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Linkage International Selection Report Social Sciences Collaboration for funding commencing in 2007

Overview
Objectives
Selection process
Selection Criteria
Summary of Selection Outcomes
Funding Levels and Duration
National Research Priorities
Funding Assistance
International Collaboration
Selection Outcomes by Organisation
Scheme Budget by Financial Year
Scheme Budget by Calendar Year

Overview

Linkage International comprises three elements:

  • Awards: to build links among researchers, research teams or research centres of excellence in Australia and overseas by funding extended collaborations;
  • ARC International Fellowships (ARCIFs), comprising:
    - ARCIFs funded under international agreements for the reciprocal exchange of postdoctoral researchers, including the Anglo Australian Observatory Fellowship Agreement;
    - ARCIFs to fund overseas researchers to work in Australia;
    - ARCIFs to fund Australian researchers to work in overseas institutions; and
    - ARCIFs co-funded by the ARC and the Australia-Israel Scientific Exchange Foundation; and
  • Internationally Coordinated Initiatives: collaborative initiatives between the ARC and overseas funding agencies to fund collaborative research proposals in targeted areas of research as defined for each specific initiative.

Twenty-five proposals were submitted in this inaugural round of Linkage International Internationally Coordinated Initiatives for Social Sciences Collaboration (SSC) funding commencing in 2007.

Objectives

Linkage International aims to:

  • build strong ongoing collaborations among researchers, research teams or centres of excellence in Australia and overseas;
  • strengthen international research experience for early career researchers and generate opportunities for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to link into leading-edge international research networks;
  • build Australian research capability by enhancing existing, and developing new, collaborations among experienced and senior researchers; and
  • develop innovative modes of international collaboration and links into global innovation networks.

Selection process

The closing date for Linkage International SSC proposals was 2 June 2006.  Assessment of proposals was undertaken by a Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) drawn from members of the ARC's College of Experts, which:

  • assigned independent readers/assessors to review the proposals;
  • sought 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
  • prepared funding recommendations for submission to the CEO of the ARC.

The CEO considered the recommendations of the ARC College of Experts SAC and ESRC before making recommendations to the Minister who, in accordance with the ARC Act, determined the funding outcomes.

Selection Criteria

Assessment of proposals for the Linkage International SSC initiative was based on the following criteria and weightings:

  • the parties who are to be involved in and associated with the project (including track record relative to opportunities; capacity to undertake the proposed collaborative research; and commitments to other research programs and duties); 40%
  • the aims and approach (including capacity to stimulate enhanced collaboration and create networks linking social sciences researchers in Australia and the UK; the conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses of the proposal; and the value for money and budget justification); 25%
  • significance and innovation of the collaborative research and anticipated outcomes; and 25%
  • national benefit. 10%

Summary of Selection Outcomes

Twenty-five Linkage International SSC proposals were submitted, of which four were approved for funding commencing in 2007. Twenty-one proposals were not approved for funding. The overall success rate for funding commencing in 2007 is 16.0%.

The aim of the SSC initiative is to fund proposals within the social sciences and related disciplines. It is therefore not surprising that the SSC proposals submitted in 2006 fell mainly within the discipline of Social and Behavioural Sciences (23 of 25). Two proposals submitted rest mainly within the Humanities and Creative Arts discipline.

Total requested funding over the financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09 for the 25 proposals considered was $5,387,647. Total approved funding is $613,600 or 82.0% of the total funding requested in approved proposals, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Amounts requested and indicative funding for Linkage International SSC proposals, by discipline group

Discipline Group* Total requested over project life (all proposals)
($)		 Total requested over project life (approved proposals)
($)		 Indicative funding over project life (approved proposals)
($)		 Indicative funding as % of funding requested (approved proposals)
HCA 426,162 n/a n/a n/a
SBE 4,961,485 747,952 613,600 82
Total 5,387,647 747,952 613,600 82

*HCA = Humanities and Creative Arts; SBE = Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

Funding Levels and Duration

Linkage International SSC proposals may be awarded funding for up to five years subject to parliamentary appropriation. All proposals in the initial round of the SSC initiative requested either two or three years of funding.

