Selection Report: Discovery Projects 2023

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 Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.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

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

 * 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

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

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.