Selection Report: Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2020

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Overview

The Industrial Transformation Training Centres scheme fosters close partnerships between university-based researchers and other researchers. Training Centres deliver innovative Higher Degree by Research (HDR) and postdoctoral training. The focus is on creating end-user research capability that is vital to Australia's future through developing solutions relevant to the Industrial Transformation Priorities.

The objectives of the Industrial Transformation Training Centres scheme are to:

support HDR candidates and postdoctoral researchers to undertake industrial training
support research collaboration between universities and organisations outside the Australian higher education sector; and
strengthen the capabilities of industry and research end-users in identified Industrial Transformation Priority areas.

Selection process

Applications for funding commencing in 2020 opened on 4 October 2019 and closed on 11 December 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 Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which:

assessed applications and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors
reviewed applicants’ comments on assessors’ reports
ranked each application relative to the others on the basis of the application, the assessors’ reports and applicants’ responses to those assessments
assessed and recommended budgets
recommended application feedback

and advice from the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program Eligibility Committee which:

considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the members of the SAC 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.

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Criteria and corresponding weightings for Industrial Transformation Training Centres applications are:
Investigator(s)/Capability (20%)

demonstrated Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence (ROPE) of the proposed team including:
- evidence of experience in managing distributed and/or collaborative industrial and end-user focussed research
- evidence of significant outcomes on industry related projects; and
- evidence of experience in and capacity to provide effective supervision
- support and mentoring for HDR candidates and postdoctoral researchers over the life of the Training Centre
appropriateness of team research track record to achieve the Training Centre’s goals and
time and capacity of the team to undertake and manage the proposed research in collaboration with the Partner Organisation(s).

Project Quality and Innovation (30%)

the aims, concepts, methods and outcomes will drive growth, productivity and competitiveness within relevant sectors
the project builds skills and capacity in end-user focussed research
the conceptual/theoretical framework is genuinely integrated, cross-disciplinary, innovative and original; and
how the Training Centre has a wide level of collaboration, including the development of national and international networks and linkages.

Feasibility and Commitment (20%)

extent to which the proposed Training Centre represents value for money
practicality of the proposed project objectives, budget and timeframe (including identified risks and mitigation strategies)
proposed level of collaboration to support the research project
high quality intellectual support provided for the Training Centre by the research environment of the participating organisations
availability of and access to necessary facilities required to support the proposed research (physical, technical, access to infrastructure, etc)
capacity of each Partner Organisation(s) to support the Training Centre (including the plan for student placements)
extent to which the proposed Training Centre will engage, and will continue to engage, meaningfully with the relevant industry experts including Industry Growth Centre(s)
commitment by each Partner Organisation(s) to collaboration in the Training Centre and
Partner Organisation(s) facilities and personnel contribution to the effective supervision, on-site training, support and mentoring for the HDR candidates and postdoctoral researchers over the life of the project.

Benefit (30%)

the extent to which the research clearly addresses one or more of the Industrial Transformation Priorities
the economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for relevant Australian research end-users (including relevant industry sectors)
the extent to which the proposed Training Centre supports clearly identified market opportunity(ies) and intended transformation for Australian industry or other end users
the extent to which the proposed Training Centre will build the ability to exploit research outcomes in the Partner Organisations
the extent to which there are adequate strategies to encourage disseminations and promotion of research outcomes among the priority industry sector
the potential contribution of the proposed research to addressing the needs of industries and communities as articulated in Australia’s Industrial Transformation Priorities; and
where relevant, the extent to which the applicants have identified the freedom to operate in the Intellectual Property and patent landscape to enable future benefits to industry.

Assessment process

The ARC assessment and reporting process for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2020 involved a panel of 12 SAC members and was managed in RMS. A total of 126 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2020.

Funding levels and duration

Funding of between $650,000 and $1 million per annum for the first three years and between $150,000 and $1 million per annum for the fourth year may be awarded for each Industrial Transformation Training Centre. There is no minimum for the fifth year and a maximum of $1 million.

Summary of Outcomes

The ARC received 31 applications for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding commencing in 2020. All applications met eligibility requirements.

