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Linkage Projects
Round 1
Selection Report for Funding Commencing in 2008

Overview

The Linkage Projects scheme funds collaborative projects between University researchers and Partner Organisations. Proposals in Round 1 for projects commencing in January 2008 closed on 4 May 2007. This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for that round.

As indicated in the funding rules for this round, Linkage Projects aims to:

  1. encourage and develop long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and other organisations, including within industry, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems and/or to provide opportunities to obtain national economic, social or cultural benefits;
  2. support collaborative research on issues of benefit to regional and rural communities;
  3. enhance the scale and focus of research in National Research Priorities;
  4. 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;
  5. provide outcome-oriented research training to prepare high-calibre postgraduate research students; and
  6. 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 as APAI-IT for those in the field of information technology and communications) for postgraduate research students studying towards a Master's or PhD degree; 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 partner 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 recommendations for those Linkage Projects proposals that involve project, and/or APAI, and/or APDI, and/or LIF funding.

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Selection Process

Assessment of proposals was undertaken by the ARC College of Experts, which:

  • assigned independent readers/assessors to review 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 Applicant's response to these assessments;
  • assessed and recommended budgets;
  • where applicable held panel interviews; and
  • prepared funding recommendations.

The ARC and the College of Experts ranked each proposal relative to all other proposals on the basis of the proposal and prepared funding recommendations.

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Selection Criteria

Selection criteria and corresponding weights for Linkage Projects proposals are:

  • investigator track record (20%)
  • significance and innovation (25%)
  • approach and training (20%)
  • national benefit (10%)
  • commitment of partner organisation (25%)

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Funding Levels and Duration

Funding for Linkage Projects may be awarded for one to five years subject to parliamentary appropriation and the provisions of the ARC Act. APDIs are awarded for a standard duration of three years, except where applicants specifically request a shorter duration. APAI stipends may be awarded for two years (Master's) or three years (PhD), with provision under certain conditions for an extension of an additional six months' support for PhD students. Unless otherwise specified, funding amounts presented in this document do not include amounts covering any additional six months extensions for APAI stipends.

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National Research Priorities

The Australian Government has identified four National Research Priorities and, within these, 21 national research priority goals.

Of the 424 proposals considered in this round, 407 (96.0%) were identified by the applicants as addressing a National Research Priority. Of those 407, 198 (48.6%) are approved for funding, representing 98.0% of the total 202 proposals approved for funding and accounting for 98.5% of the total funding.

Table1: Approved funding for Linkage Projects Round 1 2008 by National Research Priority

Priority Area
Proposals received
Proposals approved
Success rate
Indicative funds over project life
None
17
4
23.5%
$929,575
An Environmentally Sustainable Australia
116
51
44.0%
$21,818,082
Promoting and Maintaining Good Health
132
66
50.0%
$15,828,687
Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries
125
62
49.6%
$17,701,665
Safeguarding Australia
34
19
55.9%
$5,989,837
Total priority proposals
407
198
48.6%
$61,338,271
% within priority areas
96.0%
98.0%
98.5%

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Summary of Outcomes

In this round, the ARC received a total of 425 proposals, of which one proposal was withdrawn and not considered for funding. Of the 424, 29 primarily sought an APAI stipend (APAI-predominantly proposals) and 395 proposals sought substantial project support, and may include a request for funding of 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 395 project proposals
LA - figures for the 29 APAI-predominantly proposals
Linkage - figures for all 424 Linkage Projects proposals

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Approved Funding

Of the 424 Linkage Projects proposals which were considered for funding commencing in January 2008, 202 (47.6%) were approved for funding, 209 were not approved for funding and 13 were deemed ineligible (that is, they did not satisfy the eligibility criteria and/or other requirements for the submission of proposal).

The 202 approved proposals represent an ARC commitment of $62.3M.  If all APAI PhD students associated with the 202 approved proposals were to extend for six months, the overall ARC commitment over the life of these projects would be $64.1M.

For the 29 APAI-predominantly proposals (LA), 10 (34.5 %) are funded and represent an ARC indicative funding commitment of $1.1M over the life of these projects.

