Selection Report: Discovery Projects 2016
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Overview
The Discovery Projects scheme provides funding for excellent fundamental research projects that can be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.
The objectives of Discovery Projects are to:
- support excellent basic and applied research by individuals and teams
- enhance the scale and focus of research in the Strategic Research Priorities
- expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability
- encourage research and research training in high-quality research environments
- enhance international collaboration in research
- foster the international competitiveness of Australian research.
Selection Process
Proposals for funding commencing in 2016 opened on 11 December 2014, and closed on 4 March 2015. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines approved recommendations from the selection process for that round.
ARC Executive Directors, assisted by ARC staff, prepared funding recommendations for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The recommendations were based on advice from the ARC College of Experts which:
- 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, on advice from the ARC Eligibility Committee which:
- considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, independent assessors or the ARC College of Experts
- 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 Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.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 Discovery Projects 2016 proposals are:
- Investigator(s) (40%)
- Project Quality and Innovation (25%)
- Feasibility and Benefit (20%)
- Research Environment (15%)
The ARC assessment and subsequent reporting process for 2015 used 80 College of Experts members across five discipline panels and was managed in the Research Management System (RMS). A total of 11 987 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for Discovery Projects 2016.
Summary of Outcomes
The ARC received a total of 3600 proposals for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2016, of which 16 proposals were withdrawn. This is a slight decrease from the 3689 proposals received for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2015. Of the unsuccessful proposals, 10 were found to not meet eligibility requirements.
The overall success rate for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2016 is 17.7 per cent, with a higher percentage of allocation of requested funds compared to Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2015.
Table 1. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects proposals from 2015 to 2016
|
Funding year |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate |
Requested funds over project life (all proposals) |
Requested funds over project life (approved proposals) |
Funds allocated over project life |
Allocation as a percentage of request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2015 |
3689 |
665 |
18.0% |
$1,950,089,142 |
$389,438,184 |
$250,044,435 |
64.2% |
|
2016 |
3584 |
635 |
17.7% |
$1,897,473,970 |
$372,783,907 |
$244,935,035 |
65.7% |
Approved funding by discipline panel
Table 2. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects 2016 proposals by discipline panel
|
Panel † |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate |
Requested funds over project life for all proposals considered |
Requested funds over project life for approved proposals |
Indicative funds over project |
Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
BSB |
790 |
141 |
17.8% |
$481,361,492 |
$93,385,537 |
$59,141,925 |
63.3% |
|
EIC |
857 |
154 |
18.0% |
$460,008,466 |
$92,641,936 |
$59,673,406 |
64.4% |
|
HCA |
435 |
75 |
17.2% |
$178,364,710 |
$34,876,110 |
$24,458,183 |
70.1% |
|
MPCE |
812 |
144 |
17.7% |
$459,444,636 |
$89,805,210 |
$60,500,219 |
67.4% |
|
SBE |
690 |
121 |
17.5% |
$318,294,666 |
$62,075,114 |
$41,161,302 |
66.3% |
|
Total |
3584 |
635 |
17.7 |
$1,897,473,970 |
$372,783,907 |
$244,935,035 |
65.7% |
† 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
Career age and gender
A total of 10 769 participants (Chief Investigators (CIs) and Partner Investigators (PIs)) were named on all proposals considered in this round. Of these, 2587 are female and 8162 are male. The success rate for female and male CIs in this round of Discovery Projects proposals is 17.4 per cent and 17.6 per cent respectively. 20 participants did not provide gender information.
Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in the current Discovery Projects round are represented in Figure 1 below. CIs who did not provide gender information (0.1 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD or who do not hold a PhD (6.4 per cent) are not represented in the table below.
Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Chief Investigators (CIs) in Discovery Projects 2016 by gender and career age*
* Career age is calculated as years since PhD.
Discovery International Awards
Discovery International Awards (DIAs), formerly known as International Collaboration Awards (ICAs), were introduced into Discovery Projects in 2010 for Chief Investigators and overseas Partner Investigators. The Awards aim to enhance opportunities for collaboration among researchers, research teams and/or research centres in Australia and overseas, and to build Australia’s international research capability.
Table 4. Number of Discovery Projects 2016 proposals approved for one or more Discovery International Awards (DIAs)
|
Funding year |
Number of submitted Proposals requesting one or more DIAs |
Number of Proposals approved for one or more DIAs |
|---|---|---|
|
2015 |
755* |
100* |
|
2016 |
698 |
127 |
*Represents data for International Collaboration Award (ICA), now known as Discovery International Award (DIA)
International Collaboration
Applicants foreshadowed 4524 instances of collaboration with researchers in 121 overseas locations on 2441 proposals. Of the proposals approved for funding, 476 foreshadowed 943 instances of collaboration with researchers in 69 overseas locations.
Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Discovery Projects 2016 proposals
Strategic Research Priorities
Table 5. Approved funding and success rate for Discovery Projects 2016 proposals by Strategic Research Priority
|
Strategic Research Priority |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success |
Approved funds (over project life) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lifting productivity and economic growth |
1107 |
207 |
18.7% |
$81,776,215 |
|
Living in a changing environment |
653 |
113 |
17.3% |
$40,980,458 |
|
Managing our food and water assets |
163 |
23 |
14.1% |
$9,912,249 |
|
Promoting population health and wellbeing |
633 |
100 |
15.8% |
$41,093,818 |
|
Securing Australia's place in a changing world |
392 |
60 |
15.3% |
$19,694,115 |
|
Unspecified |
636 |
132 |
20.8% |
$51,478,180 |
|
Total |
3584 |
635 |
17.7% |
$244,935,035 |
|
Total within Strategic Research Priorities |
2948 |
503 |
17.1% |
$193,456,855 |
|
Percentage within Strategic Research Priorities (%) |
82.3% |
79.2% |
|
79.0% |
Selection Outcomes by Administering Organisation
Table 6. Numbers of proposals and success rates for approved Discovery Projects 2016 proposals by Administering Organisation
|
Administering Organisation |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
Approved funding over project life ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Australian Capital Territory |
264 |
63 |
23.9% |
$24,697,767 |
|
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies |
1 |
0 |
0% |
$0 |
|
The Australian National University |
238 |
60 |
25.2% |
$23,655,031 |
|
University of Canberra |
25 |
3 |
12% |
$1,042,736 |
|
New South Wales |
1161 |
195 |
16.8% |
$73,581,803 |
|
Australian Catholic University |
19 |
3 |
15.8% |
$1,014,628 |
|
Charles Sturt University |
10 |
1 |
10% |
$145,000 |
|
Macquarie University |
117 |
19 |
16.2% |
$7,196,167 |
|
Southern Cross University |
12 |
1 |
8.3% |
$305,300 |
|
The University of New England |
19 |
2 |
10.5% |
$657,200 |
|
The University of New South Wales |
355 |
67 |
18.9% |
$25,095,225 |
|
The University of Newcastle |
99 |
15 |
15.2% |
$6,386,910 |
|
The University of Sydney |
260 |
58 |
22.3% |
$22,439,562 |
|
University of Technology, Sydney |
95 |
11 |
11.6% |
$3,575,020 |
|
University of Western Sydney |
68 |
12 |
17.6% |
$4,020,091 |
|
University of Wollongong |
107 |
6 |
5.6% |
$2,746,700 |
|
Northern Territory |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
$397,900 |
|
Charles Darwin University |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
$397,900 |
|
Queensland |
607 |
110 |
18.1% |
$41,006,527 |
|
Bond University |
2 |
0 |
0% |
$0 |
|
Central Queensland University |
8 |
2 |
25% |
$587,600 |
|
Griffith University |
79 |
14 |
17.7% |
$4,740,911 |
|
James Cook University |
25 |
2 |
8% |
$756,500 |
|
Queensland University of Technology |
143 |
12 |
8.4% |
$4,427,696 |
|
The University of Queensland |
331 |
78 |
23.6% |
$30,005,820 |
|
University of Southern Queensland |
11 |
1 |
9.1% |
$340,000 |
|
University of the Sunshine Coast |
8 |
1 |
12.5% |
$148,000 |
|
South Australia |
232 |
43 |
18.5% |
$16,475,938 |
|
The Flinders University of South Australia |
49 |
7 |
14.3% |
$3,471,142 |
|
The University of Adelaide |
132 |
27 |
20.5% |
$9,859,740 |
|
University of South Australia |
51 |
9 |
17.6% |
$3,145,056 |
|
Tasmania |
77 |
8 |
10.4% |
$2,941,431 |
|
University of Tasmania |
77 |
8 |
10.4% |
$2,941,431 |
|
Victoria |
933 |
165 |
17.7% |
$65,437,635 |
|
Deakin University |
58 |
9 |
15.5% |
$3,467,915 |
|
Federation University Australia |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
$199,215 |
|
La Trobe University |
53 |
5 |
9.4% |
$1,803,194 |
|
Monash University |
303 |
58 |
19.1% |
$22,855,919 |
|
RMIT University |
94 |
6 |
6.4% |
$1,974,000 |
|
Swinburne University of Technology |
57 |
7 |
12.3% |
$2,588,541 |
|
The University of Melbourne |
351 |
79 |
22.5% |
$32,548,851 |
|
Victoria University |
14 |
0 |
0% |
$0 |
|
Western Australia |
307 |
50 |
16.3% |
$20,396,034 |
|
Curtin University of Technology |
126 |
17 |
13.5% |
$6,449,657 |
|
Edith Cowan University |
8 |
0 |
0% |
$0 |
|
Murdoch University |
27 |
1 |
3.7% |
$137,455 |
|
The University of Notre Dame Australia |
1 |
1 |
100% |
$439,000 |
|
The University of Western Australia |
145 |
31 |
21.4% |
$13,369,922 |
|
Total |
3584 |
635 |
17.7% |
$244,935,035 |