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Linkage Projects Round 2 Selection Report for Funding Commencing in July 2006
Overview
Selection process
Selection criteria
National Research Priorities
Summary of Funding
Approved funding
Project size
Components
Outcomes by Organisation
The Linkage Projects scheme funds collaborative projects between University researchers and Collaborating Organisations. Proposals in Round 2 for projects commencing in July 2006 closed on 25 November 2005. This report outlines approvals from the selection process for that round.
As indicated in the funding rules for this round (released in early 2005), Linkage Projects aims to:
- encourage and develop long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and other organisations, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems and/or to provide opportunities to obtain national economic, social or cultural benefits;
- support collaborative research on issues of benefit to regional and rural communities;
- enhance the scale and focus of research in National Priority Areas;
- foster opportunities for postdoctoral researchers to pursue internationally competitive research in collaboration with organisations outside the higher education sector, targeting those who have demonstrated a clear commitment to high-quality research;
- provide outcome-oriented research training to prepare high-calibre postgraduate research students; and
- produce a national pool of world-class researchers to meet the needs of the broader Australian innovation system.
Research project costs are supported under Linkage Projects, as well as:
- Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships Industry (APDI) for researchers with less than three years' postdoctoral experience;
- Australian Postgraduate Awards Industry (APAI, or known as APAI-IT for those in information technology) for postgraduate research students studying towards a Masters or PhD award; and
- Linkage Industry Fellowships (LIF) which provide support for costs involved in a temporary transfer from one of the eligible higher education organisations listed on a proposal to one of the collaborating organisations on that proposal or vice versa.
A single proposal to Linkage Projects may contain research project costs and one or more of the component costs above.
This report includes summary statistics and approvals for those Linkage Projects proposals that involve project, APAI, and/or fellowship funding (LP proposals), as well as those proposals primarily seeking APAI stipends (so-called APAI-only, or LA proposals).
Selection process
The College of Experts assessed proposals in two ways depending on the level of support sought in the proposal.
Where an applicant sought funding from the ARC to support fellowships, project costs associated with personnel, equipment, maintenance and/or travel, of more than $150,000 over project life, the ARC and its College of Experts:
- assigned independent readers/assessors to review proposals;
- sought applicants' comments on assessors' reports;
- ranked each proposal relative to the others on the basis of the proposal, the assessors' reports and applicant's response to these assessments; and
- assessed and approved budgets, and prepared funding recommendations.
About 38% of proposals requested funding of less than $150,000 over the proposed project life. External assessment was not sought in these cases. The ARC and the College of Experts ranked each proposal relative to the others on the basis of the proposal and prepared funding recommendations.
Selection criteria
Selection criteria and corresponding weights for Linkage Projects proposals are:
- investigators' track record (20%)
- significance and innovation (25%)
- approach and training (20%)
- national benefit (10%)
- commitment from collaborating organisation (25%)
National Research Priorities
Applicants in this round identified 530 out of a total of 577 proposals (92%) as in one of the national research priority areas. Within those approved for funding, proposals in priority areas represented 91% by number and account for 86% of total approved funding.
Table 1. Approved funding for Linkage Projects Round 2 2006 by National Research Priority
| Priority Area | Proposals received* | Proposals funded | Success rate | Approved funds over project life** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 47 | 19 | 40% | $7,399,094 |
| An Environmentally Sustainable Australia | 181 | 63 | 35% | $16,573,414 |
| Promoting and Maintaining Good Health | 159 | 50 | 31% | $10,259,164 |
| Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries | 149 | 57 | 38% | $15,952,810 |
| Safeguarding Australia | 41 | 17 | 41% | $3,795,833 |
| Total priority proposals | 577 | 206 | 36% | $53,980,315 |
| % within priority areas | 92% | 91% | - | 86% |
* withdrawn proposal not included
**the figures do not include half-year APAI stipends for Year 4.
Summary of Funding
In this round, the ARC received a total of 578 proposals, of which 1 was withdrawn after the closing date. Of the 577 remaining proposals, 94 primarily sought an APAI stipend (APAI-only proposals) and 483 proposals sought substantial project support, as well as one or more APAI, APDI or LIF places. In the tables and text below, the following terms are used to distinguish components of the scheme:
LP - figures for the 483 project proposals
LA - figures for the 94 APAI-only proposals
Linkage - figures for entire Linkage Projects scheme
A total of 206 (35.7%) proposals are approved for funding, with an overall ARC commitment over their lives of $55.6M if all half-year APAI extensions are exercised. The overall success rate of 35.7% represents a slight decrease on the success rate of 36.7% in the previous Round.