Table 2: Numbers of approved proposals and success rates for Linkage Projects Proposal Components Round 2 2007 and Round 1 2008

Component
 Round 2 2007 for proposals commencing in July 2007 Round 1 2008 for proposals commencing in January 2008
Received
Approved
Success Rate
Received
Approved
Success Rate
LP
415
201
48.4%
395
192
48.6%
LA
57
16
28.1%
29
10
34.5%
Linkage
472
217
46.0%
424
202
47.6%

Table 3: Numbers of approved proposals and success rates for Linkage Projects Round 1 2008 by discipline area

Discipline Group*
Proposals received
Proposals approved
Success rate
Requested funds over project life for considered proposals
Funds over project life approved proposals
BSB
77
35
45.5%
$28,696,777
$12,228,386
EE
79
34
43.0%
$33,006,710
$16,202,085
HCA
43
22
51.2%
$11,527,687
$5,134,056
MIC
47
21
44.7%
$14,123,404
$5,830,501
PCG
38
20
52.6%
$13,595,037
$6,125,347
SBE
140
70
50.0%
$39,394,375
$16,747,471
Total
424
202
47.6%
$140,343,990
$62,267,846

*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

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Project Size

The average first-year (calendar year) funding per project for Round 1 2008 LP proposals is $107,487 (80.4% of average first-year request), and for LA proposals is $35,878 (91.4% of average first-year request). The overall average Linkage first-year funding per project in Round 1 2008 is $103,942 (80.5% of average first-year request).

Table 4: Comparison of approved first-year funding, Linkage Projects Round 2 2007 and Round 1 2008

Component
First-year funding approved for Round 2 2007 proposals commencing in July 2007 First-year funding approved for Round 1 2008 proposals commencing in January 2008
Average funding for first year
% of average first-year request
Average approved funding for first year
Average amount approved as % of requested funding for first year
LP
$97,067
70.4%
$107,487
80.4%
LA
$30,475
97.9%
$35,878
91.4%
Linkage
$92,157
75.4%
$103,942
80.5%

Table 5: Average approved funding over project life for Linkage Projects Round 2 2007 and Round 1 2008

Component
Round 2 2007 funded proposals commencing in July 2007
Round 1 2008 approved proposals commencing in January 2008
LP
$293,179
$318,706
LA
$86,503
$107,633
Linkage
$277,940
$308,257

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Components

The components that can be funded in Linkage Projects are APAIs, APAI-ITs, APDIs, LIF and other collaborative research grant (CRG) funding. The following table shows numbers requested and success rates for these components.

Table 6: Numbers of and success rates for approved Linkage Projects Round 1 2008 by components

Component
Number requested
Number approved
Success rate
APAI
323
116
35.9%
APAI-IT
38
29
76.3%
APDI
30
18
60.0%
LIF
3
1
33.3%
CRG
394
185*
47.0%

*Of the 202 proposals which are recommended, not all were funded the CRG component requested

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APAI and APAI-IT

The 2008 Linkage Projects Funding Rules stipulate that, subject to an adequate number of requests of the requisite type and of sufficient quality being received, the ARC will allocate at least 50 APAI places in the field of information technology and communications in addition to other APAI funding. These APAI-IT places are to be filled over both selection rounds. For this round (Round 1 2008), 116 APAI and 29 APAI-IT places are approved for funding, representing a success rate of 35.9% and 76.3% respectively.

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APDI

The Linkage Projects Round 1 2008 proposals included requests for the award of 30 APDIs, of which 18 (60.0%) are approved for funding.

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LIF

The Linkage Projects Round 1 2008 proposals included three requests for a LIF.  One LIF is approved for funding, representing a success rate of 33.3%.

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Outcomes by Organisation

Table 7 shows proposal numbers and total ARC funding by administering organisation for Linkage Projects Round 1 2008.

