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Linkage International
Selection Report Round 12
Awards proposals submitted in 2005
(excluding Materials World Network proposals)
Overview
Objectives
Selection process
Selection criteria
Summary of Outcomes
National Research Priorities
Duration of Funding
Outcomes by Organisation
Funding Assistance by Calendar Year
International Collaboration
Research Training and Postdoctoral Researchers
Scheme Budget by Financial Year
There were two elements of funding under the Linkage International scheme for proposals submitted in 2005:
- Awards: to build links among researchers, research teams or research centres of excellence in Australia and overseas by funding extended collaborations; and
- Fellowships, comprising:
- ARC International Fellowships funded under international agreements for the reciprocal exchange of researchers
- ARC International Fellowships to fund overseas researchers to work in Australia;
- ARC International Fellowships to fund Australian researchers to work in overseas institutions; and
- Australia-Israel Fellowships co-funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Australia-Israel Scientific Exchange Foundation.
Linkage International Award proposals were received continuously throughout the year (2005) and were batched for assessment three times. This is the third batch (Round 12). Linkage International Fellowship proposals are assessed once per year.
Round 12 consisted of 92 Linkage International Award proposals and seven Materials World Network (MWN) proposals. Materials World Network proposals are coordinated as a joint initiative between the ARC and the US National Science Foundation called 'Materials World Network: Cooperative Activity in Material Research between Australian and US Investigators'. The MWN Award outcomes will be announced separately, pending coordinated discussion with the National Science Foundation. All figures provided in this selection report therefore exclude the MWN proposals.
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.
Round 12 Award proposals were closed for batching on 14 October 2005. Assessment of proposals was undertaken by a Selection Advisory Committee comprising members of the ARC College of Experts. On the basis of the proposals, the Selection Advisory Committee ranked each proposal relative to the others and prepared funding recommendations to the ARC Board.
Assessment of proposals for 2005 Linkage International Awards (Round 12) was based on the following criteria and weightings:
- strength and benefits of the collaboration (as evidenced, for example, by ongoing research collaboration, reciprocal and matching funding contributions and/or the participation of early career researchers); 40%
- Chief Investigator, including, track record and research management skills; 20%
- Overseas Investigator, including track record and research management skills; and 20%
- research proposed, in particular, aims, significance, research plan and methodology. 20%
Ninety-two Linkage International Award proposals were considered in Round 12 seeking $3,510,600 in funding. Twenty-four proposals are approved for funding, representing a total funding commitment of $447,000 over the financial years 2005-06 to 2007-08. Sixty-eight proposals were not recommended for funding, including five proposals considered ineligible for funding under Linkage International.
The overall success rate is 26.1%. This success rate is slightly lower than the Linkage International Round 11 Awards success rate (30.0%) and slightly higher than the Linkage International Round 10 Awards success rate (25.0%). The overall success rate for Award proposals considered in 2005 (Rounds 10, 11 and 12) is 26.0%.
Numbers of proposals considered and approved, and the associated success rates, by discipline group, are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Numbers and success rates for proposals for Round 12 Awards, by discipline group
| Discipline Group | Award proposals received |
Approved proposals |
Proposals not approved for funding |
Proposals considered ineligible |
Success rate % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSB | 11 |
3 |
8 |
0 |
27.3 |
| EE | 20 |
7 |
11 |
2 |
35.0 |
| HCA | 5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
60.0 |
| MIC | 14 |
0 |
12 |
2 |
0.0 |
| PCG | 27 |
10 |
17 |
0 |
37.0 |
| SBE | 15 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
6.6 |
| Total | 92 |
24 |
63 |
5 |
26.1 |
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
Total requested funding over the financial years 2005-06 to 2008-09 for all Round 12 Award proposals was $3,510,600. Total approved funding for Round 12 Award proposals is $1,042,278. Total approved funding is $447,000 or 42.9% of the total funding requested by approved proposals, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Amounts requested and approved for Awards, by discipline group
| Discipline Group | Total requested over the lives of projects (all proposals) | Total requested over the lives of projects (approved proposals) | Total approved over the lives of projects | Total approved funding as a % of funding requested (approved proposals) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSB | $306,705 |
$101,900 |
$59,000 |
57.9 |
| EE | $855,642 |
$331,490 |
$126,000 |
38.0 |
| HCA | $111,434 |
$86,010 |
$53,500 |
62.2 |
| MIC | $484,679 |
$0 |
$0 |
0.0 |
| PCG | $1,316,202 |
$513,335 |
$202,500 |
39.5 |
| SBE | $435,938 |
$9,543 |
$6,000 |
62.9 |
| Total | $3,510,600 |
$1,042,278 |
$447,000 |
42.9 |
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
- 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
Eighty (87%) of the 92 Linkage International Award proposals considered in Round 12 identified their research collaboration as being within an area of National Research Priority. Twenty-three (96%) of the 24 proposals approved for funding identified their research collaboration as being within a National Research Priority area and are allocated $425,000 (95%) of the total of $447,000 approved for funding.
Table 3 shows the National Research Priorities identified in Round 12 Award proposals submitted and approved for funding.
