Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities Selection Report for Funding Commencing in 2025

Overview

The Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme provides funding for research infrastructure, equipment and facilities to Eligible Organisations. It enables researchers to participate in cooperative initiatives so that expensive research infrastructure, equipment and facilities can be shared between higher education organisations and also with industry. The scheme also fosters collaboration through its support of the cooperative use of international or national research facilities.

The objectives of the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme are to:

• support excellent pure basic, strategic basic and applied research and research training, across all disciplines excluding clinical and other medical research, through the acquisition (purchase, upgrade, construction, transportation, installation, and/or maintenance) of research equipment and infrastructure and access to national and international research facilities;
• encourage Eligible Organisations to develop collaborative arrangements with other Eligible Organisations and/or Partner Organisations for the acquisition and use of research equipment and infrastructure or access to national and international facilities;
• enhance the scale and focus of research in areas of existing and/or emerging research strength; and
• expand the availability of research infrastructure for the broader research community.

Selection process

Applications for funding commencing in 2025 opened on 24 January 2024 and closed on 
9 April 2024. 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 outcomes are based on advice from the ARC Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which: 

• assessed applications and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors
• reviewed applicants’ comments on assessors’ reports
• ranked each application relative to the others on the basis of the application, the assessors’ reports and applicants’ 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 acting CEO in respect of ineligible applications.

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 Unless otherwise specified, data presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.

Assessment criteria

All applications that meet the eligibility criteria for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria: 

1. Project quality and innovation (30%)

• Describe the:
  • significance of the research that will be supported by the proposed research infrastructure;
  • capacity to enhance the scale and focus of research in areas of existing and/or emerging research strength;
  • effectiveness of collaborative arrangements for the management and sharing of the proposed research infrastructure or access to national or international facilities; and
  • extent to which the project represents value for money, including consideration of the relationship to similar research infrastructure at organisational, regional, national and/or international level.

If the project involves Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander research infrastructure, additional criteria include:

• the project’s level of collaboration, engagement, relationship building and benefit sharing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and First Nations Organisations and Communities;
• the project’s strategy and mechanisms for Indigenous research capacity building within the project; the project’s level of internal leadership of Indigenous research;
• the project’s adherence to the Australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles; and
• the project’s understanding of, and proposed strategies to adhere to, the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and NHMRC’s guidelines on Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities.

2. Strategic alignment (20%)

• Describe the:
  • relevance and necessity of the proposed research infrastructure to the research program and/or research projects of the named participants on the application;
  • relevance of the proposed research infrastructure to the strategic priorities of the participating organisations; and
  • extent to which the project aligns with Australian Government priority areas.

3. Feasibility (25%)

• Describe the:
  • demonstrated capability of Investigator(s) to manage the purchase, design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and coordination of access to the proposed research infrastructure.
  • viability of the plan to use the research infrastructure and arrangements for ongoing operational expenditure where applicable; and  
  • evidence of commitment to collaboration by each participating organisation on the project.

4. Benefit (25%)

• Describe the:
  • level of demand and likely measurable impact of the proposed research infrastructure, including beyond the project activity period;
  • importance of equipment for the training of research students;
  • benefit of the proposed research infrastructure to the broader research community, including proposed arrangements for broader access; and
  • potential to contribute to economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia.

Assessment process

The ARC assessment process for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities2025 involved 19 SAC members as a part of one multidisciplinary panel and was managed in the RMS. A total of 319 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC.

Funding levels and duration

The minimum level of funding provided by the ARC under Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 is $150,000 per annum and the maximum level of funding cannot exceed 75 per cent of the total direct cost of the eligible budget item(s). Funding is provided for up to one year; or, up to 5 years for leasing infrastructure, equipment or facilities, the construction of research infrastructure, or subscription or coordinated access to international facilities and major national facilities.

Summary of outcomes

The ARC received a total of 125 applications for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities for funding commencing in 2025. No applications were withdrawn.

The overall success rate for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities for funding commencing in 2025 is 28.8 per cent. 

Of the unsuccessful applications, two were found to not meet eligibility requirements. 

A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1.

Table 1.    Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications from 2024 and 2025.

Outcomes by project discipline

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

Table 2.     Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 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

Note - Project discipline is determined by the primary Field of Research (FoR) codes provided in the application.

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 3. 

Table 3.    Number of applications and success rates for approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 applications by Administering Organisation. 

Career age and gender

Of the 1337 Chief Investigators (CIs) in this round, 389 were female, 946 were male and two were unspecified. The success rate for female and male and unspecified CIs in Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 is 27.5 per cent, 28.9 per cent and 0 per cent respectively.

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD (or equivalent) or who do not hold a PhD (0.8 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of CIs in Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 by gender and career age*^

*Career age is calculated as years since PhD (or equivalent). The earliest PhD award date was used where there was more than one PhD.

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

Gender by project discipline

Table 4.     Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025: Chief Investigator gender by project discipline - submission and approved numbers, and success rates

Note – The data provided in the above table is a representation of all Chief Investigators listed on applications considered in LE25.

Table 5.     Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025: Lead Chief Investigator gender by project discipline – submission and approved numbers, and success rates

Note – The data provided in the above table is a representation of Lead Chief Investigators listed on applications considered in LE25. 

Figure 2.         Participation and success rate of Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 Chief Investigators by gender and project discipline

Note - The data provided in the above figure is a representation of all Chief Investigators listed on applications considered in LE25.

Collaboration with Other Eligible Organisations, Partner Organisations and Other Organisations 

Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications are expected to develop collaborative arrangements with Other Eligible Organisations and/or Partner Organisations and Other Organisations. 

A summary of success rates by number of Eligible Organisations is shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 application success rates by number of Eligible Organisations.

* An application with only one Eligible Organisation (the Administering Organisation) may or may not include Partner Organisations and/or Other Organisations.

A summary of application success rates by number of collaborating organisations is shown in Table 7. 

Table 7.    Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 application success rates by number of collaborating organisations.

* Collaborating organisations include the Administering Organisation, Other Eligible Organisations, Partner Organisations and Other Organisations.

^ There were no applications with 13, 14, 16 or 17 collaborating organisations.

International collaboration

In the 125 applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 219 instances of collaboration with researchers in 41 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 20 foreshadowed 62 instances of collaboration with researchers in 27 overseas locations (Figure 3).

Figure 3.   International collaborations by location in approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 applications*.

*The top 14 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 3 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category.

Leverage of ARC funding

On Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2025 applications approved for funding, for every dollar funded by the ARC the proposed dollar contribution of the collaborating organisations listed on these applications is $1.29. The leverage of ARC funds for approved applications is shown in Table 8.

Table 8.    Leverage of ARC funds for approved applications.

*Collaborating organisations include the Administering Organisation, Other Eligible Organisations, Partner Organisations and Other Organisations.

Summary of Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications approved for funding

A summary of the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications approved for funding commencing in 2025, by Administering Organisation is outlined in Table 9. The application titles indicate the variety of equipment, infrastructure and facilities supported in this scheme round.

Table 9.    Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications approved for funding commencing in 2025.