Selection Report: Linkage Projects 2016
[TOC]
Overview
The Linkage Projects scheme provides funding to Eligible Organisations to support research and development (R&D) projects which are collaborative between higher education researchers and other parts of the national innovation system, which are undertaken to acquire new knowledge, and which involve risk or innovation.
The objectives of theLinkage Projects scheme are to:
- support the initiation and/or development of long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and other organisations, including industry and other research end-users, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems and/or to provide opportunities to obtain national economic, social or cultural benefits
- provide opportunities for internationally competitive research projects to be conducted in collaboration with organisations outside the higher education sector, targeting those who have demonstrated a clear commitment to high-quality research
- encourage growth of a national pool of world-class researchers to meet the needs of the broader Australian innovation system
- build the scale and focus of research in the national Science and Research Priorities.
Selection Process
This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for proposals for funding commencing in 2016 received from 16 September 2015 to 11 November 2015. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS).
The ARC prepared funding recommendations for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The recommendations were 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, on 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 advice from institutions with respect to issues raised
- made recommendations to the 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 weights for Linkage Projects proposals are:
- Investigator(s) (20%)
- Significance and Innovation (25%)
- Approach and Training (15%)
- Project Research Environment (10%)
- Commitment from Partner Organisation(s) (30%)
The ARC assessment and subsequent reporting process for Linkage Projects 2016 used a total of 44 ARC College of Experts members across four discipline panels and was managed in the RMS. A total of 2212 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for Linkage Projects 2016.
Summary of Outcomes
743 proposals for Linkage Projects 2016 were received between 16 September and 11 November 2015, of which one proposal was withdrawn. The overall success rate is 31.1 per cent. With the commencement of continuous applications for Linkage Projects from 1 July 2016, the ARC will provide an annual update in early 2017 detailing the success rate for all proposals received under this scheme for funding commencing in 2016.
Table 1. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for successful proposals from Linkage Projects from 2015 to 2016
|
Funding Year |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
Requested funds over project life (all proposals) |
Requested funds over project life (approved proposals) |
Funds allocated over project life |
Allocation as a percentage of request (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2015 |
710 |
252 |
35.5 |
$294,055,484 |
$110,351,748 |
$86,927,155 |
78.8 |
|
2016 |
742 |
231 |
31.1 |
$324,634,144 |
$113,128,253 |
$81,218,438 |
71.8 |
Approved Funding by Discipline Panel
Table 2. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Projects 2016 proposals by discipline panel
|
Panel* |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate |
Requested funds over project life (all proposals considered) |
Approved funds over project life (approved proposals) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
BEM |
165 |
54 |
32.7 |
$80,301,848 |
$20,140,574 |
|
ET |
255 |
81 |
31.8 |
$111,199,917 |
$30,345,904 |
|
HSE |
184 |
57 |
31.0 |
$65,582,552 |
$17,519,510 |
|
PMI |
138 |
39 |
28.3 |
$67,549,827 |
$13,212,450 |
|
Total |
742 |
231 |
31.1 |
$324,634,144 |
$81,218,438 |
*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
Leverage of ARC Funding
Of the 742 proposals considered, 231 were approved with a total approved funding of $81.2 million over the life of these projects. There are 477 Partner Organisations involved with these projects and they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $162.9 million. This represents $2.01 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.
