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Linkage Projects
Round 2
Selection Report for Funding Commencing in 2009

Overview

The Linkage Projects scheme funds collaborative projects between university researchers and Partner Organisations. Proposals in Round 2 for projects commencing in July 2009 opened on 1 October, and closed on 21 November 2008. 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.

Linkage Projects provides funding support for:

  • 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 Masters or PhD degree;
  • 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; and
  • Collaborative Research Grants (CRG) which include general research project costs.

A single Linkage Projects proposal may contain research project costs and/or one or more of the component costs above.  This report provides summary statistics for 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 applicants’ responses to those assessments;
  • assessed and recommended budgets;
  • held panel interviews, where applicable; 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 (Masters) 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 six-month extensions for APAI stipends. 

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Approved Funding

Of the 522 Linkage Projects proposals considered, 239 (45.8%) are approved for funding and represent an ARC commitment of $71.86 million over the life of these projects.

Table 1: Numbers of proposals and success rates for Linkage Projects Round Two by discipline panel

Panel*
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate
Requested funds over project life
(all proposals considered)
Approved funds over project life
(approved proposals)
BSB 107 47 43.9% $42,683,218 $14,001,185
EE 104 48 46.2% $41,083,376 $13,592,533
HCA 58 24 41.4% $17,599,087 $5,888,000
MIC 53 24 45.3% $22,611,386 $9,804,140
PCG 31 17 54.8% $12,235,173 $5,512,840
SBE 169 79 46.7% $65,412,408 $23,058,084
Total 522 239 45.8% $201,624,648 $71,856,782

*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 funding allocation for approved Round two 2009 Linkage Projects proposals is $101,251 which represents 71.5 per cent of the average first year request. The average first year funding allocation has increased from $96,131 in Round one 2007 to $101,251 in Round two 2009.

The average funding allocation over the Project life for approved Round two 2009 Linkage Projects proposals is $300,656 which represents 68.6 per cent  of the average request. The average funding allocation over the project life has increased from $285,745 in Round one 2007 to $300,656 in Round two 2009.

Table 2: Comparison of the average first year funding allocation and the average funding allocation over the project life for approved Linkage Projects proposals from Round one 2007 to Round two 2009

2007 2008 2009
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 1
Rd 2
Average year 1 request $130,161 $130,051 $129,088 $144,942 $154,573 $141,563
Average year 1 allocation $96,131 $92,157 $103,942 $100,952 $110,082 $101,251
% Allocation 73.9% 70.9% 80.5% 69.6% 71.2% 71.5%
             
Average project life request $404,557 $417,241 $388,846 $449,110 $486,387 $438,181
Average project life allocation $285,745 $277,940 $308,257 $306,332 $328,921 $300,656
% Allocation 70.6% 66.6% 79.3% 68.2% 67.6% 68.6%

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Components

The components that can be funded in Linkage Projects are APAIs, APAI‑ITs, APDIs, LIFs and other CRG funding. The following table shows numbers requested and success rates for these components.

Table 3: Numbers of and success rates for Linkage Projects Round two 2009 components

Component
Number requested
Number approved
Success rate
APAI 462 178 38.5%
APAI_IT 46 30 65.2%
APDI 43 17 39.5%
LIF 1 1 100.0%
CRG 490 217* 44.3%

*Of the 238 proposals which are approved, not all were funded the requested CRG component.

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APAI and APAI_IT

The 2009 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 two 2009), 178 APAI and 30 APAI-IT places are approved for funding, representing success rates of 38.5 per cent  and 65.2 per cent  respectively. The number of approved APAI-IT places for Linkage Projects Round one and two, 2009 total 59.

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APDI

The Linkage Projects Round two 2009 proposals included requests for the award of 43 APDIs, of which 17 (39.5%) are approved for funding.

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LIF

The Linkage Projects Round two 2009 proposals included one request for a LIF, which is approved for funding (100%).

