Selection Report: Linkage Projects 2017 For proposals submitted 23 December 2016 to 19 December 2017
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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 the Linkage 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 Linkage Projects 2017 proposals, which used a continuous submission and assessment process. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for that round.
Funding recommendations have been prepared for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The recommendations are 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, advice from the ARC NCGP Eligibility Committee which:
- considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the ARC College of Experts or independent assessors
- where required, sought advice from Administering Organisations with respect to issues raised
- made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible proposals.
This report reflects the approved recommendations by the Minister.
Selection Criteria
Selection criteria and corresponding weightings for Linkage Projects2017proposals are:
- Investigator(s) (25%)
- Project Quality and Innovation (25%)
- Feasibility (20%)
- Benefit (30%)
The ARC assessment process for Linkage Projects 2017 used 53 College of Experts members across four discipline panels and was managed in the RMS. A total of 1649 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC for Linkage Projects 2017.
Funding levels and duration
Funding of between $50,000 and $300,000 per annum for up to five years may be awarded for each Linkage Projects proposal.
Summary of Outcomes
The ARC received 417 proposals for Linkage Projects 2017, none of which were withdrawn. Of the unsuccessful proposals, one was found to not meet eligibility requirements.
The overall success rate for Linkage Projects 2017 is 31.7 per cent, with a higher percentage of allocation of requested funds compared to Linkage Projects 2016.
Table 1. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Projects proposals from 2016 and 2017
|
Scheme Round |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
Requested funds over project life (all proposals) |
Requested funds over project life (approvedproposals) |
Funds allocated over project life |
Allocation as a percentage of request (%) |
|
2016 Round One (proposals submitted 16 September - 11 November 2015) |
742 |
231 |
31.1 |
$324,634,144 |
$113,128,253 |
$81,218,438 |
71.8 |
|
2016 Round Two (proposals submitted 1 July – 22 December 2016) |
225 |
89 |
39.6 |
$103,528,803 |
$44,381,440 |
$34,144,467 |
76.9 |
|
2017 |
417 |
132 |
31.7 |
$202,098,882 |
$65,285,426 |
$53,330,220 |
81.7 |
Outcomes by Discipline Panel
Table 2. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Projects 2017 proposals by discipline panel
|
Panel* |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
Requested funds over project life (all proposals considered) |
Requested funds over project life (approved proposals) |
Approved funds over project life (approved proposals) |
Allocation as a percentage of request (%) |
|
BEM |
81 |
30 |
37.0 |
$43,577,860 |
$16,167,236 |
$13,132,579 |
81.2 |
|
ET |
121 |
31 |
25.6 |
$57,593,242 |
$13,926,366 |
$11,708,294 |
84.1 |
|
HSE |
129 |
41 |
31.8 |
$54,007,164 |
$17,800,204 |
$15,392,023 |
86.5 |
|
PMI |
86 |
30 |
34.9 |
$46,920,616 |
$17,391,620 |
$13,097,324 |
75.3 |
|
Total |
417 |
132 |
31.7 |
$202,098,882 |
$65,285,426 |
$53,330,220 |
81.7 |
*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.
Outcomes by Science and Research Priorities
Table 3. Approved funding for Linkage Projects 2017 by Science and Research Priority
|
Priority area |
Proposals considered |
Proposals approved |
Success rate (%) |
Approved funds (over project life) |
|
Advanced Manufacturing |
70 |
24 |
34.3 |
$9,708,161 |
|
Cybersecurity |
13 |
4 |
30.8 |
$1,600,000 |
|
Energy |
21 |
5 |
23.8 |
$1,724,850 |
|
Environmental Change |
62 |
25 |
40.3 |
$11,684,279 |
|
Food |
23 |
10 |
43.5 |
$4,439,117 |
|
Health |
70 |
22 |
31.4 |
$8,193,385 |
|
Resources |
28 |
6 |
21.4 |
$2,716,698 |
|
Soil and Water |
29 |
12 |
41.4 |
$5,815,092 |
|
Transport |
21 |
4 |
19.0 |
$1,149,419 |
|
None selected |
80 |
20 |
25.0 |
$6,299,219 |
|
Total Proposals |
417 |
132 |
31.7 |
$53,330,220 |
|
Total Proposals within Science and Research Priorities |
337 |
112 |
33.2 |
$47,031,001 |
|
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%) |
80.8 |
84.8 |
|
88.2 |
Leverage of ARC Funding
Of the 417 proposals considered, 132 were approved with a total approved funding of $53.3 million over the life of these projects. There are 298 unique Partner Organisations involved with these projects and they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $103.9 million. This represents $1.95 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.