Selection Outcomes by Administering Organisation
Table 3. Numbers of proposals, success rates, ARC approved funding and Partner Organisation contributions for approved Linkage Projects 2016 proposals by Administering Organisation
|
Administering Organisation |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
ARC approved funding over project life (approved proposals) |
Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved proposals) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Australian Capital Territory |
26 |
11 |
42.3 |
$4,073,684 |
$8,074,326 |
|
The Australian National University |
21 |
10 |
47.6 |
$3,733,684 |
$7,561,270 |
|
University of Canberra |
5 |
1 |
20.0 |
$340,000 |
* |
|
New South Wales |
217 |
72 |
33.2 |
$25,181,762 |
$56,881,468 |
|
Australian Catholic University |
6 |
3 |
50.0 |
$1,219,000 |
$2,817,012 |
|
Charles Sturt University |
5 |
1 |
20.0 |
$355,000 |
* |
|
Macquarie University |
17 |
7 |
41.2 |
$2,340,445 |
$5,534,246 |
|
Southern Cross University |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
$401,000 |
* |
|
The University of New England |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
$440,000 |
* |
|
The University of New South Wales |
81 |
25 |
30.9 |
$7,609,952 |
$18,082,728 |
|
The University of Newcastle |
22 |
8 |
36.4 |
$2,971,804 |
$7,608,366 |
|
The University of Sydney |
34 |
12 |
35.3 |
$4,724,026 |
$11,434,903 |
|
University of Technology, Sydney |
20 |
6 |
30.0 |
$1,889,000 |
$4,344,442 |
|
University of Western Sydney |
8 |
2 |
25.0 |
$1,099,335 |
$1,670,543 |
|
University of Wollongong |
18 |
6 |
33.3 |
$2,132,200 |
$3,511,862 |
|
Northern Territory |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Charles Darwin University |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Queensland |
137 |
43 |
31.4 |
$14,280,017 |
$29,566,761 |
|
Central Queensland University |
4 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Griffith University |
25 |
6 |
24.0 |
$1,388,464 |
$2,585,873 |
|
James Cook University |
5 |
1 |
20.0 |
$490,000 |
* |
|
Queensland University of Technology |
28 |
5 |
17.9 |
$1,729,892 |
$3,504,469 |
|
The University of Queensland |
69 |
29 |
42.0 |
$9,906,061 |
$20,749,650 |
|
University of Southern Queensland |
2 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
University of the Sunshine Coast |
4 |
2 |
50.0 |
$765,600 |
$1,428,700 |
|
South Australia |
66 |
15 |
22.7 |
$4,692,299 |
$7,710,639 |
|
The Flinders University of South Australia |
8 |
1 |
12.5 |
$300,000 |
* |
|
The University of Adelaide |
38 |
8 |
21.1 |
$2,685,194 |
$4,079,319 |
|
University of South Australia |
20 |
6 |
30.0 |
$1,707,105 |
$2,816,170 |
|
Tasmania |
11 |
3 |
27.3 |
$1,073,000 |
$2,019,583 |
|
University of Tasmania |
11 |
3 |
27.3 |
$1,073,000 |
$2,019,583 |
|
Victoria |
207 |
67 |
32.4 |
$23,381,815 |
$40,738,640 |
|
Deakin University |
22 |
5 |
22.7 |
$1,956,204 |
$4,463,088 |
|
Federation University Australia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
La Trobe University |
6 |
3 |
50.0 |
$848,026 |
$1,110,384 |
|
Monash University |
58 |
17 |
29.3 |
$6,361,969 |
$12,424,164 |
|
RMIT University |
33 |
8 |
24.2 |
$2,300,975 |
$3,932,949 |
|
Swinburne University of Technology |
7 |
2 |
28.6 |
$697,000 |
$970,000 |
|
The University of Melbourne |
76 |
32 |
42.1 |
$11,217,641 |
$17,838,055 |
|
Victoria University |
4 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Western Australia |
77 |
20 |
26.0 |
$8,535,861 |
$17,870,100 |
|
Curtin University of Technology |
30 |
6 |
20.0 |
$1,808,669 |
$2,915,867 |
|
Edith Cowan University |
4 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Murdoch University |
8 |
4 |
50.0 |
$1,515,000 |
$2,305,750 |
|
The University of Western Australia |
35 |
10 |
28.6 |
$5,212,192 |
$12,648,483 |
|
Total |
742 |
231 |
31.1 |
$81,218,438 |
$162,861,517 |
*For confidentiality reasons, total contributions by Partner Organisations are not shown in instances in which Administering Organisations are associated with one approved proposal only. The Table 3 total does, however, include the total contributions by Partner Organisations on approved Projects associated with those Administering Organisations.
Partner Organisation contributions by sector
Partner Organisations were identified as Australian, international, government, non-profit, industry or overseas higher education organisations. The Partner Organisation contributions in these categories for Linkage Projects 2016 proposals approved for funding are shown below in Table 4.
