Selection Report: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2018
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Overview
The Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme provides funding for early-career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions. It supports research in areas of critical national importance by enabling outstanding Australian and international early-career researchers to conduct their research in Australia.
The objectives of DECRA scheme are to:
- support excellent basic and applied research by early career researchers
- advance promising early career researchers and promote enhanced opportunities for diverse career pathways
- enable research and research training in high quality and supportive environments
- 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 funding commencing in 2018 opened on 16 January 2017, and closed on
22 March 2017. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for that round.
Funding recommendations have been prepared for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The recommendations are based on advice from the ARC College of Experts which:
- assigned independent assessors to review the proposals
- assessed proposals and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors
- reviewed Applicants’ comments on assessors’ reports
- ranked each proposal relative to the others on the basis of the proposal, the assessors’ reports and Applicants’ responses to those assessments
- assessed and recommended budgets
and, advice from the ARC Eligibility Committee which:
- considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the ARC College of Experts or independent assessors
- where required, sought clarification from Administering Organisations with respect to issues raised
- made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible proposals.
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 Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.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 DECRA 2018 proposals are:
- Proposed Project Quality and Innovation (40%)
- DECRA Candidate (35%)
- Feasibility (10%)
- Benefit (15%)
The ARC assessment process for DECRA 2018 used 80 College of Experts members across five discipline panels and was managed in the Research Management System (RMS). A total of 5,231 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for DECRA 2018.
Funding levels and duration
DECRA are funded for three consecutive years on a full-time basis. In addition to the annual salary contribution of $99,369 (2016$), including 30 per cent on-costs, the ARC may provide up to $139,369 in project costs per annum.
Summary of Outcomes
The ARC received a total of 1217 DECRA proposals for funding commencing in 2018, of which five proposals were withdrawn. This is a slight increase from the 1197 proposals received for DECRA for funding commencing in 2017. Of the unsuccessful proposals, six were found to not meet eligibility requirements.
The overall success rate for DECRA for funding commencing in 2018 is 16.3 per cent, with a slightly lower percentage of allocation of requested funds compared to DECRA for funding commencing in 2017.
Table 1. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for recommended DECRA proposals from 2017 to 2018
|
Funding year |
Proposals considered |
Proposals recommended |
Success rate |
Requested funds over project life (all proposals) |
Requested funds over project life (recommended proposals) |
Funds allocated over project life |
Allocation as a percentage of request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2017 |
1197 |
200 |
16.7% |
$468,165,487 |
$79,199,718 |
$71,700,673 |
90.5% |
|
2018 |
1212 |
197 |
16.3% |
$481,296,036 |
$79,023,114 |
$70,940,411 |
89.8% |
Outcomes by discipline panels
Table 2. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for recommended DECRA 2018 proposals by discipline panel
|
Panel † |
Proposals considered |
Proposals recommended |
Success rate |
Requested funds over project life for all proposals considered |
Requested funds over project life for recommended proposals |
Indicative funds over project |
Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
BSB |
262 |
44 |
16.8 |
$105,966,043 |
$17,908,574 |
$15,953,719 |
89.1% |
|
EIC |
312 |
52 |
16.7 |
$124,061,316 |
$20,888,224 |
$18,636,392 |
89.2% |
|
HCA |
146 |
20 |
13.7 |
$56,253,203 |
$7,873,926 |
$7,352,073 |
93.4% |
|
MPCE |
231 |
38 |
16.5 |
$90,821,270 |
$15,008,997 |
$13,458,306 |
89.7% |
|
SBE |
261 |
43 |
16.5 |
$104,194,204 |
$17,343,393 |
$15,539,921 |
89.6% |
|
Total |
1212 |
197 |
16.3 |
$481,296,036 |
$79,023,114 |
$70,940,411 |
89.8% |
† BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC – Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences, MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE – Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; HCA – Humanities and Creative Arts
Outcomes by Science and Research Priorities
Table 3. Recommended funding and success rate for DECRA 2018 proposals by Science and Research Priorities
|
Science and Research Priorities |
Proposals considered |
Proposals recommended |
Success |
Recommended funds (over project life) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Advanced manufacturing |
158 |
24 |
15.2% |
$8,627,788 |
|
Cybersecurity |
29 |
6 |
20.7% |
$2,163,676 |
|
Energy |
87 |
18 |
20.7% |
$6,468,037 |
|
Environmental change |
169 |
24 |
14.2% |
$8,789,767 |
|
Food |
41 |
3 |
7.3% |
$1,095,174 |
|
Health |
178 |
26 |
14.6% |
$9,390,067 |
|
Resources |
34 |
3 |
8.8% |
$1,121,504 |
|
Soil and water |
37 |
6 |
16.2% |
$2,208,470 |
|
Transport |
35 |
5 |
14.3% |
$1,793,132 |
|
Unspecified |
444 |
82 |
18.5% |
$29,282,796 |
|
Total |
1212 | 197 | 16.3% | $70,940,411 |
