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Linkage Projects
Round 1
Selection Report for Funding Commencing in 2012

Overview

The Linkage Projects scheme funds collaborative projects between University researchers and Partner Organisations. Proposals in Round One for projects commencing in January 2012 opened on 16 March 2011, and closed on 11 May 2011. This report outlines funding outcomes from the selection process for that round.

Linkage Projects aims to:

  1. encourage and develop long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and other organisations, including industry and end-users, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems and/or to provide opportunities to obtain national economic, social or cultural benefits;
  2. enhance the scale and focus of research in National Research Priorities;
  3. 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;
  4. provide outcome-oriented research training to prepare high-calibre postgraduate research students; and
  5. produce a national pool of world-class researchers to meet the needs of the broader Australian innovation system.

Linkage Projects supports:

  • Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships (Industry) (APDI Fellowships) for researchers with less than three years postdoctoral experience; 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 another eligible organisation or Partner Organisation on that proposal, or vice versa.

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Selection Process

ARC Executive Directors, assisted by relevant ARC staff, prepared funding recommendations for submission to the CEO.  The recommendations were based on advice from the College of Experts which:

  • assessed proposals and reviewed assessments made by independent readers;
  • reviewed applicants’ comments on assessors’ reports;
  • 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;

and, advice from the ARC Eligibility Committee which:

  • considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff or the College of Experts;
  • sought advice from institutions with respect to issues raised; and
  • made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible proposals.

This report reflects the recommendations of the ARC CEO to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and the Ministerially approved funding outcomes. Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.

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Selection Criteria

Selection criteria and corresponding weights for Linkage Projects proposals are:

  • investigator(s) research opportunity and performance evidence (20%)
  • significance and innovation (25%)
  • approach and training (15%)
  • research environment (10%)
  • commitment of partner organisation (30%).

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Summary of Outcomes

The ARC received a total of 419 proposals for Linkage Projects Round One 2012, of which one proposal was withdrawn.  The overall success rate of 36.1 per cent in this round represents a decrease from the success rate of 40.9 per cent in the previous round. The decrease in the success rate reflects the ARC’s changing priorities and judgements about the quality of Proposals in this round. Please note that within this selection report approved funding may include indicative funding amounts.

Table 1: Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for successful proposals from Linkage Projects Round One 2009 to Round One 2012

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 a percentage of request
Rd 1 2009
441
218
49.4%
$178,815,658
$106,032,303
$71,704,687
67.6%
Rd 2 2009
522
239
45.8%
$201,624,648
$105,186,071
$71,856,782
68.3%
Rd 1 2010
470
211
44.9%
$178,500,521
$94,619,567
$66,827,891
70.6%
Rd 2 2010
512
218
42.6%
$204,496,010
$98,419,105
$66,753,570
67.8%
Rd 1 2011
398
186
46.7%
$157,139,769
$82,443,432
$56,235,992
68.2%
Rd 2 2011
535
219
40.9%
$223,844,995
$104,862,877
$67,393,349
64.3%
Rd 1 2012
418
151
36.1%
$180,948,884
$67,478,170
$42,789,355
63.4%

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Approved Funding by Discipline Panel

Table 1: Numbers of proposals and success rates for Linkage Projects Round One 2012 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
95
34
35.8%
$49,686,186
$12,104,394
EMI
104
38
36.5%
$44,679,761
$10,739,005
HCA
31
14
45.2%
$9,520,425
$2,197,000
PCE
64
27
42.2%
$29,270,739
$8,918,456
SBE
124
38
30.6%
$47,791,773
$8,830,500
Total
418
151
36.1%
$180,948,884
$42,789,355

†BSB = Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EMI = Engineering, Mathematics and Informatics; HCA = Humanities and Creative Arts; PCE = Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE = Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

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Project Size

A comparison of the average first year funding allocation and the project life allocation from Round One 2009 to Round One 2012 is shown below in Table 3. 

Table 3: 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 2009 to Round One 2012

 

2009

2010

2011

2012

 

Rd 1

Rd 2

Rd 1

Rd 2

Rd 1

Rd 2

Rd 1

Average year 1 request

$154,573

$141,563

$145,626

$143,419

$146,706

$149,718

$148,899

Average year 1 allocation

$110,082

$101,251

$104,265

$100,397

$113,419

$104,809

$101,825

Allocation as a percentage of  year 1 request

71.2%

71.5%

71.6%

70.0%

77.3%

70.0%

68.4%

Average project life request

$486,387

$440,109

$448,434

$451,464

$443,244

$478,826

$446,875

Average project life allocation

$328,921

$300,656

$316,720

$306,209

$302,344

$307,732

$283,373

Allocation as a percentage of project life request

67.6%

68.3%

70.6%

67.8%

68.2%

64.3%

63.4%

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Components

The components that can be funded in Linkage Projects are Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships (Industry) (APDI) and Linkage Industry Fellowships (LIF). The component types, number requested and success rates are shown below in Table 4.