Table 4. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects 2016 proposals
|
Type |
Cash |
In-kind |
Total |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$ | % | $ | % | $ | % | |
|
Government |
|
||||||
|
Australian Federal Government |
|
$2,780,311 |
5.6 |
$5,411,878 |
4.8 |
$8,192,189 |
5.0 |
|
Australian state, territory and local government |
|
$10,190,231 |
20.5 |
$29,019,467 |
25.6 |
$39,209,698 |
24.1 |
|
International Government |
|
$213,000 |
0.4 |
$630,166 |
0.6 |
$843,166 |
0.5 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$13,183,542 |
26.6 |
$35,061,511 |
31.0 |
$48,245,053 |
29.6 |
|
Industry Body |
|
||||||
|
Australian |
$18,895,402 |
38.1 |
$38,309,199 |
33.8 |
$57,204,601 |
35.1 |
|
|
International |
$11,318,333 |
22.8 |
$18,504,857 |
16.3 |
$29,823,190 |
18.3 |
|
|
|
Sub-total |
$30,213,735 |
60.9 |
$56,814,056 |
50.2 |
$87,027,791 |
53.4 |
|
Non-profit |
|
||||||
|
Australian |
|
$2,611,866 |
5.3 |
$11,443,669 |
10.1 |
$14,055,535 |
8.6 |
|
International |
|
$1,009,353 |
2.0 |
$1,801,275 |
1.6 |
$2,810,628 |
1.7 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$3,621,219 |
7.3 |
$13,244,944 |
11.7 |
$16,866,163 |
10.4 |
|
Education |
|
||||||
|
Higher Education International |
|
$114,000 |
0.2 |
$887,911 |
0.8 |
$1,001,911 |
0.6 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$114,000 |
0.2 |
$887,911 |
0.8 |
$1,001,911 |
0.6 |
|
Other |
|
||||||
|
Other |
|
$2,500,886 |
5.0 |
$7,219,713 |
6.4 |
$9,720,599 |
6.0 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$2,500,886 |
5.0 |
$7,219,713 |
6.4 |
$9,720,599 |
6.0 |
|
|
Total |
$49,633,382 |
100.0 |
$113,228,135 |
100.0 |
$162,861,517 |
100.0 |
Note: All percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum to 100%.
Partnerships
Linkage Projects proposals represent partnerships between researchers, higher education organisations and other organisations, as well as collaborations between Partner Organisations within projects. These partnerships form congruent and/or complementary linkages in Fields of Research (FoR). There are a total of 566 instances of collaboration with Partner Organisations (including multiple collaborations with a number of organisations) in Linkage Projects 2016 giving an average of 2.5 Partner Organisations involved in each proposal. A summary of the FoR categories identified by applicants of approved proposals and the total Partner Organisation contributions are shown below in Table 5.
Table 5. Proposal data by Field of Research category for Linkage Projects 2016
|
Field of Research category |
Number of proposals approved* |
Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved proposals) |
|---|---|---|
|
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
9 |
$11,223,037 |
|
Biological Sciences |
20 |
$13,718,275 |
|
Built Environment and Design |
5 |
$2,062,359 |
|
Chemical Sciences |
9 |
$5,343,381 |
|
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services |
6 |
$4,586,851 |
|
Earth Sciences |
6 |
$5,150,790 |
|
Economics |
3 |
$1,361,396 |
|
Education |
4 |
$2,120,492 |
|
Engineering |
74 |
$54,252,241 |
|
Environmental Sciences |
17 |
$12,913,156 |
|
History and Archaeology |
5 |
$6,357,056 |
|
Information and Computing Sciences |
14 |
$8,469,346 |
|
Language, Communication and Culture |
2 |
$1,324,136 |
|
Law and Legal Studies |
4 |
$1,946,709 |
|
Mathematical Sciences |
3 |
$1,720,419 |
|
Medical and Health Sciences |
10 |
$6,039,095 |
|
Physical Sciences |
5 |
$3,096,301 |
|
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences |
7 |
$4,090,913 |
|
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing |
3 |
$863,357 |
|
Studies in Human Society |
14 |
$6,785,365 |
|
Technology |
11 |
$9,436,842 |
|
