Selection Report: Discovery Projects 2023

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Overview

The Discovery Projects scheme reflects the Australian Government’s commitment to excellence in research by supporting grant funding to support research projects that may be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.

The objectives of the Discovery Projects scheme are to:

• support excellent basic and applied research and research training by individuals and teams
• support national and international research collaboration
• enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas

Selection process

Applications for funding commencing in 2023 opened on 22 March 2022 and closed on 17 May 2022. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines outcomes from the selection process for that round.

These recommendations are based on advice from the ARC Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which:

• assigned independent assessors to review the applications
• assessed applications and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors
• reviewed candidates’ comments on assessors’ reports
• ranked each application relative to the others on the basis of the application, the assessors’ reports and candidates’ responses to those assessments
• assessed and recommended budgets;

and, advice from the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) Eligibility Committee which:

• considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the members of the ARC College of Experts or independent assessors
• where required, sought advice from the ARC’s Medical Research Advisory Group
• made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible applications.

This report reflects the outcomes approved by the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.

Assessment criteria

All applications that meet the eligibility criteria for the Discovery Projects 2023 applications were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:

1. Investigator(s)/Capability (35%)

Describe:

• Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence (ROPE);
• time and capacity to undertake the research;
• evidence of experience in research training, mentoring and supervision (where appropriate); and
• the capability of the investigator or team to build collaborations both within Australia and internationally.

2. Project quality and innovation (40%)

Describe the:

• contribution to an important gap in knowledge or significant problem;
• novelty/originality and innovation of the proposed research (including any new methods, technologies, theories or ideas that will be developed);
• clarity of the hypothesis, theories and research questions;
• cohesiveness of the project design and implementation plan (including the appropriateness of the aim, conceptual framework, method, data and/or analyses); and
• extent to which the research has the potential to enhance international collaboration.

3. Benefit (15%)

Describe the potential benefits including the:

• new or advanced knowledge resulting from outcomes of the research;
• economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia and international communities; and
• potential contribution to capacity in the Australian Government priority areas.

4. Feasibility (10%)

Describe the:

• cost-effectiveness of the research and its value for money;
• suitability of the environment for the research team and their project, and for HDR students where appropriate;
• availability of the necessary facilities to complete the project; and
• extent to which the project’s design, participants and requested budget create confidence in the timely and successful completion of the project.

If the project involves research pertaining to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities describe:

• the strategies for enabling collaboration with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities (for example, dialogue/collaboration with an Indigenous cultural mentor);
• any existing or developing, supportive and high-quality relationships with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities; and
• any personal affiliations with local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities that can facilitate the proposed research.

Assessment process

The ARC assessment process for Discovery Projects 2023 involved 99 College of Experts members across five discipline panels and was managed in RMS. A total of 7,804 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC.

Funding levels and duration

Funding of between $30,000 and $500,000 per annum for up to 5 consecutive years may be awarded for each Discovery Projects application.

Summary of outcomes

The ARC received a total of 2,589 applications for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2023, of which one application was withdrawn.

478 Discovery Projects are approved for funding commencing in 2023, shown in Table 1. The overall success rate for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2023 is 18.5 per cent. A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1.

Of the unsuccessful applications in 2023, 22 were found not to meet eligibility requirements.

Table 1.   Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects applications from 2022 to 2023

Funding Year	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)	Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)	Funds allocated over project life for approved applications ($)	Return rate for approved applications (%)
2022	3095	587	19.0	$1,818,835,491	$362,221,320	$258,691,272	71.4
2023	2588	478	18.5	$1,572,945,214	$305,492,688	$221,394,142	72.5

Outcomes by discipline

A summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 2.

Table 2.     Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects 2023 applications by discipline

Discipline*	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)	Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)	Funds over project life for approved applications ($)	Return Rate for approved applications (%)
BSB	643	117	18.2	$465,236,719	$88,439,570	$64,270,739	72.7
EIC	727	131	18.0	$426,445,018	$79,210,624	$60,411,014	76.3
HCA	215	39	18.1	$100,014,842	$18,099,734	$13,485,959	74.5
MPCE	510	98	19.2	$313,869,243	$63,032,581	$43,799,895	69.5
SBE	493	93	18.9	$267,379,392	$56,710,179	$39,426,535	69.5
Total	2588	478	18.5	$1,572,945,214	$305,492,688	$221,394,142	72.5

 * BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC – Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences, HCA – Humanities and Creative Arts; MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE – Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

Outcomes by Science and Research Priorities

A summary of outcomes by Science and Research Priorities is shown in Table 3.

