Selection Report: Discovery Projects 2021

Overview

The Discovery Projects scheme reflects the Australian Government’s commitment to excellence in research by supporting grant funding to support research projects that may be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.

The objectives of the Discovery Projects scheme are to: 

  • support excellent basic and applied research and research training by individuals and teams;
  • support national and international research collaboration; and
  • enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

 

Selection process

Applications for funding commencing in 2021 opened on 13 November 2019 and closed on 26 February 2020. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the ARC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to the Minister.

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 funding recommendations to 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 Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.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 Projects 2021 applications were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:

a. 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.

b. 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); and
  • extent to which the research has the potential to enhance international collaboration.

c. 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’s National Science and Research Priorities and other priorities identified by Government.

d. Feasibility (10%)

Describe the:

  • cost-effectiveness of the research and its value for money;
  • suitability of the environment for the research team 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 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research describe:

  • the strategies for enabling collaboration with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities where appropriate (for example, dialogue/collaboration with an Indigenous cultural mentor); and
  • any existing or developing, supportive and high quality research communities. 

 

Assessment process

The ARC assessment process for Discovery Projects 2021 involved 80 College of Experts members across five discipline panels and was managed in RMS. A total of 10,766 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 five years may be awarded for each Discovery Project application.

 

Summary of outcomes

The ARC received a total of 3027 applications for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2021, of which eight applications were withdrawn. 

The overall success rate for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2021 is 20.0 per cent, with 603 Discovery Projects approved for funding. A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1.

Of the unsuccessful applications in 2021, 26 were found not to meet eligibility requirements and five were recommended to, but not funded by the Minister.

Table 1. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects applications from 2020 to 2021

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 (%)
2020 2875 660 23.0 $1,641,948,285 $387,282,768 $284,952,924 73.6
2021 3019 603 20.00 $1,760,327,397 $371,657,208 $260,034,079 70.0

*May include indicative funding amounts 

 

Outcomes by discipline 

A summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects 2021 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 784 164 20.9 $546,806,340 $120,383,480 $83,808,816 69.6
EIC 770 143 18.6 $436,774,699 $88,596,990 $59,928,279 67.6
HCA 292 57 19.5 $127,712,964 $26,118,445 $18,208,630 69.7
MPCE 623 123 19.7 $365,334,622 $75,408,044 $53,722,175 71.2
SBE 550 116 21.1 $283,698,772 $61,150,249 $44,366,179 72.6
Total 3019 603 20.0 $1,760,327,397 $371,657,208 $260,034,079 70.0

* 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

A summary of outcomes by Science and Research Priorities is shown in Table 3. 

Table 3. Approved funding and success rate for Discovery Projects 2021 applications by Science and Research Priorities

Science and Research Priorities Applications considered

Applications

approved

Success
rate (%)
Approved funds over project life ($)
Advanced manufacturing 489 107 21.9 $44,769,691
Cybersecurity 119 27 22.7 $11,258,471
Energy 140 25 17.9 $11,429,582
Environmental change 407 82 20.1 $36,628,016
Food 124 28 22.6 $13,701,187
Health 334 61 18.3 $26,767,974
Resources 64 7 10.9 $2,816,404
Soil and water 89 14 15.7 $6,609,020
Transport 82 15 18.3 $6,536,512
Unspecified 1171 237 20.2 $99,517,222
Total 3019 603 20.0 $260,034,079
Total within Science and Research Priorities 1848 366 19.8 $160,516,857
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%) 61.2 60.7   61.7

 

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Numbers of applications and success rates for approved Discovery Projects 2021 applications by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation Applications Considered Applications approved Success rate (%) Funds over project life for approved applications ($)
Australian Capital Territory 150 36 24.0 $16,009,115
The Australian National University 140 34 24.3 $15,120,465
University of Canberra 10 2 20.0 $888,650
New South Wales 1016 191 18.8 $83,793,458
Australian Catholic University 23 4 17.4 $1,853,137
Charles Sturt University 5 0 0.0 $0
Macquarie University 101 14 13.9 $5,142,464
Southern Cross University 16 1 6.3 $364,850
The University of New England 9 0 0.0 $0
The University of New South Wales 306 68 22.2 $32,917,472
The University of Newcastle 88 14 15.9 $5,191,356
The University of Sydney 261 49 18.8 $20,986,078
University of Technology Sydney 115 23 20.0 $9,779,446
University of Wollongong 59 12 20.3 $5,090,233
Western Sydney University 33 6 18.2 $2,468,422
Northern Territory 9 4 44.4 $1,624,505
Charles Darwin University 9 4 44.4 $1,624,505
Queensland 461 80 17.4 $32,772,255
Bond University 1 0 0.0 $0
Central Queensland University 4 1 25.0 $425,912
Griffith University 86 15 17.4 $6,021,081
James Cook University 13 1 7.7 $401,000
Queensland University of Technology 86 13 15.1 $4,917,549
The University of Queensland 255 47 18.4 $19,787,676
University of Southern Queensland 9 2 22.2 $941,578
University of the Sunshine Coast 7 1 14.3 $277,459
South Australia 212 31 14.6 $13,178,713
Flinders University 44 4 9.1 $1,725,753
The University of Adelaide 133 21 15.8 $9,227,942
University of South Australia 35 6 17.1 $2,225,018
Tasmania 52 8 15.4 $3,957,269
University of Tasmania 52 8 15.4 $3,957,269
Victoria 929 210 22.6 $90,304,623
Deakin University 67 14 20.9 $4,906,297
Federation University Australia 6 0 0.0 $0
La Trobe University 54 10 18.5 $4,182,332
Monash University 317 83 26.2 $35,902,333
RMIT University 80 15 18.8 $5,740,238
Swinburne University of Technology 57 10 17.5 $4,305,887
The University of Melbourne 338 78 23.1 $35,267,536
Victoria University 10 0 0.0 $0
Western Australia 190 43 22.6 $18,394,141
Curtin University 59 13 22.0 $4,692,187
Edith Cowan University 7 2 28.6 $637,674
Murdoch University 7 0 0.0 $0
The University of Notre Dame Australia 2 0 0.0 $0
The University of Western Australia. 115 28 24.3 $13,064,280
Total 3019 603 20.0 $260,034,079

 

Career age and gender

Of the 7118 Chief Investigators (CIs) named in applications in this round, 2110 were female, 4972 were male and 36 chose not to specify their gender. The success rate for female, male and unspecified CIs in this round of Discovery Projects is 20.7 per cent, 19.8 per cent and 13.9 per cent respectively.

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in the current Discovery Projects round are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not provide gender information (0.5 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD or who do not hold a PhD (0.8 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Chief Investigators in Discovery Projects 2021 by gender and career age*

Figure 1

* Career age is calculated as years since PhD (or equivalent). The earliest PhD award date was used where there was more than one PhD.

 

International collaboration

Among 3019 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 4862 instances of collaboration with researchers in 107 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 503 foreshadowed 1029 instances of collaboration with researchers in 69 overseas locations (Figure 2).

Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Discovery Projects 2021 applications*

Figure 2

*The top 10 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 2 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category.