Of the LP submitted, 186 of 483 (38.5 %) are funded and represent an ARC commitment of $52.4M. For APAI-only proposals (LA), 20 of 94 (21.3 %) are approved for funding and represent an ARC commitment of $1.56M over the life of these projects.
Table 2. Success rates for Linkage Projects Round 2 2006
| Number of proposals | LP | LA | Linkage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received* | 483 | 94 | 577 |
| Funded | 186 | 20 | 206 |
| Success Rate | 38.5% | 21.3% | 35.7% |
*withdrawn proposal not included
Table 3. Success rates for Linkage Projects Components Rounds 1 and 2 2006
| Component | Round 1 for projects commencing in January 2006 |
Round 2 for projects commencing in July 2006 |
|---|---|---|
| LP | 40.8% | 38.5% |
| LA | 17.9% | 21.3% |
| Linkage | 36.7% | 35.7% |
Table 4. Approved Funding for Linkage Projects Round 2 2006 by Discipline Area
| Discipline Group** | Proposals received* | Proposals Funded | Success rate | Requested funds over project life | Approved funds over project life** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSB | 120 | 42 | 35.0% | $37,084,350 | $10,981,815 |
| EE | 129 | 43 | 33.3% | $34,548,863 | $12,544,223 |
| HCA | 54 | 21 | 38.9% | $17,481,802 | $5,242,697 |
| MIC | 59 | 26 | 44.1% | $14,314,909 | $5,070,637 |
| PCG | 37 | 14 | 37.8% | $13,783,689 | $4,394,484 |
| SBE | 178 | 60 | 33.7% | $41,745,360 | $15,746,459 |
| Total | 577 | 206 | 35.7% | $158,958,973 | $53,980,315 |
*withdrawn proposal not included
**These figures do not include half-year APAI stipends for Year 4.
**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 average first-year funding per project for LP Round 2 is $93,644 (78.4% of average first-year request), and for LA is $27,442 (95.7% of average first-year request). The overall LP average first-year funding per project in Round 2 is $87,217 (78.8% of average first-year request). These figures are broadly similar to the last round. The average first-year project sizes have decreased slightly and the amount funded as a percentage of first-year request has decreased.
Table 5. Comparison of first-year funding, Linkage Projects Rounds 1 and 2 2006
| Component | Round 1 for projects commencing in January 2006 | Round 2 for projects commencing in July 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average first year allocation | Percentage of average first year request | Average first year allocation | Percentage of average first year request | |
| LP | $100,964 | 82.7% | $93,644 | 78.4% |
| LA | $31,337 | 95.8% | $27,442 | 95.7% |
| Linkage | $94,862 | 83.0% | $87,217 | 78.8% |
Table 6. Average total project size for LP, LA and Linkage Projects Rounds 1 and 2 2006
| Component | Round 1 for projects commencing in January 2006 |
Round 2 for projects commencing in July 2006 |
|---|---|---|
| LP* | $320,105 | $289,709 |
| LA* | $109,757 | $90,381 |
| Linkage* | $301,672 | $270,357 |
*These amounts include possible half-year APAI stipends for Year 4.
The major components that can be funded in Linkage Projects include APAIs, APAI ITs, APDIs, Linkage Industry Fellowships (LIF) and other collaborative research grant (CRG) funding. The following table shows overall numbers and funding for these components.
Table 7. Linkage Projects Round 2 2006component data
| Component | Number requested* | Number funded | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| APAI | 415 | 111 | 26.8% |
| APAI-IT | 44 | 32 | 72.7% |
| APDI | 37 | 19 | 51.4% |
| LIF | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| CRG | 489 | 177 | 36.2% |
*withdrawn proposal not included
LIF
The Linkage Projects Round 2 proposals included 2 requests for Linkage
Industry Fellowships (LIF). Neither proposal is approved for funding.