Outcomes by Administering Organisation
Table 4. Numbers of proposals, success rates, ARC approved funding and Partner Organisation contributions for approved Linkage Projects 2017 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 |
14 |
4 |
28.6 |
$1,711,297 |
$3,552,957 |
|
The Australian National University |
13 |
4 |
30.8 |
$1,711,297 |
$3,552,957 |
|
University of Canberra |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
New South Wales |
139 |
44 |
31.7 |
$18,393,105 |
$39,869,708 |
|
Charles Sturt University |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Macquarie University |
6 |
3 |
50.0 |
$731,906 |
$1,037,396 |
|
Southern Cross University |
2 |
1 |
50.0 |
$360,000 |
* |
|
The University of New England |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
The University of New South Wales |
79 |
21 |
26.6 |
$9,180,711 |
$22,228,538 |
|
The University of Newcastle |
7 |
1 |
14.3 |
$240,000 |
* |
|
The University of Sydney |
19 |
9 |
47.4 |
$5,035,771 |
$10,534,073 |
|
University of Technology Sydney |
8 |
4 |
50.0 |
$1,451,786 |
$2,528,890 |
|
University of Wollongong |
12 |
4 |
33.3 |
$1,022,971 |
$1,841,441 |
|
Western Sydney University |
4 |
1 |
25.0 |
$369,960 |
* |
|
Northern Territory |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Charles Darwin University |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Queensland |
74 |
23 |
31.1 |
$9,437,961 |
$16,527,503 |
|
Central Queensland University |
3 |
1 |
33.3 |
$240,519 |
* |
|
Griffith University |
19 |
3 |
15.8 |
$1,684,330 |
$3,333,936 |
|
James Cook University |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Queensland University of Technology |
12 |
3 |
25.0 |
$783,197 |
$1,153,740 |
|
The University of Queensland |
38 |
16 |
42.1 |
$6,729,915 |
$11,749,827 |
|
University of the Sunshine Coast |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
South Australia |
32 |
10 |
31.3 |
$3,657,331 |
$4,718,429 |
|
The Flinders University of South Australia |
12 |
6 |
50.0 |
$1,091,955 |
$1,261,748 |
|
The University of Adelaide |
15 |
1 |
6.7 |
$354,833 |
* |
|
University of South Australia |
5 |
3 |
60.0 |
$2,210,543 |
$3,048,949 |
|
Tasmania |
12 |
6 |
50.0 |
$2,281,629 |
$10,176,321 |
|
University of Tasmania |
12 |
6 |
50.0 |
$2,281,629 |
$10,176,321 |
|
Victoria |
107 |
33 |
30.8 |
$13,333,129 |
$22,165,468 |
|
Deakin University |
14 |
7 |
50.0 |
$2,575,315 |
$4,140,406 |
|
La Trobe University |
2 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Monash University |
29 |
7 |
24.1 |
$2,791,931 |
$5,941,996 |
|
RMIT University |
8 |
1 |
12.5 |
$511,109 |
* |
|
Swinburne University of Technology |
9 |
3 |
33.3 |
$1,060,893 |
$1,582,000 |
|
The University of Melbourne |
44 |
14 |
31.8 |
$6,023,881 |
$9,584,266 |
|
Victoria University |
1 |
1 |
100 |
$370,000 |
* |
|
Western Australia |
38 |
12 |
31.6 |
$4,515,768 |
$6,881,291 |
|
Curtin University |
15 |
6 |
40.0 |
$2,061,261 |
$2,643,845 |
|
Edith Cowan University |
1 |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
|
Murdoch University |
3 |
2 |
66.7 |
$711,000 |
$1,358,927 |
|
The University of Western Australia |
19 |
4 |
21.1 |
$1,743,507 |
$2,878,519 |
|
Total |
417 |
132 |
31.7 |
$53,330,220 |
$103,891,677 |
* 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 4 total does, however, include the total contributions by Partner Organisations on approved Projects associated with those Administering Organisations.
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 2017 proposals approved for funding are shown below in Table 5.