Table 3: Linkage International Round 12 Awards by National Research Priority
| National Research Priority | Award proposals received | Award proposals approved | Success rate % | Approved funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| An Environmentally Sustainable Australia | 20 |
3 |
15.0 |
$51,400 |
| Promoting and Maintaining Good Health | 9 |
1 |
11.1 |
$40,000 |
| Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries | 41 |
16 |
39.0 |
$292,100 |
| Safeguarding Australia | 10 |
3 |
30.0 |
$41,500 |
| None selected | 12 |
1 |
8.3 |
$22,000 |
| Total | 92 |
24 |
26.1 |
$447,000 |
While Linkage International Awards may be awarded funding for up to three years, subject to parliamentary appropriations, the maximum period of funding approved for any Round 12 proposal is two years, since the Selection Advisory Committee considered that in no cases did proposals adequately justify funding for three years.
The number of Round 12 Award proposals considered and approved, and funding requested and approved, by organisation, is shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Award proposals by organisation: total requested and approved funding
| Organisation | Funding requested over the lives of projects | Funding approved over the lives of projects | Proposals considered in Round 12 | Proposals approved | Success rate % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtin University of Technology | $53,935 |
$0 |
2 |
0 |
0.0 |
| Deakin University | $49,600 |
$20,000 |
1 |
1 |
100.0 |
| Flinders University | $10,000 |
$0 |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| Griffith University | $41,140 |
$0 |
2 |
0 |
0.0 |
| James Cook University | $64,440 |
$0 |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| La Trobe University | $140,859 |
$15,000 |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
| Macquarie University | $47,600 |
$0 |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| Monash University | $415,365 |
$95,500 |
9 |
4 |
44.4 |
| Queensland University of Technology | $72,628 |
$0 |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
| Swinburne University of Technology | $41,550 |
$0 |
2 |
0 |
0.0 |
| The Australian National University | $210,597 |
$64,800 |
8 |
4 |
50.0 |
| The University of Adelaide | $91,964 |
$0 |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
| The University of Melbourne | $171,160 |
$12,000 |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
| The University of New South Wales | $499,650 |
$114,000 |
13 |
6 |
46.2 |
| The University of Newcastle | $267,800 |
$0 |
6 |
0 |
0.0 |
| The University of Queensland | $599,784 |
$0 |
10 |
0 |
0.0 |
| The University of Sydney | $75,743 |
$24,000 |
4 |
2 |
50 |
| The University of Western Australia | $128,105 |
$0 |
4 |
0 |
0.0 |
| University of South Australia | $16,920 |
$0 |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| University of Tasmania | $15,419 |
$0 |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
| University of Technology Sydney | $98,900 |
$7,500 |
4 |
1 |
25.0 |
| University of Western Sydney | $56,261 |
$28,000 |
2 |
1 |
50.0 |
| University of Wollongong | $298,080 |
$66,200 |
6 |
3 |
50.0 |
| Victoria University of Technology | $43,100 |
$0 |
2 |
0 |
0.0 |
| TOTAL | $3,510,600 |
$447,000 |
92 |
24 |
26.1 |
Funding Assistance by Calendar Year
The allocations from the Linkage International budget approved for Round 12 Awards to commence in 2006 are shown in Table 5.
The average funding per approved Linkage International Round 12 Award
is $18,625. This represents a reduction from Round 11 Awards which received
an average funding of $24,546, and a slight increase from Round 10 Awards which
received an average funding of $18,205.
Table 5: Funding Assistance for approved Linkage International Round
12 Awards
| Number of proposals approved | Amount requested for approved proposals | Amount approved | Average approved total funding per proposal |
|---|---|---|---|
24 |
$1,042,278 |
2006 = $237,200 2007 = $209,800 2008 = $0 Total = $447,000 |
$18,625 |
International Collaboration
Linkage International Award applicants are asked to indicate which countries will be involved in the proposed collaborations. Thirty-seven incidences of international collaboration were reported in the 24 approved proposals. The highest number of reported international collaborations was with the USA, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom, as indicated in Table 6.
Table 6: Incidences of international collaboration reported in approved proposals
| Location of Collaborators | Incidences of International Collaboration |
|---|---|
| USA | 8 |
| Germany | 6 |
| United Kingdom | 4 |
| France | 3 |
| Denmark | 2 |
| Hong Kong | 2 |
| Republic of Korea | 2 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| China | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 |
| Italy | 1 |
| The Netherlands | 1 |
| Singapore | 1 |
| Spain | 1 |
| TOTAL | 37 |
Research Training and Postdoctoral Researchers
In total, the 24 proposals approved for Round 12 Award funding indicated support for 37 postgraduate students and 25 postdoctoral researchers in Australian organisations, and for 27 postgraduate students and 21 postdoctoral researchers in overseas organisations. A total of 110 postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers will be supported in developing international research experience and networks through Linkage International Awards approved in Round 12, as shown in Table 7.
Table 7: Research training and postdoctoral researchers
| Australian organisations | Overseas organisations | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of researchers cited in all proposals | Number of researchers cited in approved proposals | Number of researchers cited in all proposals | Number of researchers cited in approved proposals |
Number of researchers cited in all proposals | Number of researchers cited in approved proposals | |
| Postgraduates | 150 | 37 | 143 | 27 | 293 | 64 |
| Postdoctoral researchers | 86 | 25 | 79 | 21 | 165 | 46 |
| Total | 236 | 62 | 222 | 48 | 458 | 110 |
Scheme Budget by Financial Year
The allocations from the Linkage International budget approved for Round 12 Awards to commence in 2006 are shown in Table 8.
Table 8: Recommended allocations for Awards, by financial year
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | $118,600 | $223,500 | $104,900 | $0 | $447,000 |