APDI
The Linkage Projects Round 2 proposals included requests for 37 APDI
places, of which 19 proposals (51.4%) are approved for funding.
APAI-IT
Within Linkage Projects, there is a requirement to fund at least 50 APAI
places in the fields of Information Technology and Communications. This requirement
is to be filled over both selection rounds in 2006. In the previous round (LP06
Round 1), 24 places were funded. In this round (LP06 Round 2), 32 places are
approved for funding, taking newly funded APAI-IT places in 2006 to a total
of 56.
Outcomes by Organisation
Table 8 shows proposal numbers and total approved ARC funding by administering organisation for the Linkage Projects scheme.
Table 8. Outcomes by organisation for Linkage Projects Round 2 2006
| Administering Organisation | Proposals Received* | Proposals approved | Success rate (%) | Approved funding over project life** | Total Collaborating Organisation Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Catholic University | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| Bond University | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| Central Queensland University | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| Charles Darwin University | 9 | 3 | 33 | $711,950 | $873,860 |
| Charles Sturt University | 7 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| Curtin University of Technology | 10 | 4 | 40 | $1,056,950 | $1,943,966 |
| Deakin University | 8 | 2 | 25 | $483,681 | $490,284 |
| Edith Cowan University | 3 | 1 | 33 | $251,000 | $457,350 |
| Griffith University | 22 | 4 | 18 | $706,002 | $1,814,394 |
| James Cook University | 5 | 2 | 40 | $287,000 | $695,802 |
| La Trobe University | 5 | 1 | 20 | $240,000 | $289,241 |
| Macquarie University | 6 | 2 | 33 | $490,000 | $1,120,000 |
| Monash University | 47 | 20 | 43 | $5,084,707 | $8,669,595 |
| Murdoch University | 14 | 4 | 29 | $998,296 | $1,424,884 |
| Queensland University of Technology | 45 | 16 | 36 | $4,178,530 | $7,260,090 |
| RMIT University | 13 | 2 | 15 | $296,970 | $571,854 |
| Southern Cross University | 3 | 1 | 33 | $310,000 | $765,837 |
| Swinburne University of Technology | 9 | 1 | 11 | $235,000 | $283,500 |
| The Australian National University | 17 | 9 | 53 | $3,949,872 | $5,389,090 |
| The Flinders University of South Australia | 14 | 5 | 36 | $1,390,909 | $2,136,203 |
| The University of Adelaide | 21 | 9 | 43 | $1,965,835 | $3,630,898 |
| The University of Melbourne | 40 | 20 | 50 | $4,656,688 | $5,630,076 |
| The University of New England | 7 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| The University of New South Wales | 49 | 19 | 39 | $3,889,759 | $6,787,876 |
| The University of Newcastle | 7 | 4 | 57 | $627,910 | $960,768 |
| The University of Queensland | 37 | 13 | 35 | $2,939,344 | $4,308,188 |
| The University of Sydney | 50 | 22 | 44 | $7,430,590 | $15,048,128 |
| The University of Western Australia | 26 | 10 | 39 | $3,654,278 | $6,054,480 |
| University of Ballarat | 3 | 1 | 33 | $156,000 | $186,000 |
| University of Canberra | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| University of South Australia | 21 | 10 | 48 | $2,306,572 | $3,873,029 |
| University of Southern Queensland | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| University of Tasmania | 15 | 6 | 40 | $1,594,120 | $2,962,706 |
| University of Technology, Sydney | 6 | 3 | 50 | $459,708 | $607,570 |
| University of the Sunshine Coast | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 | $0 |
| University of Western Sydney | 11 | 4 | 36 | $566,950 | $1,368,835 |
| University of Wollongong | 22 | 7 | 32 | $2,971,835 | $5,311,313 |
| Victoria University | 12 | 1 | 8 | $89,859 | $90,000 |
| Total | 577 | 206 | 36 | $53,980,315 | $91,005,817 |
*withdrawn proposal not included
**figures do not include half-year APAI stipends for Year 4.