While funding may be awarded for Linkage International SSC proposals for one to five years duration, the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the Act) applies limits in relation to the amount and years for which the Minister may approve funding. At the time these approvals were being made, funding may be formally approved only up to and including the 2008-09 financial year. The approved proposals in this round do not extend beyond 2008-09.

National Research Priorities

Twenty-one of the 25 Linkage International SSC proposals considered were identified by their proponents as addressing a National Research Priority (84.0%). Of the four proposals approved for funding, three identified research within a priority area (75.0%) and would receive $454,600 (74.1%) of the total $613,600 approved for funding.

  • Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia
  • Research Priority 2: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health
  • Research Priority 3: Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries
  • Research Priority 4: Safeguarding Australia

National Research Priorities identified in proposals submitted and proposals approved for funding are shown in Table 2. The greatest amount of approved funding ($342,600) is for projects in the area of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health.

Table 2: Numbers of proposals and success rates for the Linkage International SSC initiative by National Research Priority

Priority area SSC proposals considered SSC proposals approved Success rate
(%)		 Indicative funding
($)
An Environmentally Sustainable Australia 1 0 0.0 0
Promoting and Maintaining Good Health 14 2 14.3 342,600
Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries 3 1 33.3 112,000
Safeguarding Australia 3 0 0.0 0
None selected 4 1 25.0 159,000
Total 25 4 16.0 613,600

Funding Assistance

The average indicative funding per approved Linkage International SSC project for funding commencing in 2007 is $153,400, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Indicative funding for approved Linkage International SSC projects

Number of proposals approved Total amount requested for approved proposals Indicative funding over project life Average indicative funding per approved SSC proposal

4

$613,600

 2006-07 = $170,150
2007-08 = $306,800
2008-09 = $136,650
Total = $613,600

$153,400

International Collaboration

Participants on Linkage International proposals are asked to indicate which countries will be involved in the proposed collaborations. Twenty-nine incidences of international collaboration were reported within the 25 SSC proposals considered. The ARC and ESRC called for collaborative SSC proposals to stimulate collaborations between Australia-based and UK researchers and all 25 SSC proposals reported international collaboration with the UK. One proposal approved for funding also included collaboration with researchers from New Zealand.

Selection Outcomes by Organisation

The number of proposals considered and approved, and funding requested and total ARC indicative funding, by administering organisation, is shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Linkage International SSC proposals by administering organisation: total requested and indicative funding over project life

Administering Organisation Funding requested (all proposals) ($) Indicative funding over project life (approved proposals) ($) Proposals considered Proposals approved Success rate
(%)
Charles Sturt University 377,646 112,000 2 1 50.0
Curtin University of Technology 158,888 n/a 1 0 0.0
Flinders University 74,217 n/a 1 0 0.0
Griffith University 248,824 n/a 1 0 0.0
La Trobe University 248,925 n/a 1 0 0.0
Macquarie University 242,749 n/a 1 0 0.0
RMIT University 719,501 170,600 3 1 33.3
The Australian National University 200,040 172,000 1 1 100.0
The University of Adelaide 225,534 n/a 1 0 0.0
The University of Melbourne 460,110 n/a 2 0 0.0
The University of New England 393,934 n/a 2 0 0.0
The University of New South Wales 978,210 n/a 4 0 0.0
The University of Newcastle 232,203 n/a 1 0 0.0
University of Technology, Sydney 247,830 n/a 1 0 0.0
University of Western Sydney 154,000 n/a 1 0 0.0
University of Wollongong 425,036 159,000 2 1 50.0
TOTAL 5,387,647 613,600 25 4 16.0

Scheme Budget by Financial Year

The indicative funding allocations from the Linkage International budget for SSC proposals to commence in 2007, by financial year, are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Indicative funding allocations for SSC projects, by financial year

  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 TOTAL
Total $170,150 $306,800 $136,650 $613,600

Scheme Budget by Calendar Year

The indicative funding allocations from the Linkage International budget for SSC proposals to commence in 2007, by calendar year, are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Indicative funding allocations for SSC projects, by calendar year

  2007 2008 2009 TOTAL
Total $340,300 $273,300 $0 $613,600