Table 4: Numbers and success rates for Linkage Projects Round One 2012 components

Component
Number requested
Number approved
Success rate
APDI
31
8
25.8%
LIF
6
0
0.0%

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Leverage of ARC funding

Of the 418 proposals considered, 151 were approved with a total approved funding, over the life of these projects, of $42.8 million. There are 279 Partner Organisations involved with these projects and they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $86.7 million. This represents $2.00 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC. This is a small decrease of $0.10 in every dollar compared to the previous round, Linkage Projects Round Two 2011. For each approved Linkage Projects Round One 2012 Proposal, the ARC has at least matched the Partner Organisation(s) cash contribution.

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Selection outcomes by Administering Organisation

Table 5: Numbers of proposals, success rates, ARC approved funding and Partner Organisation contributions for Linkage Projects Round One 2012 proposals by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate
ARC approved funding over project life (approved proposals)
Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved proposals)
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian National University
14
6
42.9%
$1,557,445
$2,782,271
University of Canberra
3
1
33.3%
$374,823
*
New South Wales
Charles Sturt University
5
0
0.0%
-
-
Macquarie University
11
1
9.1%
$240,000
*
Southern Cross University
7
1
14.3%
$250,000
*
The University of New England
2
0
0.0%
-
-
The University of New South Wales
32
14
43.8%
$3,813,370
$9,506,378
The University of Newcastle
15
6
40.0%
$2,367,544
$6,066,549
The University of Sydney
24
9
37.5%
$2,529,393
$4,752,223
University of Technology, Sydney
6
3
50.0%
$760,539
$1,537,147
University of Western Sydney
3
0
0.0%
-
-
University of Wollongong
8
2
25.0%
$922,367
$1,554,485
Queensland
Bond University
2
1
50.0%
$212,459
*
Central Queensland University
2
0
0.0%
-
-
Griffith University
19
6
31.6%
$2,413,177
$4,050,921
James Cook University
5
0
0.0%
-
-
Queensland University of Technology
13
6
46.2%
$1,733,894
$3,167,670
The University of Queensland
42
22
52.4%
$6,292,023
$12,444,649
University of Southern Queensland
3
0
0.0%
-
-
South Australia
The Flinders University of South Australia
8
3
37.5%
$776,000
$1,419,131
The University of Adelaide
21
9
42.9%
$2,240,885
$4,326,237
University of South Australia
13
3
23.1%
$668,000
$1,200,482
Tasmania
University of Tasmania
2
0
0.0%
-
-
Victoria
Deakin University
17
6
35.3%
$1,553,310
$3,408,710
La Trobe University
6
0
0.0%
-
-
Monash University
33
17
51.5%
$4,830,964
$10,179,685
RMIT University
10
1
10.0%
$105,000
*
Swinburne University of Technology
5
4
80.0%
$817,453
$1,532,285
The University of Melbourne
39
19
48.7%
$4,624,437
$8,196,879
University of Ballarat
2
1
50.0%
$180,000
*
Victoria University
6
0
0.0%
-
-
Western Australia
Curtin University of Technology
8
2
25.0%
$727,272
$2,115,264
Edith Cowan University
4
1
25.0%
$220,000
*
Murdoch University
5
0
0.0%
-
-
The University of Western Australia
21
7
33.3%
$2,579,000
$5,157,727
Multi-State
Australian Catholic University
2
0
0.0%
-
-
Total
418
151
36.1%
$42,789,355
$86,720,648

*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 Projects associated with those Administering Organisations.

Partner Organisations were identified by the applicants as either international or Australia-based, government, non-profit, private companies or overseas higher education organisations. The Partner Organisation contributions in these categories for Round One 2012 proposals approved for funding are shown below in Table 6.

Table 6: Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects proposals in Round One 2012

Type   Cash In-kind Total
    $M % $M % $M %
Government              
Australian Federal Government   1.42 5.3% 3.17 5.3% 4.59 5.3%
Australian state, territory & local governments   6.65 24.7% 11.74 19.6% 18.39 21.2%
International governments   0.23 0.8% 1.13 1.9% 1.35 1.6%
  Sub-total 8.29 30.8% 16.04 26.8% 24.33 28.1%
Non-profit              
Australian   1.07 4.0% 3.27 5.5% 4.35 5.0%
International   1.41 5.2% 1.02 1.7% 2.43 2.8%
  Sub-total 2.49 9.2% 4.29 7.2% 6.78 7.8%
Private companies              
Australian   10.87 40.3% 22.20 37.1% 33.07 38.1%
International   2.65 9.8% 8.46 14.2% 11.11 12.8%
  Sub-total 13.52 50.2% 30.66 51.3% 44.18 50.9%
Education              
International   0.03 0.1% 0.46 0.8% 0.49 0.6%
  Sub-total 0.03 0.1% 0.46 0.8% 0.49 0.6%
Other   2.62 9.7% 8.32 13.9% 10.93 12.6%
  Sub-total 2.62 9.7% 8.32 13.9% 10.93 12.6%
  Total 26.94   59.78   86.72  

Note: All totals and percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such do not sum.