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Outcomes by Administering Organisation

Table 4: Numbers of proposals, success rates, ARC approved funding and Partner Organisation contributions for Linkage Projects Round two 2009 proposals by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate
ARC approved funding over project life (approved proposals)
Total Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) pledged over project (approved proposals)
Australian Catholic University 1 0 0.0% $0 $0
Bond University 1 1 100.0% $180,000 *
Central Queensland University 1 0 0.0% $0 $0
Charles Darwin University 6 5 83.3% $1,536,669 $3,135,871
Charles Sturt University 6 1 16.7% $220,000 *
Curtin University of Technology 16 5 31.3% $1,212,613 $2,102,589
Deakin University 12 6 50.0% $1,157,805 $1,834,346
Edith Cowan University 6 3 50.0% $621,000 $954,824
Griffith University 17 10 58.8% $2,837,400 $5,007,592
James Cook University 5 3 60.0% $893,000 $1,322,108
La Trobe University 15 3 20.0% $740,005 $1,078,095
Macquarie University 10 4 40.0% $1,397,000 $1,904,605
Monash University 37 20 54.1% $5,941,160 $8,895,131
Murdoch University 7 0 0.0% $0 $0
Queensland University of Technology 34 17 50.0% $7,349,022 $11,111,958
RMIT University 21 5 23.8% $1,770,195 $2,983,021
Southern Cross University 3 2 66.7% $924,000 $1,465,784
Swinburne University of Technology 9 5 55.6% $1,238,679 $1,877,640
The Australian National University 14 8 57.1% $1,536,468 $2,189,532
Flinders University 4 2 50.0% $188,420 $171,666
The University of Adelaide 16 10 62.5% $2,942,822 $6,322,453
The University of Melbourne 52 28 53.8% $10,149,931 $19,473,336
The University of New England 5 1 20.0% $139,321 *
The University of New South Wales 43 20 46.5% $7,047,740 $12,990,476
The University of Newcastle 7 4 57.1% $1,562,994 $3,317,211
The University of Notre Dame Australia 1 0 0.0% $0 $0
The University of Queensland 26 14 53.8% $4,072,986 $7,581,831
The University of Sydney 31 10 32.3% $2,567,992 $3,319,387
The University of Western Australia 14 7 50.0% $2,098,168 $3,084,950
University of Ballarat 4 3 75.0% $590,413 $986,066
University of Canberra 3 1 33.3% $235,773 *
University of South Australia 33 10 30.3% $3,238,777 $5,989,249
University of Southern Queensland 2 0 0.0% $0 $0
University of Tasmania 7 4 57.1% $979,142 $1,371,736
University of Technology, Sydney 15 7 46.7% $1,454,840 $4,935,111
University of the Sunshine Coast 2 0 0.0% $0 $0
University of Western Sydney 14 7 50.0% $1,359,951 $4,361,709
University of Wollongong 16 10 62.5% $2,967,236 $6,117,969
Victoria University 6 3 50.0% $705,260 $952,700
Total 522 239 45.8% $71,856,782 $127,979,159*

*For confidentiality reasons, total contributions by Partner Organisations are not shown in instances in which Administering Organisations are associated with one approved proposal only. The total does, however, include the total contributions by Partner Organisations on approved proposals associated with those Administering Organisations.

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Partnerships

Linkage Projects proposals represent partnerships between university researchers and other organisations, as well as partnerships between Partner Organisations within projects. On average, there are 2.3 Partner Organisations involved in each proposal approved in this Linkage Projects round. A summary of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) categories identified by applicants for these Partner Organisations is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Partner Organisation data by ANZSIC category for Linkage Projects Round two 2009

ANZSIC category
Proposals considered Proposals approved
No. of Partner Organisations*
Total contribution
(cash & in-kind)
No. of Partner Organisations
(Govt, non-profit, private)
Total contribution
(cash & in-kind)
Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants 1 $46,000 0 n/a
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 77 $25,736,918 17 (5, 1, 11) $6,861,274
Communication Services 8 $2,232,928 4 (0, 0, 4) $1,228,428
Construction 36 $5,654,506 16 (1, 2, 13) $2,846,205
Cultural and Recreational Services 99 $15,234,526 44 (29, 11, 4) $5,569,618
Education 82 $22,296,335 43 (17, 20, 6) $15,934,172
Electricity, Gas and Water Supply 50 $10,958,432 37 (25, 0, 12) $7,774,363
Finance and Insurance 17 $5,606,299 10 (4, 2, 4) $1,809,216
Government Administration and Defence 206 $29,114,164 115 (107, 2, 6) $16,359,978
Health and Community Services 198 $34,773,807 115 (40, 54, 21) $22,261,185
Manufacturing 121 $45,052,280 59 (0, 0, 59) $23,200,164
Mining 44 $18,609,091 16 (2, 1, 13) $7,718,221
Personal and Other Services 34 $7,678,892 15 (3, 11, 1) $3,043,450
Property and Business Services 82 $14,648,810 39 (5, 9, 25) $8,128,755
Retail Trade 1 $104,900 1 (0, 0, 1) $104,900
Transport and Storage 35 $10,115,318 24 (12, 2, 10) $5,139,230
Total 1091 $247,863,206 555 $127,979,159