Table 3.     Approved funding and success rate for Discovery Projects 2023 applications by Science and Research Priorities

Science and Research Priorities	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	Approved funds over project life ($)
Advanced manufacturing	493	92	18.7	$43,127,997
Cybersecurity	116	20	17.2	$8,782,590
Energy	156	34	21.8	$16,453,676
Environmental change	282	63	22.3	$28,714,624
Food	122	22	18.0	$12,321,724
Health	267	44	16.5	$19,190,720
Resources	51	8	15.7	$3,469,472
Soil and water	75	15	20.0	$7,349,059
Transport	82	9	11.0	$4,169,437
Unspecified	944	171	18.1	$77,814,843
Total	2588	478	18.5	$221,394,142
Total within Science and Research Priorities	1644	307	18.7	$143,579,299
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)	63.5	64.2		64.9

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 4.

Table 4.     Numbers of applications and success rates for approved Discovery Projects 2023 applications by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation	Applications Considered	Applications Approved	Success rate (%)	Funds over project life for approved applications ($)
Australian Capital Territory	155	41	26.5	$18,726,821
The Australian National University	147	40	27.2	$18,382,134
University of Canberra	8	1	12.5	$344,687
New South Wales	824	142	17.2	$64,195,777
Australian Catholic University	7	3	42.9	$1,334,265
Charles Sturt University	5	0	0.0	$0
Macquarie University	90	15	16.7	$6,327,342
Southern Cross University	5	0	0.0	$0
The University of New England	8	1	12.5	$545,925
The University of New South Wales	266	41	15.4	$17,528,505
The University of Newcastle	69	10	14.5	$4,852,275
The University of Sydney	204	34	16.7	$15,525,599
University of Technology Sydney	74	18	24.3	$9,140,649
University of Wollongong	61	14	23.0	$6,264,351
Western Sydney University	35	6	17.1	$2,676,866
Northern Territory	5	1	20.0	$313,544
Charles Darwin University	5	1	20.0	$313,544
Queensland	482	93	19.3	$42,945,024
Bond University	4	1	25.0	$250,855
Central Queensland University	4	1	25.0	$347,427
Griffith University	69	17	24.6	$7,735,961
James Cook University	14	2	14.3	$861,364
Queensland University of Technology	95	17	17.9	$7,055,344
The University of Queensland	262	51	19.5	$25,138,578
University of Southern Queensland	22	3	13.6	$1,121,336
University of the Sunshine Coast	12	1	8.3	$434,159
South Australia	177	29	16.4	$13,266,783
Flinders University	37	11	29.7	$4,156,961
The University of Adelaide	95	14	14.7	$7,269,318
University of South Australia	45	4	8.9	$1,840,504
Tasmania	34	8	23.5	$3,753,489
University of Tasmania	34	8	23.5	$3,753,489
Victoria	779	142	18.2	$67,507,810
Deakin University	60	7	11.7	$2,507,994
Federation University Australia	4	0	0.0	$0
La Trobe University	47	12	25.5	$5,047,350
Monash University	283	46	16.3	$22,581,688
RMIT University	79	14	17.7	$5,507,506
Swinburne University of Technology	40	6	15.0	$3,273,386
The University of Melbourne	257	57	22.2	$28,589,886
Victoria University	9	0	0.0	$0
Western Australia	132	22	16.7	$10,684,894
Curtin University	53	6	11.3	$2,757,957
Edith Cowan University	5	0	0.0	$0
Murdoch University	2	0	0.0	$0
The University of Western Australia	72	16	22.2	$7,926,937
Total	2588	478	18.5	$221,394,142

 

Career age and gender

Of the 6,490 Chief Investigators (CIs), considered in this round, 2,111 were female, 4,349 were male, one was indeterminate/intersex and 29 chose not to specify their gender. The success rate for female, male, indeterminate/intersex, and unspecified CIs is 19.56 per cent, 18.92 per cent, 0 per cent, and 27.58 per cent respectively.

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Discovery Projects 2023 round are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not provide gender information (0.43 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD or equivalent or who do not hold a PhD (0.68 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of CIs in Discovery Projects 2023 by gender and career age*^

* Career age is calculated as years since PhD based on the relevant qualification as selected in the application.

^ Calculated career age does not take career interruptions into consideration.

International Collaboration

Among 2,588 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 3,741 instances of collaboration with researchers in 105 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 478 foreshadowed 789 instances of collaboration with researchers in 61 overseas locations (Figure 2).

Figure 2.         International collaborations by location in approved Discovery Projects 2023 applications*

 *The top 10 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 2 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category.