48% |
56% |
63 |
49% |
11 |
55% |
| 50-59 years | 33% |
28% |
43 |
33% |
7 |
35% |
| 60 / + years | 6% |
0% |
7 |
5% |
0 |
0% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
100% |
129 |
100% |
20 |
100% |
Of the 129 Fellowship candidates, 16 (12%) were female; of the 20 approved Fellows, 2 (10%) are female.
Start-up Project Funding
In addition to salary support, Federation Fellows may be eligible for Start-up Project Funding, to a maximum of $400,000 over two years in cases where the candidate was not recently eligible to be a Chief Investigator under the ARC’s Discovery Projects or Linkage Projects schemes. This support is to assist researchers who are coming from overseas or who are working in a research environment that is not usually eligible to be funded by the ARC.
Of the 20 successful proposals, 6 requested Start-up Project Funding. A total of $2,351,809 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 Federation Fellow and year
| Federation Fellow | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr J Bland-Hawthorn | $198,900 |
$200,000 |
$398,900 |
| A/Prof T Gherghetta | $195,575 |
$169,650 |
$365,225 |
| Dr W Heath | $191,114 |
$198,420 |
$389,534 |
| Prof J Hodges | $204,813 |
$194,237 |
$399,050 |
| Dr H Niemann | $199,100 |
$200,000 |
$399,100 |
| Dr P Waterhouse | $273,447 |
$126,553 |
$400,000 |
| TOTAL | $1,262,949 |
$1,088,860 |
$2,351,809 |
Total Scheme Budget
Subject to the provisions of the ARC Act, the following budgets have been allocated for Federation Fellowships (for funding commencing in 2007). The total budget for years 2007-08 and 2008-09 includes the Start-up Project Funding for approved Fellowships.
Table 9: Total scheme budget by year
| Budget item | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary support | $6,424,840 |
$6,424,840 |
$6,424,840 |
$6,424,840 |
$6,424,840 |
$32,124,200 |
| Start-up project funding | $1,262,949 |
$1,088,860 |
$2,351,809 |
|||
| TOTAL | $7,687,789 |
$7,513,700 |
$6,424,840 |
$6,424,840 |
$6,424,840 |
$34,476,009 |
22/5/07