* These figures include multiple counting of Partner 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 two 2009 proposals approved for funding are shown below in Table 6.

Table 6: Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects Proposals in Round two 2009

Type
  Cash In-kind Total
$M
%
$M
%
$M
%
Government              
Commonwealth   1.8 4.4 1.9 2.2 3.7 2.9
State, Territory & Local   15.5 36.6 29.8 34.8 45.3 35.4
International   1.2 2.8 1.7 2.0 2.9 2.2
  Sub-total 18.5 43.7 33.4 38.9 51.9 40.5
Non-profit              
Australian   6.2 14.7 13.2 15.4 19.4 15.3
International   0.2 0.4 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.0
  Sub-total 6.4 15.1 14.3 16.9 20.6 16.2
Private companies              
Australian   12.7 30.2 28.0 32.6 40.7 31.8
International   4.7 11.1 10.1 11.8 14.8 11.5
  Sub-total 17.4 41.2 38.2 44.4 55.5 43.3
  Total 42.3 100 85.7 100 128.0 100

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

In approved proposals, private companies have pledged 41.2 per cent  of the total cash and 44.4 per cent  of the total in-kind contributions pledged by Partner Organisations. Government agencies have pledged 43.7 per cent  of the total cash and 38.9 per cent of the in-kind contributions pledged by Partner Organisations.  State, Territory and Local governments account for the bulk of government agency-pledged contributions (35.4% of overall pledged contributions, compared with 2.9% pledged by Commonwealth agencies).

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Leverage of ARC Funding

The ARC considered 522 proposals seeking a total of $201.6 million in ARC funding over five years.  These proposals were linked to 1091 instances of Partner Organisation involvement, with total (cash and in-kind) pledged Partner Organisation contributions of $247.9 million over five years.

For the 239 approved proposals, the ARC will contribute $71.9 million and Partner Organisations have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $128 million over the life of these projects. This represents $1.80 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.

The total ARC allocation has increased from $55.2 million in Round one 2003 to $71.9 million in Round two 2009. There has been a greater proportional increase in the Partner Organisation total (cash and in-kind) contribution from $85.3 million in Round 1 2003 to $128 million in Round 2 2009. This greater proportional increase in Partner Organisation contributions has resulted in an increase in leverage of Partner Organisation contributions to ARC allocations from 1.5 in Round one 2003 to 1.8 in Round two 2009.

Table 7: Comparison of leverage of ARC funds for approved Linkage Projects proposals from Round one 2003 to Round two 2009

Funding round and year
Total ARC allocation
Total Partner Organisation contribution
(cash & in-kind)
Leverage
Rd 2 2009 $71,856,782 $127,979,159 1.8
Rd 1 2009 $71,704,687 $128,877,735 1.8
Rd 2 2008 $63,717,139 $115,136,011 1.8
Rd 1 2008 $62,267,846 $95,032,189 1.5
Rd 2 2007 $60,313,034 $114,246,463 1.9
Rd 1 2007 $59,434,943 $105,481,215 1.8
Rd 2 2006 $53,980,315 $91,005,817 1.7
Rd 1 2006 $56,564,715 $84,240,904 1.5
Rd 2 2005 $58,101,851 $101,980,929 1.8
Rd 1 2005 $53,276,211 $80,364,264 1.5
Rd 2 2004 $66,467,567 $95,661,309 1.4
Rd 1 2004 $48,683,379 $68,361,263 1.4
Rd 2 2003 $45,912,227 $73,303,393 1.6
Rd 1 2003 $55,182,916 $85,344,360 1.5

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International Collaboration

Linkage Projects Round two 2009 applicants foreshadowed 263 instances of international collaboration with researchers in 43 countries on 159 proposals. Of the 239 proposals approved for funding, applicants foreshadowed 134 instances of international collaboration in 33 countries on 80 proposals.