As shown in Table 1, five applications were approved for funding. The overall success rate is 16.1 per cent. A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 2.

Table 1. Approved applications for the Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020

Training Centre Title	Administering Organisation	Training Centre Director	Approved funds over project life
ARC Training Centre for Collaborative Robotics in Advanced Manufacturing	Queensland University of Technology	Prof Jonathan Roberts	$4,879,415
ARC Training Centre in Optimisation Technologies, Integrated Methodologies, and Applications (OPTIMA)	The University of Melbourne	Prof Kate Smith-Miles	$4,861,236
ARC Training Centre for Information Resilience	The University of Queensland	Prof Shazia Sadiq	$4,883,406
ARC Training Centre for The Global Hydrogen Economy	The University of New South Wales	Prof Rose Amal	$4,920,490
ARC Training Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins for Drug Discovery	Monash University	Prof Patrick Sexton	$4,789,838

Table 2. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved applications from Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2019 and 2020*

Funding year	Applications considered	Applications approved for funding	Success rate (%)	Requested funds over project life - all applications	Requested funds over project life - approved applications	Funds allocated over project life	Allocation as a percentage of request (%)
2019	25	6	24	$108,706,867	$24,072,165	$24,072,165	100
2020	31	5	16.1	$134,366,011	$24,334,385	$24,334,385	100

*May include indicative funding amounts

Outcomes by discipline

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 Training Centres 2020 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 (%)
BEM	7	1	14.3	32,040,102	4,789,838	4,789,838	100.0
ET	15	2	13.3	63,698,892	9,799,905	9,799,905	100.0
HSE	2	0	0.0	7,976,739	0	0	0.0
PMI	7	2	28.6	30,650,278	9,744,642	9,744,642	100.0
Total	31	5	16.1	134,366,011	24,334,385	24,334,385	100.0

*BEM – Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Environmental, Medical and Health Sciences; ET – Engineering and Technology; HSE – Humanities and Creative Arts, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; PMI – Physical, Mathematical and Information Sciences

Selection outcomes by Administering Organisation

Institutions across six Australian States submitted applications for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020. 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 approved funding for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020

Administering Organisation	Applications considered	Applications approved for funding	Success rate (%)	Funding over project life (approved applications)	*Participating organisation# contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)**
New South Wales	11	1	9.1	$4,920,490	$10,578,498
Charles Sturt University	1	0	0.0	$0	$0
Macquarie University	1	0	0.0	$0	$0
The University of New South Wales	3	1	33.3	$4,920,490	$10,578,498
The University of Newcastle	1	0	0.0	$0	$0
The University of Sydney	2	0	0.0	$0	$0
University of Wollongong	3	0	0.0	$0	$0
Queensland	5	2	40.0	$9,762,821	$20,015,835
Queensland University of Technology	3	1	33.3	$4,879,415	$11,069,865
The University of Queensland	2	1	50.0	$4,883,406	$8,945,970
South Australia	4	0	0.0	$0	$0
University of South Australia	4	0	0.0	$0	$0
Tasmania	3	0	0.0	$0	$0
University of Tasmania	3	0	0.0	$0	$0
Victoria	5	2	40.0	$9,651,074	$17,794,192
Deakin University	1	0	0.0	$0	$0
Monash University	2	1	50.0	$4,789,838	$8,347,219
The University of Melbourne	2	1	50.0	$4,861,236	$9,446,973
Western Australia	3	0	0.0	$0	$0
Curtin University	2	0	0.0	$0	$0
The University of Western Australia	1	0	0.0	$0	$0
Total	31	5	16.1	$24,334,385	$48,388,525

* 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.

Participating organisation contributions by organisation type

As shown in Table 5, contributions to Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020 from Partner Organisations total over $18 million, 37.5 per cent of the total organisation contributions to successful Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020.

