Overview One of the actions identified in the ARC Statement of Support for Interdisciplinary Research is for the ARC to provide data on interdisciplinary applications. This is the fourth data report (updated November 2019), enabled by the inclusion in applications of questions about whether the proposed research is interdisciplinary. The report includes the outcomes of all selection rounds for funding commencing in 2019, and Linkage Projects applied for in 2018. The selection rounds included are: Discovery Program Discovery Projects (DP) Discovery Indigenous (IN) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE) Future Fellowships (FT) Australian Laureate Fellowships (FL) Linkage Program Industrial Transformation Research Hubs (IH) Industrial Transformation Training Centres (IC) Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LE) Special Research Initiatives (SR) The analysis of data arising from the interdisciplinary research (IDR) questions, is the first step by the ARC in seeking information to help it better understand the IDR profile of ARC-funded researchers. It informs future ARC policy and assists with the appropriate assessment of applications. The report is indicative of the volume and range of interdisciplinary applications and outcomes. It should be noted that these are both subject to large variations between disciplines and in interdisciplinary intensity, so that drawing any direct conclusions about application versus success rate needs to be approached with caution. Key figures Overall, 63.9 per cent of applications received and 62.0 per cent of projects funded identified as involving interdisciplinary research in 2019 The success rate of interdisciplinary projects was 20.83 per cent 'Methodology' was the most frequently indicated interdisciplinary element of applications and funded projects (82.8 per cent and 83.2 per cent respectively) The primary 2-digit Field of Research with the highest proportion of interdisciplinary applications was 'Medical and Health Sciences' (94.9 per cent of applications) The primary 2-digit Field of Research with the lowest proportion of interdisciplinary applications was 'Physical Sciences' (31.6 per cent of applications) Summary of outcomes What proportion of total applications received by the ARC identified as involving IDR? Of the 5482 applications received for funding under all schemes, 3505 (or 63.9 per cent) identified as involving IDR. Table 1. Proportion of IDR applications received Scheme round IDR applications received (no.) Total applications received (no.) Proportion IDR applications (%) DE19 735 1162 63.3 DP19 1752 2921 60.0 FL19 116 149 77.9 FT19 435 589 73.9 IC19 22 25 88.0 IH19 12 13 92.3 IN19 25 31 80.6 LE19 113 144 78.5 LP18 295 448 65.8 Total 3505 5482 63.9 Of the 1169 research projects funded under all schemes, 730 (or 62 per cent) identified as involving IDR. Table 2. Proportion of IDR projects funded Scheme round IDR projects funded (no.) Total projects funded (no.) Proportion IDR funded projects (%) DE19 129 200 64.5 DP19 377 654 57.6 FL19 16 17 94.1 FT19 73 100 73.0 IC19 6 6 100.0 IH19 4 4 100.0 IN19 9 12 75.0 LE19 27 36 75.0 LP18 89 140 63.6 Total 730 1169 62.0 What is the success rate of IDR applications compared to the overall success rates? The success rate of applications that indicated they involved IDR ranged from 13.8 per cent under the Laureate Fellowships scheme to 36 per cent under the Discovery Indigenous scheme. Success rates for IDR applications are generally on par with overall success rates achieved for each scheme, with the largest differences recorded under the Industrial Transformation Research Hubs scheme (33.3 per cent versus 0 per cent of non-IDR applications). Table 3. Success rates for IDR and non-IDR applications Scheme round IDR applications received (no.) IDR projects funded (no.) IDR success rate (%) Non-IDR applications received (no.) Non-IDR projects funded (no.) Non-IDR success rate (%) Total applications received (no.) Total projects funded (no.) Total success rate (%) DE19 735 129 17.6 427 71 16.6 1162 200 17.2 DP19 1752 377 21.5 1169 277 23.7 2921 654 22.4 FL19 116 16 13.8 33 1 3.0 149 17 11.4 FT19 435 73 16.8 154 27 17.5 589 100 17.0 IC19 22 6 27.3 3 0 0.0 25 6 24.0 IH19 12 4 33.3 1 0 0.0 13 4 30.8 IN19 25 9 36.0 6 3 50.0 31 12 38.7 LE19 113 27 23.9 31 9 29.0 144 36 25.0 LP18 295 89 30.2 153 51 33.3 448 140 31.3 Total 3505 730 20.83 1977 439 22.2 5482 1169 21.3 How is the research interdisciplinary? By Design, Investigatory Team, Methodology or Other? Of the applications across all schemes that identified