Instances of international collaboration on approved proposals has increased from 95 in Round one 2008 to 134 in Round two 2009. The highest incidence of international collaboration over the last four rounds has been with researchers in the United States of America. The second highest incidence of international collaboration over the last four rounds has been with researchers in the United Kingdom. Data relating to international collaboration over the last four rounds are shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Comparison of Linkage Projects proposals that involve international collaboration from Round one 2008 to Round two 2009

Collaborating Country
2008 Round 1 2008 Round 2 2009 Round 1 2009 Round 2
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
United States 42 23 53 31 78 45 59 24
United Kingdom 34 17 27 9 38 19 41 22
Canada 15 10 17 8 18 10 20 10
New Zealand 3 2 8 5 17 10 16 10
France 11 5 9 6 12 9 7 7
China, People's Republic 5 2 15 5 13 8 21 10
Germany 8 7 14 8 10 7 12 8
India 2 1 6 4 6 5 4 2
Japan 6 3 7 2 11 5 3 2
Korea, Republic of 3 1 4 1 6 5 8 3
Italy 5 1 2 2 5 4 8 6
Netherlands, The 2 2 6 4 6 4 4 2
Singapore 1   7 3 7 4 4 2
Spain     4 2 6 4 5 2
Indonesia 3 2 1 1 7 3 2  
Sweden 4 1 11 5 6 3 1 1
Switzerland 5 2 7 5 4 3 2 2
Argentina     2 1 2 2 2 1
Brazil 3 2 3 1 2 2 2  
Hong Kong 4 4 2   2 2    
Russian Federation, The         3 2    
South Africa 3 2 5 1 3 2 6 3
Thailand 1   3 1 3 2 3 1
Vietnam 1   3 1 2 2 3 2
Belgium 4 3 6 3 1 1 2 1
Bulgaria     1   1 1    
Chile     3   1 1 2  
Denmark 2   5 2 2 1 2 1
Fiji     2 1 1 1    
Finland 1   1   1 1 2 1
Malawi         1 1    
Malaysia 1 1 1 1 3 1 1  
Mexico         1 1    
Mozambique         1 1    
Norway 3   4 3 1 1 4 2
Philippines, The     2 1 1 1 1  
Austria     3 2 1   2 1
Bangladesh 1              
Colombia     1 1        
East Timor         1      
Estonia 1 1            
Greece                
Hungary                
Ireland, Republic of 1   2 2 2   1 1
Israel     2       1  
Lithuania     1 1        
Pakistan                
Papua New Guinea 2 2     1      
Poland     1 1     1 1
Portugal     1 1 1   2 1
Sri Lanka         1      
Taiwan     2 1        
Tonga     1 1        
Turkey                
Vanuatu 2 1     1      
Other* 1   9   1   9 5
Total 180 95 264 127 291 174 263 134

*Other = Cambodia, Egypt, Ecuador, Iran, Jersey, Kuwait, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tanzania, Ukraine

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Age and Gender

The total number of participants (Chief Investigators, APDI’s and Partner Investigators) named on all proposals considered in this round is 2173.  Of these, 700 are female and 1473 are male. The overall success rate for female and male participants in Round two 2009 Linkage Projects proposals is 49.9 per cent and 47.9 per cent respectively. Despite the number of female participants involved in Linkage Projects proposals being considerably lower than male participants, the success rates for female and male participants has remained very similar over the last ten rounds. Gender success rates over the last ten Linkage Projects rounds are represented in Figure 1. Success rates by age and gender in the current Linkage Projects round are represented in Figure 2.

Figure 1: Comparison of Linkage Projects success rates between female and male participants from Round one 2005 to Round two 2009

Comparison of Linkage Projects success rates between female and male participants from Round one 2005 to Round two 2009

Figure 2: Comparative success rates by participant age and gender for Linkage Projects  proposals Round two 2009

Comparative success rates by participant age and gender for Linkage Projects proposals Round two 2009

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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 522 proposals considered in this round, 511 (97.9%) were identified by the applicants as addressing a National Research Priority. Of those 511, 237 (46.4%) are approved for funding, representing 99.2 per cent of the total 239 proposals approved for funding and accounting for 99.6 per cent of the total funding over the life of these projects.