Table 5. Participating organisation contributions by organisation type for approved applications for the Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020 applications

Organisation type	Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)
Administering Organisation	$18,107,143
Other Eligible Organisation	$10,932,412
Partner Organisation	$18,139,700
Other Organisation	$1,209,270
Total	$48,388,525

Partner Organisation contributions by sector

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 2020 are shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved applications for the Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020 applications

Type		Cash		In-kind		Total
		$	%	$	%	$	%
Government
Australian State, Territory and Local Government		$750,800	10.72	$1,510,500	13.56	$2,261,300	12.47
	Sub-total	$750,800	10.72	$1,510,500	13.56	$2,261,300	12.47
Industry Body
Australian		$5,500,000	78.56	$6,918,400	62.11	$12,418,400	68.46
International		$525,000	7.50	$1,950,000	17.51	$2,475,000	13.64
	Sub-total	$6,025,000	86.06	$8,868,400	79.62	$14,893,400	82.10
Non-profit
Australian		$225,000	3.21	$205,000	1.84	$430,000	2.37
	Sub-total	$225,000	3.21	$205,000	1.84	$430,000	2.37
Education
International		$0	0.00	$315,000	2.83	$315,000	1.74
	Sub-total	$0	0.00	$315,000	2.83	$315,000	1.74
Other
Other		$0	0.00	$240,000	2.15	$240,000	1.32
	Sub-total	$0	0.00	$240,000	2.15	$240,000	1.32
	Total	$7,000,800	100.00	$11,138,900	100.00	$18,139,700	100.00

Note: All totals and percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum.

Leverage of ARC funding

Of the 31 applications considered, five were approved with total funding, over the life of these projects, of $24.3 million. There are 55 Partner Organisations involved, committing a total of $18.1 million in cash and in-kind funding. This represents $0.75 from Partner Organisations for every dollar of funding from the ARC.

Industrial Transformation Priorities

As shown in Table 7, applications for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020 were submitted in all Industrial Transformation Priorities.

Table 7. Instances of identified Industrial Transformation Priorities in Industrial Transformation Training Centres applications approved for funding commencing in 2020

Industrial Transformation Priorities	Instances in applications considered*	Instances in applications approved*
Advanced Manufacturing	16	2
Cyber Security	4	1
Food and Agribusiness	7	0
Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals	8	2
Mining Equipment, Technology and Services	5	1
Oil, Gas and Energy Resources	11	3
Total	51	9

* A single application may select multiple Industrial Transformation Priorities

Outcomes by Science and Research Priorities

As shown in Table 8, except for one application, all applications for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020 selected a Science and Research Priority.

Table 8. Approved funding for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020 by Science and Research Priority

Priority area	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	Approved funds (over project life)
Advanced Manufacturing	14	2	14.3	$9,740,651
Cybersecurity	3	1	33.3	$4,883,406
Energy	4	1	25.0	$4,920,490
Environmental change	1	0	0.0	$0
Food	3	0	0.0	$0
Health	1	0	0.0	$0
Resources	2	0	0.0	$0
Soil and water	1	0	0.0	$0
Transport	1	0	0.0	$0
Unspecified	1	1	100.0	$4,789,838
Total	31	5	16.1	$24,334,385
Total within Science and Research Priorities	30	4	13.3	$19,544,547
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)	96.8	80.0		80.3

Field of Research Categories

Table 9. Application data by Field of Research category for Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020

Field of Research category	Applications considered	Applications approved	Funding over project life (approved applications)	Participating Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)
Mathematical Sciences	1	1	$4,861,236	$9,446,973
Physical Sciences	1	0	$0	$0
Chemical Sciences	2	0	$0	$0
Environmental Sciences	1	0	$0	$0
Biological Sciences	2	1	$4,789,838	$8,347,219
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences	3	0	$0	$0
Information and Computing Sciences	3	1	$4,883,406	$8,945,970
Engineering	15	2	$9,799,905	$21,648,363
Medical and Health Sciences	1	0	$0	$0
Built Environment and Design	1	0	$0	$0
Economics	1	0	$0	$0
Total	31	5	$24,334,385	$48,388,525

Gender

A total of 856 participants were named as a Training Centre Director, Chief Investigator or Partner Investigator on applications considered in this round. Of these, 654 are male, 199 are female and three participants chose not to specify their gender. The success rates for male, female and unspecified participants are 17.4 per cent, 18.6 per cent and 33.3 per cent respectively.

International collaboration

As shown in Figure 1, 11 countries are participating in the successful Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding in 2020.