|
Total within Science and Research Priorities |
768 | 115 | 15.0% | $41,657,615 |
|
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%) |
63.4% | 58.4% | 58.7% |
Outcomes by Administering Organisation
Table 4. Numbers of proposals and success rates for recommended DECRA 2018 proposals by Administering Organisation
|
Administering Organisation |
Proposals Considered |
Proposals Recommended |
Success rate (%) |
Recommended funding over project life ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Australian Capital Territory |
116 |
20 |
17.2 |
$7,276,723 |
|
The Australian National University |
109 |
20 |
18.3 |
$7,276,723 |
|
University of Canberra |
7 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
New South Wales |
377 |
57 |
15.1 |
$20,423,369 |
|
Australian Catholic University |
11 |
2 |
18.2 |
$752,979 |
|
Charles Sturt University |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
$367,996 |
|
Macquarie University |
39 |
6 |
15.4 |
$2,092,061 |
|
Southern Cross University |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
$392,650 |
|
The University of New England |
6 |
1 |
16.7 |
$381,601 |
|
The University of New South Wales |
108 |
12 |
11.1 |
$4,332,293 |
|
The University of Newcastle |
30 |
1 |
3.3 |
$365,058 |
|
The University of Sydney |
88 |
13 |
14.8 |
$4,582,901 |
|
University of Technology Sydney |
37 |
11 |
29.7 |
$3,902,144 |
|
University of Wollongong |
42 |
8 |
19.0 |
$2,888,628 |
|
Western Sydney University |
10 |
1 |
10.0 |
$365,058 |
|
Northern Territory |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
Charles Darwin University |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
Queensland |
187 |
35 |
18.7 |
$12,524,578 |
|
Central Queensland University |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
Griffith University |
22 |
5 |
22.7 |
$1,747,933 |
|
James Cook University |
10 |
2 |
20.0 |
$730,116 |
|
Queensland University of Technology |
32 |
8 |
25.0 |
$2,934,900 |
|
The University of Queensland |
116 |
19 |
16.4 |
$6,749,633 |
|
University of Southern Queensland |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
University of the Sunshine Coast |
5 |
1 |
20.0 |
$361,996 |
|
South Australia |
79 |
10 |
12.7 |
$3,694,401 |
|
The Flinders University of South Australia |
13 |
2 |
15.4 |
$778,468 |
|
The University of Adelaide |
42 |
7 |
16.7 |
$2,547,487 |
|
University of South Australia |
24 |
1 |
4.2 |
$368,446 |
|
Tasmania |
22 |
3 |
13.6 |
$1,116,616 |
|
University of Tasmania |
22 |
3 |
13.6 |
$1,116,616 |
|
Victoria |
328 |
56 |
17.1 |
$20,098,223 |
|
Deakin University |
26 |
4 |
15.4 |
$1,450,594 |
|
La Trobe University |
21 |
2 |
9.5 |
$704,837 |
|
Monash University |
117 |
22 |
18.8 |
$7,928,995 |
|
RMIT University |
30 |
2 |
6.7 |
$735,892 |
|
Swinburne University of Technology |
17 |
4 |
23.5 |
$1,404,338 |
|
The University of Melbourne |
110 |
22 |
20.0 |
$7,873,567 |
|
Victoria University |
7 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
Western Australia |
100 |
16 |
16.0 |
$5,806,501 |
|
Curtin University |
38 |
7 |
18.4 |
$2,512,873 |
|
Edith Cowan University |
6 |
1 |
16.7 |
$384,996 |
|
Murdoch University |
7 |
0 |
0.0 |
$0 |
|
The University of Western Australia |
49 |
8 |
16.3 |
$2,908,632 |
|
Total |
1212 |
197 |
16.3 |
$70,940,411 |
Career age and gender
A total of 1212 DECRA candidates were named on all proposals considered in this round. Of these, 436 were female and 773 were male and three have chosen not to specify their gender. The success rate for female, male and candidates who have chosen not to specify their gender in this round are 20.0 per cent, 14.0 per cent and 66.7 per cent respectively.
At the closing time of submission of proposals, of the 1212 candidates, 1033 were within five years of the award of their PhD and 179 candidates were beyond five years of the award of their PhD. To be eligible to apply for DECRA, the latter group of researchers were certified by their Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) regarding their significant career interruptions.
Of the approved DECRA, 164 candidates are within five years of the award of their PhD and 33 candidates are beyond five years of the award of their PhD.
Success rates of DECRA candidates by career age and gender in the current DECRA round are represented in Figure 1 below. DECRA candidates who did not provide gender information are not represented in the figure below.
Figure 1. Participation and success rate of DECRA 2018* Candidates by gender and career age*
* Career age is calculated as years since PhD.
Attracting and retaining outstanding researchers
Proposals were open to Eligible Organisations to nominate candidates who are promising early career researchers, resident either within Australia or overseas.
Table 5. Citizenship/residency status of DECRA 2018 Candidates and recommended Awardees
|
Citizenship/residency status |
Proposals considered |
% of Proposals considered |
Proposals recommended |
Success rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Foreign Nationals |
370 |
30.5% |
60 |
16.2% |
|
Resident Australians |
789 |
65.1% |
129 |
16.3% |
|
Returning Australians |
53 |
4.4% |
8 |
15.1% |
|
Total |
1212 |
100% |
197 |
100% |
International Collaboration
Applicants foreshadowed 1793 instances of collaboration with researchers in 95 overseas locations on 857 proposals. Of the proposals recommended for funding, 150 foreshadowed 307 instances of collaboration with researchers in 43 overseas locations (Figure 2).
Figure 2. International collaborations by location in recommended DECRA 2018 proposals
- United States of America, 76
- England, 40
- Germany, 26
- China (excludes SARs and Taiwan), 22
- Canada, 18
- France, 12
- Netherlands, 10
- New Zealand, 10
- Switzerland, 10
- Singapore, 8
- Others, 75