Selection Report: Discovery Projects 2017

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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;
• encourage research and research training in high-quality research environments;
• enhance international collaboration in research;
• expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability; and
• enhance the scale and focus of research in the Science and Research Priorities.

Selection Process

Proposals for funding commencing in 2017 opened on 9 December 2015, and closed on 3 March 2016. 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.

Funding recommendations have been prepared for submission to the Acting 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 Acting 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 Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.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 2017 proposals are:

Investigator(s)	40%
Project Quality and Innovation	25%
Feasibility and Benefit	20%
Project Research Environment	15%

The ARC assessment process for 2017 used 80 College of Experts members across five discipline panels and was managed in the Research Management System (RMS). A total of 11,616 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for Discovery Projects 2017.

Funding levels and duration

Funding of between $30,000 and $500,000 per annum for up to five years may be awarded for each Discovery Projects proposal.

Summary of Outcomes

The ARC received a total of 3552 proposals for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2017, of which 12 proposals were withdrawn. This is a slight decrease from the 3584 proposals received for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2016. Of the unsuccessful proposals, 10 were found to not meet eligibility requirements.

The overall success rate for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2017 is 17.8 per cent, with a slightly higher percentage of allocation of requested funds compared to Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2016.

Table 1. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects proposals from 2016 to 2017

Funding year	Proposals considered	Proposals approved	Success rate	Requested funds over project life (all proposals)	Requested funds over project life (approved proposals)	Approved funds over project life (approved proposals)	Approved funds as % of requested funds
2016	3584	635	17.7%	$1,897,473,970	$372,783,907	$244,935,035	65.7%
2017	3540	630	17.8%	$1,876,147,184	$356,788,905	$234,660,652	65.8%

Outcomes by discipline panels

Table 2. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects 2017 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	Approved funds over project  life (approved proposals)	Approved funds as % of requested funds
BSB	796	142	17.8%	$476,411,623	$88,702,929	$60,619,021	68.3%
EIC	859	150	17.5%	$459,357,355	$89,862,509	$57,235,324	63.7%
HCA	427	77	18.0%	$181,357,004	$34,239,873	$22,006,634	64.3%
MPCE	800	145	18.1%	$441,420,953	$87,696,978	$55,363,249	63.1%
SBE	658	116	17.6%	$317,600,249	$56,286,616	$39,436,424	70.1%
Total	3540	630	17.8%	$1,876,147,184	$356,788,905	$234,660,652	65.8%

† 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. Approved funding and success rate for Discovery Projects 2017 proposals by Science and Research Priorities

Science and Research Priorities	Proposals considered	Proposals approved	Success  rate (%)	Approved funds (over project life)
Advanced manufacturing	506	113	22.3%	$45,109,499
Cybersecurity	126	14	11.1%	$5,011,000
Energy	178	33	18.5%	$12,075,000
Environmental change	450	75	16.7%	$30,379,256
Food	148	13	8.8%	$5,374,400
Health	479	71	14.8%	$24,969,721
Resources	123	17	13.8%	$5,864,760
Soil and water	110	20	18.2%	$8,638,488
Transport	88	13	14.8%	$4,986,000
Unspecified	1332	261	19.6%	$92,252,528
Total	3540	630	17.8%	$234,660,652
Total within Science and Research Priorities	2208	369	16.7%	$142,408,124
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)	62.4%	58.6%		60.7%

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

Table 4. Numbers of proposals and success rates for approved Discovery Projects 2017 proposals by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation	Proposals considered	Proposals  approved	Success rate  (%)	Approved funds over project life ($)
Australian Capital Territory	227	48	21.1%	$20,434,500
The Australian National University	215	46	21.4%	$18,887,000
University of Canberra	12	2	16.7%	$1,547,500
New South Wales	1194	220	18.4%	$77,634,771
Australian Catholic University	24	5	20.8%	$1,892,500
Charles Sturt University	11	0	0.0%	$0
Macquarie University	114	20	17.5%	$6,582,598
Southern Cross University	7	2	28.6%	$608,110
The University of New England	15	2	13.3%	$840,068
The University of New South Wales	397	88	22.2%	$32,091,545
The University of Newcastle	104	8	7.7%	$2,632,000
The University of Sydney	280	54	19.3%	$18,481,061
University of Technology, Sydney	91	15	16.5%	$5,324,987
University of Wollongong	89	16	18.0%	$5,341,402
Western Sydney University	62	10	16.1%	$3,840,500
Northern Territory	5	0	0.0%	$0
Charles Darwin University	5	0	0.0%	$0
Queensland	579	90	15.5%	$33,875,012
Bond University	2	0	0.0%	$0
Central Queensland University	8	0	0.0%	$0
Griffith University	81	16	19.8%	$5,616,738
James Cook University	22	3	13.6%	$1,093,774
Queensland University of Technology	131	16	12.2%	$5,382,000
The University of Queensland	319	55	17.2%	$21,782,500
University of Southern Queensland	4	0	0.0%	$0
University of the Sunshine Coast	12	0	0.0%	$0
South Australia	200	36	18.0%	$14,166,000
The Flinders University of South Australia	45	7	15.6%	$2,805,000
The University of Adelaide	130	23	17.7%	$9,117,000
University of South Australia	25	6	24.0%	$2,244,000
Tasmania	83	11	13.3%	$4,787,451
University of Tasmania	83	11	13.3%	$4,787,451
Victoria	959	183	19.1%	$67,207,050
Deakin University	78	12	15.4%	$4,202,000
Federation University Australia	5	0	0.0%	$0
La Trobe University	64	12	18.8%	$3,836,881
Monash University	299	62	20.7%	$24,006,553
RMIT University	115	14	12.2%	$4,685,260
Swinburne University of Technology	47	10	21.3%	$3,535,000
The University of Melbourne	333	72	21.6%	$26,702,356
Victoria University	18	1	5.6%	$239,000
Western Australia	293	42	14.3%	$16,555,868
Curtin University of Technology	127	12	9.4%	$4,642,722
Edith Cowan University	5	0	0.0%	$0
Murdoch University	17	2	11.8%	$652,572
The University of Notre Dame Australia	4	0	0.0%	$0
The University of Western Australia	140	28	20.0%	$11,260,574
Total	3540	630	17.8%	$234,660,652

Career age and gender

A total of 7863 Chief Investigators (CIs) were named on all proposals considered in this round. Of these, 2165 were female CIs and 5687 were male CIs. Eleven CIs did not provide gender information. The success rate for female and male CIs in this round of Discovery Projects is 17.6 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively (Figure 1).

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 (2.8 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Chief Investigators (CIs) in Discovery Projects 2017 by gender and career age*

* Career age is calculated as years since PhD.

International Collaboration

Applicants foreshadowed 4807 instances of collaboration with researchers in 146 overseas locations on 2538 proposals. Of the proposals approved for funding, 488 foreshadowed 965 instances of collaboration with researchers in 58 overseas locations.

Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Discovery Projects 2017 proposals

Discovery International Awards

Discovery International Awards (DIAs) 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 5. Number of Discovery Projects 2017 proposals approved for one or more Discovery International Awards (DIAs)

Funding year	Number of submitted Proposals requesting one or more DIAs	Number of approved Proposals requesting one or more DIAs
2016	698	127
2017	660	97