Table 9: Approved funding for Linkage Projects Round two 2009 by National Research Priority

Priority area
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate
Approved funds over project life
None selected 11 2 18.2% $318,130
An Environmentally Sustainable Australia 156 71 45.5% $21,521,892
Promoting and Maintaining Good Health 168 82 48.8% $24,218,072
Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries 147 66 44.9% $21,033,368
Safeguarding Australia 40 18 45.0% $4,765,320
Total proposals 522 239 45.8% $71,856,782
Total priority proposals 511 237 46.4% $71,538,652
% within priority areas 97.9% 99.2%   99.6%

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Rural and Regional

The Linkage Projects scheme identifies proposals that are of benefit to rural and regional areas.

Of the 522 proposals considered in the current round, 221 were identified by the applicants as ‘rural and regional’ proposals. The requested funding for these proposals is $93.9 million which represents 46.6 per cent of the total funds requested by all considered proposals.

Of the 239 proposals approved for funding in the current round, 94 were identified by the applicants as ‘rural and regional’ proposals.  The approved total funding over the life of these proposals is $31.4 million which represents 43.6% of all approved proposals.

Table 10: Requested funding and approved allocations for Rural and Regional proposals by discipline panel for Round two 2009 Linkage Projects proposals

Panel
Funds requested Approved funds allocated
All proposals considered
R & R proposals
Percentage requested by R & R proposals
Proposals approved
R & R proposals approved
Percentage allocated to R & R proposals
BSB $42,683,218 $26,087,129 61.1% $14,001,185 $8,141,412 58.1%
EE $41,083,376 $11,841,686 28.8% $13,592,533 $3,306,680 24.3%
HCA $17,599,087 $7,237,168 41.1% $5,888,000 $2,798,000 47.5%
MIC $22,611,386 $11,814,710 52.3% $9,804,140 $4,423,000 45.1%
PCG $12,235,173 $5,185,477 42.4% $5,512,840 $2,120,420 38.5%
SBE $65,412,408 $31,730,709 48.5% $23,058,084 $10,567,791 45.8%
Total $201,624,648 $93,896,879 46.6% $71,856,782 $31,357,303 43.6%

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Summary of Outcomes

Table 11: Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for successful proposals from Round one 2003 to Round two 2009

Funding round and year
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate
Requested funds over project life (all proposals)
Requested funds over project life (approved proposals)
Funds allocated over project life
Allocation as % of request
Rd 2 2009 522 239 45.8% $201,624,648 $105,186,071 $71,856,782 68.3%
Rd 1 2009 441 218 49.4% $178,815,658 $106,032,303 $71,704,687 67.6%
Rd 2 2008 487 208 42.7% $182,915,040 $93,414,877 $63,717,139 68.2%
Rd 1 2008 424 202 47.6% $140,343,990 $78,546,893 $62,267,846 79.3%
Rd 2 2007 472 217 46.0% $159,099,346 $90,541,315 $60,313,034 66.6%
Rd 1 2007 485 208 42.9% $174,086,843 $84,147,797 $59,434,943 70.6%
Rd 2 2006 577 206 35.7% $158,958,973 $70,707,892 $53,980,315 76.3%
Rd 1 2006 529 194 36.7% $149,127,122 $70,255,021 $56,564,715 80.5%
Rd 2 2005 585 251 42.9% $146,659,128 $74,669,866 $58,101,851 77.8%
Rd 1 2005 463 237 51.2% $109,106,675 $66,169,679 $53,276,211 80.5%
Rd 2 2004 426 240 56.3% $128,057,836 $76,806,838 $66,467,567 86.5%
Rd 1 2004 322 164 50.9% $97,271,443 $56,647,236 $48,683,379 85.9%
Rd 2 2003 408 176 43.1% $117,063,072 $59,199,898 $45,912,227 77.6%
Rd 1 2003 373 197 52.8% $113,969,301 $68,662,807 $55,182,916 80.4%
Content Last Modified:

17/08/09


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