Total |
231 |
$162,861,517 |
* Based on the primary FoR
International Collaboration
Figure 1. Instances of international collaboration on approved proposals in Linkage Projects 2016
Table 6. Instances of international collaboration in Linkage Projects 2016
|
Country |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
|---|---|---|
|
Argentina |
1 |
0 |
|
Austria |
5 |
3 |
|
Bangladesh |
1 |
0 |
|
Belgium |
8 |
2 |
|
Bhutan |
1 |
0 |
|
Brazil |
2 |
0 |
|
Cambodia |
1 |
0 |
|
Canada |
21 |
4 |
|
Chile |
4 |
1 |
|
Chilean Antarctic Territory |
1 |
1 |
|
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) |
70 |
17 |
|
Czech Republic |
1 |
0 |
|
Denmark |
7 |
4 |
|
England |
45 |
17 |
|
Fiji |
1 |
1 |
|
Finland |
1 |
0 |
|
France |
10 |
5 |
|
Germany |
27 |
9 |
|
Greece |
1 |
1 |
|
Hong Kong (SAR of China) |
4 |
0 |
|
Hungary |
1 |
0 |
|
India |
7 |
0 |
|
Indonesia |
6 |
2 |
|
Ireland |
2 |
1 |
|
Israel |
2 |
0 |
|
Italy |
4 |
3 |
|
Japan |
15 |
4 |
|
Kazakhstan |
1 |
0 |
|
Kiribati |
1 |
1 |
|
Korea, Republic of (South) |
4 |
2 |
|
Kyrgyzstan |
1 |
0 |
|
Luxembourg |
1 |
1 |
|
Malaysia |
3 |
1 |
|
Micronesia, Federated States of |
1 |
1 |
|
Morocco |
1 |
0 |
|
Netherlands |
8 |
0 |
|
New Zealand |
22 |
11 |
|
Norway |
1 |
0 |
|
Oman |
1 |
0 |
|
Papua New Guinea |
1 |
0 |
|
Poland |
1 |
0 |
|
Portugal |
1 |
1 |
|
Russian Federation |
2 |
0 |
|
San Marino |
1 |
1 |
|
Scotland |
5 |
1 |
|
Singapore |
7 |
3 |
|
South Africa |
1 |
1 |
|
Spain |
7 |
1 |
|
Sweden |
7 |
1 |
|
Switzerland |
10 |
5 |
|
Taiwan |
4 |
0 |
|
Tanzania |
1 |
0 |
|
Thailand |
4 |
0 |
|
Turkey |
1 |
0 |
|
United Arab Emirates |
1 |
0 |
|
United States of America |
131 |
46 |
|
Vanuatu |
1 |
1 |
|
Vietnam |
2 |
0 |
|
Wales |
1 |
0 |
|
Total |
483 |
153 |
Age and Gender
A total of 3669 participants were named on all proposals considered in this round. Of these, 903 are female and 2754 are male (a small number of participants did not provide gender information). Figure 2 shows the number and success rate of participants in the round by age and gender. The success rate for female and male participants in this round of Linkage Projects proposals is 34.7 per cent and 33.9 per cent respectively. The success rates for each gender have been quite similar over the last ten Linkage Projects rounds (Figure 3). 557 of the proposals considered had a male lead CI, of which 176 were successful, representing a 31.6 per cent success rate. 184 of the proposals considered had a female lead CI, of which 55 were successful, representing a 29.9 per cent success rate.
Figure 2. Participation and success rates by age and gender for Linkage Projects 2016
Figure 3. Comparison of Linkage Projects success rates between female and male participants from 2010 to 2016
Science and Research Priorities
Table 7. Approved funding for Linkage Projects 2016 by Science and Research Priority
|
Priority area |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
Approved funds (over project life) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Advanced Manufacturing |
120 |
35 |
29.2 |
$13,302,115 |
|
Cybersecurity |
23 |
5 |
21.7 |
$1,712,626 |
|
Energy |
48 |
15 |
31.3 |
$4,725,993 |
|
Environmental Change |
120 |
44 |
36.7 |
$15,170,895 |
|
Food |
59 |
13 |
22.0 |
$5,825,876 |
|
Health |
120 |
30 |
25.0 |
$9,396,464 |
|
Resources |
52 |
17 |
32.7 |
$6,667,575 |
|
Soil and Water |
46 |
16 |
34.8 |
$5,475,271 |
|
Transport |
46 |
18 |
39.1 |
$5,883,548 |
|
None selected |
108 |
38 |
35.2 |
$13,058,075 |
|
Total Proposals |
742 |
231 |
31.1 |
$81,218,438 |
|
Total Proposals within Science and Research Priorities |
634 |
193 |
30.4 |
$68,160,363 |
|
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%) |
85.4% |
83.5% |
|
83.9% |