Table 7: Numbers of proposals and success rates for Linkage ProjectsRound 1 2008 by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation
Proposals considered
Proposals Approved
Success rate
Approved funding over project life
Total Partner Organisation Contribution pledged over project life
Central Queensland University
1
0
0.0%
$0
n/a
Charles Darwin University
6
4
66.7%
$810,028
$1,623,550
Charles Sturt University
1
0
0.0%
$0
n/a
Curtin University of Technology
13
5
38.5%
$1,656,670
$3,011,096
Deakin University
8
1
12.5%
$315,000
$452,000
Edith Cowan University
5
2
40.0%
$285,000
$600,847
Flinders University
5
2
40.0%
$285,000
$573,325
Griffith University
17
7
41.2%
$1,623,185
$3,670,256
James Cook University
4
3
75.0%
$744,567
$881,835
La Trobe University
7
4
57.1%
$691,765
$785,841
Macquarie University
5
4
80.0%
$1,271,031
$1,796,790
Monash University
21
8
38.1%
$2,887,258
$4,549,909
Murdoch University
7
2
28.6%
$812,267
$1,124,913
Queensland University of Technology
25
13
52.0%
$3,190,103
$3,905,460
RMIT University
19
10
52.6%
$2,352,007
$3,234,040
Southern Cross University
2
1
50.0%
$246,000
$579,047
Swinburne University of Technology
10
4
40.0%
$561,648
$765,385
The Australian National University
8
2
25.0%
$521,575
$691,504
The University of Adelaide
11
9
81.8%
$2,744,320
$3,569,731
The University of Melbourne
28
13
46.4%
$2,518,754
$3,763,320
The University of New England
1
0
0.0%
$0
n/a
The University of New South Wales
38
18
47.4%
$4,904,170
$7,817,939
The University of Newcastle
7
5
71.4%
$2,072,371
$3,136,195
The University of Queensland
43
25
58.1%
$13,711,837
$19,689,902
The University of Sydney
33
18
54.5%
$5,509,210
$8,896,404
The University of Western Australia
21
12
57.1%
$3,673,575
$5,695,059
University of Ballarat
3
1
33.3%
$210,000
$206,464
University of Canberra
3
2
66.7%
$346,881
$718,000
University of South Australia
9
3
33.3%
$1,002,651
$1,453,350
University of Southern Queensland
2
2
100.0%
$570,313
$662,710
University of Tasmania
12
5
41.7%
$2,004,273
$3,906,654
University of Technology, Sydney
16
7
43.8%
$2,212,593
$3,840,049
University of the Sunshine Coast
2
0
0.0%
$0
n/a
University of Western Sydney
11
4
36.4%
$1,052,207
$1,397,280
University of Wollongong
14
5
35.7%
$1,168,762
$1,694,334
Victoria University
6
1
16.7%
$312,825
$339,000
Total
424
202
47.6%
$62,267,846
$95,032,189

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Partnerships

Linkage proposals represent partnerships between University researchers and other organisations, as well as partnerships between Partner Organisations within projects. On average, there are 2 Partner Organisations involved in each approved proposal in this Linkage Projects round. A summary of the ANZSIC categories identified by applicants for these Partner Organisations is at Table 8.

Table 8: Partner Organisation data by ANZSIC Category for Linkage Projects Round 1 2008

ANZSIC Category
Proposals received
Proposals approved
No. of Organis-ations*
Total contribution (cash + in-kind)
No. of Organisations (Govt, non-profit, private)
Total contribution (cash + in-kind)
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
63
$15,594,041
33 (12, 1, 20)
$9,939,572
Communication Services
4
$1,102,940
0 (0, 0, 0)
n/a
Construction
10
$1,134,278
9 (0, 0, 9)
$1,104,278
Cultural And Recreational Services
66
$9,138,547
32 (21, 7, 4)
$5,118,720
Education
69
$11,059,189
31 (11, 10, 10)
$5,196,560
Electricity, Gas And Water Supply
38
$15,432,337
17 (8, 0, 9)
$10,115,318
Finance and Insurance
12
$2,697,320
7 (1, 0, 6)
$1,943,244
Government Administration and Defence
156
$22,784,724
85 (80, 2, 3)
$14,036,287
Health and Community Services
120
$23,113,196
73 (22, 42, 9)
$14,012,782
Manufacturing
77
$28,893,261
31 (0, 0, 31)
$12,239,749
Mining
42
$11,440,304
26 (1, 1, 24)
$6,886,335
Personal And Other Services
33
$5,202,452
17 (3, 10, 4)
$3,550,084
Property And Business Services
80
$14,321,281
36 (3, 6, 27)
$7,623,749
Retail Trade
1
$466,935
0 (0, 0, 0)
n/a
Transport and Storage
16
$5,287,774
7 (3, 0, 4)
$3,265,511
Wholesale Trade
1
$48,000
0 (0, 0, 0)
n/a
Total
788
$167,716,579
404 (165, 79, 160)
$95,032,189

*These figures include multiple counting of organisations which are listed on more than one proposal.