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Partnerships

Linkage Projects proposals represent partnerships between researchers, Higher Education Organisations and other organisations, as well as collaborations between Partner Organisations within projects. These partnerships form congruent and/or complementary linkages in Fields of Research (FoR). There are a total of 321 instances of collaboration with Partner Organisations (including multiple collaborations with a number of organisations) in Linkage Projects Round One 2012 giving an average of 2.1 Partner Organisations involved in each proposal. A summary of the FoR categories identified by applicants of funded proposals and the total Partner Organisation contributions are shown below in Table 7.

Table 7: Proposal data by Field of Research category for Linkage Projects Round One 2012

Field of Research category
 Number of proposals funded† Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved proposals)
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
2
$4,367,274
Biological Sciences
15
$10,260,611
Built Environment and Design
3
$1,592,860
Chemical Sciences
7
$5,935,425
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
6
$3,522,336
Earth Sciences
5
$3,104,193
Economics
2
$661,475
Education
5
$1,158,728
Engineering
31
$19,728,334
Environmental Sciences
8
$4,550,774
History and Archaeology
3
$666,297
Information and Computing Sciences
10
$5,107,828
Language, Communication and Culture
2
$822,449
Law and Legal Studies
6
$1,948,984
Mathematical Sciences
1
*
Medical and Health Sciences
16
$7,578,207
Physical Sciences
5
$2,594,935
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
5
$2,851,450
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing
3
$1,334,561
Studies in Human Society
10
$4,626,078
Technology
6
$3,737,849

† Based on the primary FoR

*For confidentiality reasons, total contributions by Partner Organisations are not shown in instances in which Field of Research categories are associated with one approved proposal only.

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International collaboration

Table 8: Instances of international collaboration in Linkage Projects Round One 2012

Country
 2012 Round One
Proposals considered Proposals approved
Afghanistan
1
0
Argentina
1
0
Bangladesh
1
0
Belgium
5
1
Brazil
1
0
Cameroon
1
1
Canada
7
2
China, People's Republic
26
4
Colombia
1
0
Czech Republic, The
1
0
Denmark
3
0
Egypt
1
0
Finland
1
0
France
9
4
Germany
16
11
Ghana
1
1
Greece
1
0
Hong Kong
3
0
Hungary
1
0
India
7
3
Indonesia
2
0
Iran
1
0
Iraq
1
0
Ireland, Republic of
1
1
Italy
2
0
Japan
11
5
Korea, Republic of
3
1
Lebanon
1
0
Malaysia
2
0
Netherlands, The
4
2
New Zealand
11
4
Papua New Guinea
1
0
Portugal
1
0
Qatar
1
0
Russian Federation, The
1
0
Singapore
2
1
South Africa
3
2
Spain
5
1
Sri Lanka
1
0
Sweden
3
0
Switzerland
4
1
Turkey
2
0
United Arab Emirates
1
0
United Kingdom
31
12
United States
60
23
Total
243
80

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Age and gender

A total of 1664 participants were named on all proposals considered in this round.  Of these, 504 are female and 1154 are male. The success rate for female and male participants in Round One 2012 Linkage Projects proposals is 33.3 per cent and 35.0 per cent respectively. Gender success rates over the last seven 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 2009 to Round One 2012

Figure 1: Comparison of Linkage Projects success rates between female and male participants from Round One 2009 to Round One 2012

Figure 1: Comparative success rates by participants age and gender for Linkage Projects proposals Round One 2012

Figure 2: Comparative success rates by participants age and gender for Linkage Projects proposals Round One 2012

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National Research Priorities

Table 9: Approved funding for Linkage Projects Round One 2012 by National Research Priority

Priority area
Proposals considered
Proposals approved
Success rate
Approved funds over project life
An Environmentally Sustainable Australia
119
40
33.6%
$12,684,653
Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries
126
52
41.3%
$14,814,279
Promoting and Maintaining Good Health
128
48
37.5%
$12,947,798
Safeguarding Australia
27
6
22.2%
$1,272,625
None Selected
18
5
27.8%
$1,070,000
Total Proposals
418
151
36.1%
$42,789,355
Total priority proposals
400
146
36.5%
$41,719,355
Percentage within priority areas
95.7%
96.7%
 
97.5%

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Content Last Modified:

01/11/11


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