Selection Report: Australian Laureate Fellowships 2017
[TOC]
Overview
The Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme reflects the Commonwealth’s commitment to support excellence in research by attracting world-class researchers and research leaders to key positions in Australia.
The objectives of the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme are to:
- attract and retain outstanding researchers and research leaders of international reputation
- support ground-breaking, internationally competitive research
- provide an excellent research training environment and exemplary mentorship to nurture early-career researchers
- forge strong links among researchers, the international research community and/or industry
- expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability
- enhance the scale and focus of research in the Science and Research Priorities.
Selection Process
Proposals for projects commencing in 2017 opened on 5 October 2016 and closed on 30 November 2016. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for that round.
The ARC has prepared funding recommendations for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The outcomes were based on advice from an ARC Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which:
- assessed proposals and reviewed assessments made by independent readers
- reviewed candidates’ comments on assessors’ reports
- ranked each proposal relative to the others on the basis of the proposal and the assessors’ reports and candidates’ responses to those assessments
- assessed and recommended budgets
and, advice from the ARC Eligibility Committee which:
- considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff or the members of the ARC SAC
- sought advice from institutions with respect to issues raised
- made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible proposals.
The ARC assessment and subsequent reporting process for Australian Laureate Fellowships 2017 was managed in the Research Management System (RMS), and used a total of 17 Selection Advisory Committee members on one multi-discipline panel. A total of 371 independent assessor reports were submitted to the ARC for Australian Laureate Fellowships 2017.
This report reflects the approved recommendations by the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.
Selection Criteria
Selection criteria and corresponding weightings for Australian Laureate Fellowships proposals are:
- Investigator (40%)
- Project/Program of Research Activity (30%)
- Mentoring/Capacity Building (30%)
Summary of Outcomes
The ARC received a total of 112 proposals for Australian Laureate Fellowships for funding commencing in 2017, of which none were withdrawn. This is a decrease from the 124 proposals received for Australian Laureate Fellowships for funding commencing in 2016. Of the unsuccessful proposals, one was found not to meet eligibility requirements.
The overall success rate for the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme for funding commencing in 2017 is 15.2%.
Funding Levels and Duration
Australian Laureate Fellowships projects are funded for five years on a full-time basis, subject to sufficient funding being available for the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme, the provisions of the Australian Research Council Act 2001 (the ARC Act), and continued satisfactory progress of the Australian Laureate Fellowships project.
In addition to the Australian Laureate Fellowship salary supplement and salary-related (on-cost) support, the ARC may provide Australian Laureate Fellows with:
- additional funding for up to two postdoctoral research associates for five years each and up to two postgraduate researchers for four years each
- project funding of up to $300,000 per annum (for up to five years).
Of the 17 approved Australian Laureate Fellows, the average amount of approved funding is $2,766,233 in total over five years. In addition to the total Australian Laureate Fellowship salary support of $13,454,735, a total of $18,981,620 is approved for postdoctoral research associates and postgraduate researchers and a further $14,589,614 for general project funding.
While funding is awarded for Australian Laureate Fellowships proposals for five years, the ARC Act applies limits in relation to the amount and years for which the Minister may approve funding. At the time of award, funding is approved only up to and including the 2019–2020 financial year. Subsequent years and associated funding limits are added by amendment to the Act, following which funding for the additional years may be made available. Accordingly, the term "indicative funding" is used throughout this report to denote the total level of funding which it is proposed to be made available, once all years to which funding proposals relate have been legislated.
It is a requirement of the Funding Rules for schemes under the Discovery Programme (2016 edition) for the Administering Organisation to provide a salary of Level E professorial appointment (or equivalent) to the successful candidate, with the ARC providing the salary supplement of $121,762 per annum plus 30 per cent on-costs.
Table 1. Indicative funds for approved Australian Laureate Fellowships proposals for funding commencing in 2017
|
Budget item |
2017–18 $ |
2018–19 $ |
2019–20 $ |
2020–21 $ |
2021–22 $ |
TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Laureate Salary support + on-costs |
2,690,947 |
2,690,947 |
2,690,947 |
2,690,947 |
2,690,947 |
13,454,735 |
|
ARC Postdoctoral Researchers |
3,207,204 |
3,207,204 |
3,207,204 |
3,207,204 |
3,207,204 |
16,036,020 |
|
ARC Postgraduate Researchers |
473,400 |
736,400 |
736,400 |
736,400 |
263,000 |
2,945,600 |
|
Project Funding |
3,190,437 |
2,927,445 |
2,927,449 |
2,927,448 |
2,616,835 |
14,589,614 |
|
TOTAL |
9,561,988 |
9,561,996 |
9,562,000 |
9,561,999 |
8,777,986 |
47,025,969 |
Approved Australian Laureate Fellows
Table 2: Australian Laureate Fellows approved for funding
|
Fellowship candidate |
Administering Organisation |
|---|---|
|
Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik |
Queensland University of Technology |
|
Professor Jill Bennett |
The University of New South Wales |
|
Professor Michelle Coote |
The Australian National University |
|
Professor Paul Griffiths |
The University of Sydney |
|
Professor Edward Holmes |
The University of Sydney |
|
Professor Colin MacLeod |
The University of Western Australia |
|
Professor Geoffrey McFadden |
The University of Melbourne |
|
Professor Ann McGrath |
The Australian National University |
|
Professor Gottfried Otting |
The Australian National University |
|
Professor Shizhang Qiao |
The University of Adelaide |
|
Professor Fedor Sukochev |
The University of New South Wales |
|
Professor Dacheng Tao |
The University of Sydney |
|
Professor Mathai Varghese |
The University of Adelaide |
|
Professor Svetha Venkatesh |
Deakin University |
|
Professor George Willis |
The University of Newcastle |
|
Professor Zhiguo Yuan |
The University of Queensland |
|
Professor Xiu Song Zhao |
The University of Queensland |
* Biographies for the 17 Australian Laureate Fellows are available on the ARC Website
Stage in Career and Gender
As shown in Table 3, at the time of application, nine of the Australian Laureate Fellowship Candidates in this round are within 15 years of the award of their PhD. Of the approved Australian Laureate Fellows, one is within 15 years of the award of their PhD.