as involving IDR, the largest proportion selected 'Methodology' as the means by which the research was IDR (82.8 per cent of applications and 83.2 per cent of funded projects). This was followed by 'Investigatory Team' (64.9 per cent of applications and to 64.1 per cent for funded projects), 'Design' (45.7 per cent of applications and 44.5 per cent for funded projects) and 'Other' (6.4 per cent of applications and 4.9 per cent for funded projects).Note that researchers were able to select more than one category. Table 4. Instances of IDR element for IDR applications for funding commencing in 2019* *Note: This is a multiple response question so the total number of elements selected will be greater than the number of applications/funded projects. IDR element Element selected applications received (no.) All IDR applications received (no.) Proportion of IDR applications (%) Element selected funded projects (no.) All IDR projects funded (no.) Proportion of IDR applications (%) Methodology 2903 3505 82.8% 607 730 83.2% Design 1603 3505 45.7% 325 730 44.5% Investigatory team 2275 3505 64.9% 468 730 64.1% Other 223 3505 6.4% 36 730 4.9% Figure 1. Instances of IDR element selected on research applications for funding commencing in 2019 Red—Funded IDR projects Blue—IDR applications Methodology—Red 83%, Blue 83% Investigatory Team—Red 64%, Blue 65% Design—Red 45%, Blue 46% Other—Red 5%, Blue 6% When comparing elements across all schemes for funded projects (Figure 2), 'Methodology' made up 83 per cent of all instances identified, followed by 'Investigatory Team' (64 per cent), 'Design' (45 per cent) and 'Other' (5 per cent). Table 5. Instances of IDR element for applications received and funded* *Note: This is a multiple response question so the total number of elements selected will be greater than the number of applications/funded projects. Scheme round Methodology Investigatory team Design Other DE19 Applications received 635 251 386 61 DP19 Applications received 1455 1315 716 82 FL19 Applications received 93 73 63 12 FT19 Applications received 371 216 224 42 IC19 Applications received 21 22 15 0 IH19 Applications received 11 12 7 3 IN19 Applications received 20 21 11 1 LE19 Applications received 68 100 43 11 LP18 Applications received 229 265 138 11 Total Applications received 2903 2275 1603 223 DE19 Projects funded 111 28 64 12 DP19 Projects funded 312 271 153 10 FL19 Projects funded 14 10 10 1 FT19 Projects funded 63 38 41 5 IC19 Projects funded 6 6 3 2 IH19 Projects funded 4 4 3 2 IN19 Projects funded 6 8 4 0 LE19 Projects funded 19 24 10 1 LP18 Projects funded 72 79 34 5 Total Projects funded 607 468 325 36 Figure 2. Instances of IDR element on funded research projects commencing in 2019 (incl. all LP18) Methodology—Blue 42% Investigatory Team—Orange 33% Design—Green 23% Other—Yellow 2% By Field of Research In what 2-digit Fields of Research (FoR) are the largest proportion of IDR projects recorded as a proportion of total projects? The 2-digit FoRs with the highest proportion of IDR applications (that is, IDR applications as a proportion of total applications) were Medical and Health Sciences (94.9 per cent), Studies in Creative Arts and Writing (86.7 per cent) and Agricultural and Veterinary Science (81.3 per cent). Figure 3. Proportion of funded IDR projects commencing in 2018 by 2-digit FoR A graph of proportion of funded IDR projects by 2-digit FoR. Blue—IDR projects funded Red—Non-IDR projects funded Table 6. Funded projects commencing in 2019 (incl. LP18) by 2-digit FoR Primary 2-digit Field of Research code IDR projects funded (no.) Total projects funded (no.) Proportion IDR (%) 01 Mathematical Sciences 25 53 47.2 02 Physical Sciences 24 76 31.6 03 Chemical Sciences 60 80 75.0 04 Earth Sciences 27 44 61.4 05 Environmental Sciences 24 33 72.7 06 Biological Sciences 111 173 64.2 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences 13 16 81.3 08 Information and Computing Sciences 32 76 42.1 09 Engineering 124 191 64.9 10 Technology 27 45 60.0 11 Medical and Health Sciences 37 39 94.9 12 Built Environment and Design 11 14 78.6 13 Education 16 27 59.3 14 Economics 13 28 46.4 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services 5 7 71.4 16 Studies in Human Society 62 82 75.6 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences 26 57 45.6 18 Law and Legal Studies 15 22 68.2 19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing 13 15 86.7 20 Language, Communication and Culture 25 35 71.4 21 History and Archaeology 24 36 66.7 22 Philosophy and Religious Studies 16 20 80.0 Total 730 439 62.4