Partner Organisations were identified by the applicants as government, non-profit or private companies, and also identified as Australia-based or international. The Partner Organisation contributions in these categories for Round 1 2008 proposals approved for funding are shown below in Table 9.

Table 9: Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects proposals Round 1 2008

Type
   Cash In-kind Total
$M
%
$M
%
$M
%
Government
Commonwealth
1.7
5.7
2.3
3.5
4.0
4.2
State, Territory & Local
10.6
35.3
23.3
35.7
33.8
35.6
International
0.2
0.5
0.7
1.0
0.8
0.9
Sub-total
12.4
41.5
26.3
40.3
38.7
40.7
Non-profit
Australian
2.7
9.0
7.3
11.2
10.0
10.5
International
0.8
2.7
1.7
2.6
2.5
2.7
Sub-total
3.5
11.7
9.0
13.9
12.5
13.2
Private companies
Australian
10.4
34.9
20.0
30.8
30.5
32.1
International
3.6
11.9
9.8
15.1
13.4
14.1
Sub-total
14.0
46.8
29.9
45.8
43.8
46.1
Total
29.9
100.0
65.1
100.0
95.0
100.0

Note: All totals and percentages are calculated using unrounded figures.

In approved proposals, private companies have pledged 46.8% of the total cash and 45.8% of the total in-kind contributions pledged by Partner Organisations. Government agencies have pledged 41.5% of the total cash and 40.3% of the in-kind contributions pledged by Partner Organisations.  State, Territory and Local governments account for the bulk of Government agency-pledged contributions (35.6% of overall pledged contributions, compared with 4.2% pledged by Commonwealth agencies).

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Leverage of ARC Funding

The ARC considered 424 proposals seeking a total of $140.3M in ARC funding over five years.  Approved proposals are linked to 788 instances of Partner Organisation involvement, with total pledged Partner Organisation contributions of $167.7M over five years.

For the 202 approved proposals, the ARC will contribute $62.3M and Partner Organisations have pledged $95.0M over the life of these projects. This represents $1.5 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.

The ARC considered 395 LP proposals, requesting support for 323 APAI and APAI-IT stipends.  Partner Organisations on these proposals pledged contributions of $164.8M over five years. For the 192 LP approved proposals, the ARC will contribute $61.2M and Partner Organisations have pledged $94.1M over the life of these projects. This represents $1.5 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.

The ARC considered 29 LA proposals, requesting support for 38 APAI and APAI-IT stipends.  Partner Organisations on these proposals pledged contributions of $3.0M over five years. For the 10 LA approved proposals, the ARC will contribute $1.1M and Partner Organisations have pledged $0.9M over the life of these projects. This represents $0.9 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.

In total, for Round 1 2008 approved proposals, there are 404 Partner Organisations pledging to contribute $95.0M over five years.  Details of ARC leverage for Round 1 2008 of the Linkage Projects scheme are listed in Table 10 below.

Table 10: Leverage of ARC funds for approved Linkage Projects proposals Round 1 2008

Component
ARC funds
Partner Organisation funds pledged
Leverage
LP (includes 131 APAIs and APAI-ITs)
$61,191,512
$94,114,378
1.5
LA (includes 14 APAIs and APAI-ITs)
$1,076,334
$917,811
0.9
Linkage Total
$62,267,846
$95,032,189
1.5

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Age and Gender

The total number of investigators (Chief Investigators, APDIs and Partner Investigators) named on all proposals considered in this round is 1579. Of these 1110 are male and 469 are female. Success rates by age and gender are shown in Figure 1 below for the Round 1 2008 Linkage Projects proposals.

A component analysis shows that for LP proposals considered, 1053 investigators are male and 443 are female. The overall success rate for male investigators is 49.7% and for female investigators the success rate is 51.7%. For LA proposals considered, 57 investigators are male and 26 are female. The success rates for male and female investigators are 43.9% and 19.2% respectively.

Figure 1: Comparative success rates by investigator* age and gender for Linkage Projects proposals Round 1 2008

Comparative success rates by investigator age and gender for Linkage Projects proposals Round 1 2008

*Investigators are researchers nominated as Chief Investigators, APDIs or Partner Investigators

Content Last Modified:

24/9/07


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