Selection Report: Industrial Transformation Training Centres for funding commencing in 2024

Overview

The Industrial Transformation Training Centres (Training Centres) foster close partnerships between university-based researchers and industry, through creating and delivering innovative Higher Degree by Research (HDR) and postdoctoral training. Training Centres are to develop researchers with capability in end user research that is vital to Australia's future. In delivering this training, the Training Centres focuses its researchers on developing solutions relevant to the Industrial Transformation Priorities.

The Training Centres scheme objectives 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 2024 opened on 11 October 2023, and closed on 29 November 2023. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines outcomes from the selection process for that round.

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 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
• provided application feedback 

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 outcomes approved by the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, data presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria and corresponding weightings for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 are: 

1. Investigator/Capability (20%)

• Describe the:
  • 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;
    • 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).

2. Project quality and innovation (30%)

• Describe the extent to which:
  • 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 Centres has a wide level of collaboration, including the development of national and international networks and linkages.

3. Feasibility and Commitment (20%)

• Describe the:
  • extent to which the proposed Training Centres 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 Centres 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 Centres (including the plan for student placements);
  • extent to which the proposed Training Centres will engage, and will continue to engage, meaningfully with the relevant industry experts;
  • 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.
• If the project involves Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander research, additional criteria include:
  • The project’s level of collaboration, engagement, relationship building and benefit sharing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and First Nations Organisations and Communities;
  • The project’s strategy and mechanisms for Indigenous research capacity building within the project;
  • The project’s level of internal leadership of Indigenous research;
  • The project’s adherence to the Australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles; and
  • The project’s understanding of, and proposed strategies to adhere to, the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and NHMRC’s guidelines on Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities.
    

4. Benefit (30%)

• Describe:
  • 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 and manufacturing sectors);
  • the extent to which the proposed Training Centres supports clearly identified market opportunity(ies) and intended transformation for Australian industry or other end users;
  • the extent to which the proposed Training Centres 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;
  • 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 process for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 involved 13 Selection Advisory Committee members comprising of members from the ARC College of Experts and experts from industry on one multi-disciplinary panel. The process was managed in RMS. In addition, independent assessors’ submitted a total of 67 reports to the ARC to support the assessment process.

Funding levels and duration

Funding of between $650,000 and $1 million per annum for the first 3 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 a total of 22 applications for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024. 

6 Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 are approved, shown in Table 1. The overall success rate for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 is 27.3%.

Of the applications submitted for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024, none were found not to meet eligibility requirements.

A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 2.

Table 1. Industrial Transformation Training Centres approved for funding commencing in 2024

Table 2. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Industrial Transformation Training Centres applications from 2023 to 2024

Outcomes by discipline 

A summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Number of applications, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 applications by discipline

* BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC – Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences; MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences

Leverage of ARC Funding

Of the 22 applications considered, 6 were approved with a total approved funding of $29.8 million over the life of these projects. There are 60 unique Partner Organisations involved with these projects, and they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $24.4 million. This represents 82 cents from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

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

Table 4. Numbers of applications and success rates, ARC approved funding and Partner Organisation contributions for approved Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 by Administering Organisation

* Includes Administering Organisations and Partner Organisations

Outcomes by Industrial Transformation Priorities

A summary of outcomes by Industrial Transformation Priorities is shown in Table 5.

Table 5. approved funding and success rate for Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 by Industrial Transformation Priorities 

*A single application may select multiple Industrial Transformation Priorities

Industry Partners

Partner Organisations were identified as Australian, international, government, non-profit, industry or overseas higher education organisations. The Partner Organisation contributions in these categories for the approved Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 are shown below in Table 6.

Table 6. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 applications. 

All percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum to 100%.

Career age and gender

Of the 108 Industrial Transformation Training Centres Key Personnel in this round, 33 were females and 75 were male with success rates of 6.5 per cent and 21.3 per cent respectively. 

Success rates of Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 Key Personnel by career age and gender are presented in Figure 1. Key Personnel who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD or who do not hold a PhD (0.9 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Key Personnel in Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024 by gender and career age*

*Career age is calculated as years since PhD based on the earliest PhD Award Date provided by the participant

^ Calculated career age does not take career interruptions into consideration

International Collaboration

For Industrial Transformation Training Centres, among 22 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 63 instances of collaboration with researchers in 21 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 6 foreshadowed 10 instances of collaboration with researchers in 7 overseas locations (Figure 2).
Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Industrial Transformation Training Centres 2024