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The Industrial Transformation Research Hub scheme fosters close partnerships between university-based researchers and other researchers. Research Hubs support joint research activity, between the Australian higher education sector and industry, designed to focus on strategic outcomes that cannot be realised independently of each other.
The objectives of the Industrial Transformation Research Hubs scheme are to:
Applications for funding commencing in 2022 opened on 6 August 2021 and closed on 15 October 2021. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report reflects the funding approved by the Minister.
These recommendations are based on advice from the Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which:
This report reflects funding approved by the Minister.
Assessment criteria and corresponding weightings for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs applications are:
a. Investigator(s)/Capability (20%)
Describe the:
b. Project Quality and Innovation (30%)
Describe the extent to which the:
c. Feasibility and Commitment (20%)
If the project involves research pertaining to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities describe:
d. Benefit (30%)
Describe:
The ARC assessment and reporting process for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 involved a panel of 14 SAC members and was managed in RMS. A total of 43 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022.
Funding of between $500,000 and $1 million per annum for between three to five consecutive years may be awarded for each Industrial Transformation Research Hub.
The ARC received 12 applications for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022. 11 applications met eligibility requirements. One did not meet the eligibility requirements and was deemed ineligible.
As shown in Table 1, four applications are recommended for funding. The overall success rate is 33.3 per cent. A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 2.
Table 1. Details of approved Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022
Table 2. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved applications from Industrial Transformation Research Hubs for funding in 2021 and 2022*
*May include indicative funding amounts
A summary of outcomes by discipline grouping is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Number of applications, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 applications by discipline
*BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC –Engineering and Information Sciences; HSE – Humanities and Creative Arts, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
Institutions across six Australian States submitted applications for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022. In addition to ARC funding, significant contributions are made by participating organisations as shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Numbers of applications, success rates and ARC approved funding for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022
Participating organisation*#
contributions(cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)
* Participating Organisations include the Administering Organisation, Other Eligible Organisations, Partner Organisations and Other Organisations.
# Participating Organisation contributions are shown by organisation type in Table 4.
As shown in Table 5, contributions to Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 from Partner Organisations total over $31 million, 55.8 per cent of the total organisation contributions to successful Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022.
Table 5. Participating organisation contributions by organisation type for approved Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 applications
Partner Organisations were identified as either Australian, international, government, non-profit, industry or overseas higher education organisations. The Partner Organisation contributions in these categories for applications approved for funding in 2022 are shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 applications
Note: All totals and percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum.
Of the 12 applications considered, four were approved with a total approved funding, over the life of these projects, of $17,768,172 million. There are 68 unique Partner Organisations involved, committing a total of $31,444,458 million in cash and in-kind funding. This represents $1.77 from Partner Organisations for every dollar of funding from the ARC.
As shown in Table 7, applications for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 were submitted in eight Industrial Transformation Priorities.
Table 7. Instances of identified Industrial Transformation Priorities in Industrial Transformation Research Hubs applications approved for funding commencing in 2022
* A single application may select multiple Industrial Transformation Priorities
As shown in Table 8, all applications for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 selected a Science and Research Priority.
Table 8. Approved funding for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs for funding in 2022 by Science and Research Priority
Table 9. Application data by Field of Research category for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022
A total of 462 participants were named as a Research Hub Director, Chief Investigator or Partner Investigator on applications considered in this round. Of these, 381 are male, 76 are female and 5 participants chose not to specify their gender. The success rates for male, female and unspecified participants are 38.8 per cent, 47.4 per cent and 80 per cent respectively.
As shown in Figure 1, there are 12 instances where a total of 8 countries are participating in the successful Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022.
Figure 1. Instances of international collaboration on approved Industrial Transformation Research Hubs commencing in 2022 applications