Table 5. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects 2017 proposals
|
Type |
Cash |
In-kind |
Total |
||||
|
|
$ |
% |
$ |
% |
$ |
% |
|
|
Government |
|
||||||
|
Australian Government |
|
$2,439,913 |
8.8 |
$7,518,350 |
9.9 |
$9,958,263 |
9.6 |
|
Australian state, territory and local |
|
$6,905,444 |
24.8 |
$15,328,706 |
20.2 |
$22,234,150 |
21.4 |
|
International |
|
$1,167,692 |
4.2 |
$1,826,400 |
2.4 |
$2,994,092 |
2.9 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$10,513,049 |
37.8 |
$24,673,456 |
32.4 |
$35,186,505 |
33.9 |
|
Industry Body |
|
||||||
|
Australian |
$8,935,747 |
32.1 |
$20,885,508 |
27.5 |
$29,821,255 |
28.7 |
|
|
International |
$4,855,014 |
17.5 |
$13,724,737 |
18.0 |
$18,579,751 |
17.9 |
|
|
|
Sub-total |
$13,790,761 |
49.6 |
$34,610,245 |
45.5 |
$48,401,006 |
46.6 |
|
Non-profit |
|
||||||
|
Australian |
|
$1,547,457 |
5.6 |
$8,516,735 |
11.2 |
$10,064,192 |
9.7 |
|
International |
|
$154,200 |
0.6 |
$1,925,947 |
2.5 |
$2,080,147 |
2.0 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$1,701,657 |
6.1 |
$10,442,682 |
13.7 |
$12,144,339 |
11.7 |
|
Higher Education |
|
||||||
|
International |
|
$18,000 |
0.1 |
$529,993 |
0.7 |
$547,993 |
0.5 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$18,000 |
0.1 |
$529,993 |
0.7 |
$547,993 |
0.5 |
|
Other |
|
||||||
|
Other |
|
$1,797,850 |
6.5 |
$5,813,984 |
7.6 |
$7,611,834 |
7.3 |
|
|
Sub-total |
$1,797,850 |
6.5 |
$5,813,984 |
7.6 |
$7,611,834 |
7.3 |
|
|
Total |
$27,821,317 |
100.0 |
$76,070,360 |
100.0 |
$103,891,677 |
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. There are a total of 340 instances of collaboration with Partner Organisations (including multiple collaborations with a number of organisations) in Linkage Projects 2017 giving an average of 2.58 Partner Organisations involved in each proposal. These partnerships form congruent and/or complementary linkages in Fields of Research (FoR). A summary of the FoR categories identified by applicants of approved proposals and the total Partner Organisation contributions are shown below in Table 6.
Table 6. Proposal data by Field of Research category for Linkage Projects 2017
|
Field of Research category |
Number of proposals approved# |
Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved proposals) |
|
Physical Sciences |
3 |
$2,226,041 |
|
Chemical Sciences |
6 |
$7,557,391 |
|
Earth Sciences |
11 |
$21,638,334 |
|
Environmental Sciences |
12 |
$11,332,647 |
|
Biological Sciences |
8 |
$5,923,318 |
|
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
8 |
$4,754,494 |
|
Information and Computing Sciences |
10 |
$5,186,612 |
|
Engineering |
24 |
$14,861,164 |
|
Technology |
7 |
$5,526,073 |
|
Medical and Health Sciences |
6 |
$4,150,127 |
|
Built Environment and Design |
2 |
$1,046,720 |
|
Economics |
4 |
$1,363,548 |
|
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services |
2 |
$435,101 |
|
Studies in Human Society |
13 |
$9,336,150 |
|
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences |
4 |
$2,665,360 |
|
Law and Legal Studies |
1 |
* |
|
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing |
3 |
$2,430,612 |
|
Language, Communication and Culture |
2 |
$542,902 |
|
History and Archaeology |
6 |
$2,567,654 |
|
Total |
132 |
$103,891,677 |
# Based on the primary FoR
*For confidentiality reasons, total contributions by Partner Organisations are not shown in instances in which FoR codes are associated with one approved proposal only. The Table 6 total does, however, include the total contributions by Partner Organisations on approved Projects associated with those FoR codes.
Age and Gender
A total of 2250 participants were named on all proposals considered in this round. Of these, 629 were female, 1616 were male and five have chosen to not specify their gender).
Figure 1 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 Projectsproposals is 33.4 per cent and 34.3 per cent respectively. A total of 312 of the proposals considered had a male lead CI, of which 105 were successful, representing a 33.7 per cent success rate. A total of 104 of the proposals considered had a female lead CI, of which 27 were successful, representing a 26.0 per cent success rate.
Figure 1. Participation and success rates by age and gender for Linkage Projects 2017
International Collaboration
Figure 2. Instances of international collaboration on approved proposals in Linkage Projects 2017