Table 3: Years since the award of PhD (at time of submission)
|
Years since award of PhD |
No. of considered proposals |
% of considered proposals |
No. of approved |
% of approved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0–15 years |
9 |
8.0 |
1 |
5.9 |
|
More than 15 years and up to 20 years |
31 |
27.7 |
4 |
23.5 |
|
More than 20 years |
71 |
63.4 |
12 |
70.6 |
|
No PhD |
1 |
0.9 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
TOTAL |
112 |
100.0 |
17 |
100.0 |
*As several of the FL17 applicants have multiple qualifications, for the purposes of this table we have used the date of their earliest qualification.
Twenty-six (23.2%) of all Australian Laureate Fellowship Candidates in this round are female. Of the approved Australian Laureate Fellows, four (23.5%) are female.
Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship and Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship
Of the 26 female Australian Laureate Fellowship Candidates, 23 applied for a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship or a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship. The recipients of the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship (awarded to a candidate from the Humanities, Arts and Social Science disciplines) and Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship (awarded to candidates from the Science and Technology disciplines) are shown in Table 4 below. Recipients are provided with additional funding to undertake an ambassadorial role to promote women in research and to mentor early career researchers, particularly women, to encourage them to enter and establish careers in research in Australia.
Table 4: Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship and Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship
|
Fellowship Type |
Fellowship Candidate |
Administering Organisation |
|---|---|---|
|
Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship |
Professor Ann McGrath |
The Australian National University |
|
Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship |
Professor Michelle Coote |
The Australian National University |
Administering Organisation
The Administering Organisations of the 17 proposals approved for funding are:
- Deakin University (1)
- Queensland University of Technology (1)
- The Australian National University (3)
- The University of Adelaide (2)
- The University of Melbourne (1)
- The University of New South Wales (2)
- The University of Newcastle (1)
- The University of Queensland (2)
- The University of Sydney (3)
- The University of Western Australia (1)
Science and Research Priorities
Of the 112 Australian Laureate Fellowship proposals submitted, 69 (61.6%) of the proposals fall within one of the Science and Research Priorities while of the 17 approved proposals, 12 (70.6%) fall under an associated Practical Research Challenge, with total funding approved over five years of $33,999,078.
Table 5: Numbers and success rates for Australian Laureate Fellowships proposals for funding commencing in 2017, by Science and Research Priorities
|
Science and Research Priorities |
Proposals considered |
Proposals funded |
Success rate (%) |
Allocated funds (over project life) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Advanced Manufacturing |
20 |
4 |
20.0 |
$11,225,495 |
|
Cybersecurity |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
|
Energy |
5 |
2 |
40.0 |
$5,527,700 |
|
Environmental Change |
14 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
|
Food |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
|
Health |
16 |
4 |
25.0 |
$11,112,833 |
|
Resources |
4 |
1 |
25.0 |
$2,924,858 |
|
Soil and Water |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
|
Transport |
4 |
1 |
25.0 |
$3,208,192 |
|
None Selected |
43 |
5 |
11.6 |
$13,026,891 |
|
Total |
112 |
17 |
15.2 |
$47,025,969 |
ABS fields of Research
Table 6: Field of Research division details of proposals for the Scheme Round
|
FoR Code |
Classification Name |
Submitted |
Approved |
Allocated Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
Mathematical Sciences |
6 |
3 |
$6,583,080 |
|
02 |
Physical Sciences |
14 |
0 |
0 |
|
03 |
Chemical Sciences |
4 |
3 |
$8,447,150 |
|
04 |
Earth Sciences |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
05 |
Environmental Sciences |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
06 |
Biological Sciences |
16 |
3 |
$9,257,975 |
|
07 |
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
08 |
Information and Computing Sciences |
10 |
2 |
$6,224,257 |
|
09 |
Engineering |
15 |
2 |
$5,608,588 |
|
10 |
Technology |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
11 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
12 |
Built Environment and Design |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
13 |
Education |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
14 |
Economics |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
15 |
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
16 |
Studies in Human Society |
7 |
0 |
0 |
|
17 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences |
5 |
1 |
$2,295,215 |
|
18 |
Law and Legal Studies |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
19 |
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing |
4 |
1 |
$3,194,989 |
|
20 |
Language, Communication and Culture |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
21 |
History and Archaeology |
5 |
1 |
$2,845,869 |
|
22 |
Philosophy and Religious Studies |
1 |
1 |
$2,568,846 |
|
Total |
|
112 |
17 |
$47,025,969 |