Selection Report: Discovery Indigenous 2023

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Overview

The Discovery Indigenous scheme provides grant funding to support research projects led by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander researcher. Discovery Indigenous grants include support for Discovery Australian and Torres Strait Island Awards (DAATSIAs) which are fellowships available to eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers.

The objectives of the Discovery Indigenous scheme are to:

• support excellent basic and applied research and research training by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers as individuals and as teams
• support national and international research collaboration
• enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas
• support and retain established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers in higher education institutions

Selection process

Applications for funding commencing in 2023 opened on 24 November 2021 and closed on 16 March 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 Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.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 Indigenous 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);
• extent to which the research has the potential to enhance international collaboration; and
• enhancement of project quality by DAATSIA.

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 DAATSIA candidate 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 Indigenous 2023 involved 10 College of Experts members as part of one multidisciplinary panel and was managed in RMS. A total of 76 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 Indigenous application, including, annual salary contributions for Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA) recipients of $108,107 to $228,932 (including 30 per cent on-costs).

Summary of outcomes

The ARC received a total of 27 applications for Discovery Indigenous for funding commencing in 2023, of which no applications were withdrawn.

Ten Discovery Indigenous projects are approved for funding commencing in 2023, shown in Table 1. The overall success rate for Discovery Indigenous for funding commencing in 2023 is 37.0 per cent. A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1.

Of the unsuccessful applications in 2023, none were found not to meet eligibility requirements.

Table 1. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Indigenous 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	35	9	25.7	$35,874,661	$10,239,740	$8,462,620	82.6
2023	27	10	37.0	$30,797,663	$10,688,702	$7,535,365	70.5

Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA)

Of the 27 applications considered this round, there was funding requested for 12 DAATSIAs at one of 5 salary levels. The overall success rate for Discovery Indigenous DAATSIA requests in 2023 is 16.7 per cent and is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Success rates for Discovery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA) for approved Discovery Indigenous applications 2023

DAATSIA Salary Level	Number of DAATSIAs considered	Number of DAATSIAs approved	Success rate (%)
Salary Level 1	0	0	0
Salary Level 2	2	0	0
Salary Level 3	6	0	0
Salary Level 4	3	1	33.3
Salary Level 5	1	1	100.0
Total	12	2	16.7

Outcomes by discipline

A summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Indigenous 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	2	2	100.0	$1,910,939	$1,910,939	$1,447,847	75.8
EIC	2	0	0	$2,637,189	$0	$0	0
HCA	11	2	18.2	$12,201,481	$1,942,011	$1,571,071	80.9
MPCE	1	1	100.0	$954,856	$954,856	$842,000	88.2
SBE	11	5	45.5	$13,093,198	$5,880,896	$3,674,447	62.5
Total	27	10	37.0	$30,797,663	$10,688,702	$7,535,365	70.5

* 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 4.

Table 4. Approved funding and success rate for Discovery Indigenous 2023 applications by Science and Research Priorities

Science and Research Priorities	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	Approved funds over project life ($)
Advanced manufacturing	0	0	0	0
Cybersecurity	0	0	0	0
Energy	0	0	0	0
Environmental change	1	1	100.0	$503,278
Food	1	0	0	0
Health	14	3	21.4	$2,563,607
Resources	0	0	0	0
Soil and water	0	0	0	0
Transport	0	0	0	0
Unspecified	11	6	54.5	$4,468,480
Total	27	10	37.0	$7,535,365
Total within Science and Research Priorities	16	4	25.0	$3,066,885
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)	59.3	40.0		40.7

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Numbers of applications and success rates for approved Discovery Indigenous 2023 applications by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation	Applications Considered	Applications Approved	Success rate (%)	Funds over project life for approved  applications ($)
Australian Capital Territory	2	1	50.0	$842,000
The Australian National University	2	1	50.0	$842,000
New South Wales	6	1	16.7	$538,171
Australian Catholic University	1	0	0	$0
The University of New South Wales	2	0	0	0
The University of Newcastle	1	0	0	$0
University of Technology Sydney	1	1	100.0	$538,171
Western Sydney University	1	0	0	$0
Queensland	6	3	50.0	$2,525,793
Bond University	1	1	100.0	$751,596
Griffith University	1	0	0	$0
Queensland University of Technology	1	1	100.0	$829,628
The University of Queensland	2	1	50.0	$944,569
University of Southern Queensland	1	0	0	$0
South Australia	1	1	100.0	$1,032,900
The University of Adelaide	1	1	100.0	$1,032,900
Victoria	7	2	28.6	$1,537,513
Monash University	1	1	100.0	$1,034,235
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)	2	1	50.0	$503,278
Swinburne University of Technology	1	0	0	$0
The University of Melbourne	3	0	0	$0
Western Australia	5	2	40.0	$1,058,988
Curtin University	2	1	50.0	$281,212
The University of Western Australia	3	1	33.3	$777,776
Total	27	10	37.0	$7,535,365

Career age and gender

Of the 93 Chief Investigators (CIs), including 12 DAATSIAs candidates, considered in this round, 64 were female and 29 were male. The success rate for female and male CIs is 41 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Discovery Indigenous 2023 round are 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 are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of CIs in Discovery Indigenous 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.

Table 6. Success rates by gender for Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA) candidates, for approved Discovery Indigenous applications 2023

Gender of DAATSIA candidate	No of DAATSIAs considered	No of DAATSIAs approved	Success rate (%)
Female	10	2	20.0
Male	2	0	0
Unspecified	0	0	0
Total	12	2	16.7

International Collaboration

Among 27 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 45 instances of collaboration with researchers in 13 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 5 foreshadowed 15 instances of collaboration with researchers in 5 overseas locations (Figure 2).

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

* The international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 2.