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The Linkage Projects scheme supports projects which initiate or develop long term strategic research alliances to apply advanced knowledge to problems, acquire new knowledge and as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research.
The objectives of the Linkage Projects scheme are to:
Applications for Linkage Projects 2020 Assessment Round 3 opened on 13 August 2020 and closed on 17 December 2020. Applications were submitted using a continuous application process, this is the third and final of the three assessment rounds for this scheme. 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 outcomes are based on advice from the ARC Selection Advisory Committees (SAC) which:
and, advice from the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) Eligibility Committee which:
This report reflects the outcomes approved by the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, data presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.
All applications that meet the eligibility criteria for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:
Investigator(s)/Capability (25%)
Describe the quality of the candidates’ Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence (ROPE) including evidence of:
Project quality and innovation (25%)
Describe the extent to which the project is significant and innovative including:
Describe the research approach and training including:
Feasibility and commitment (20%)
Describe:
If the project involves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research describe:
Benefit (30%)
The ARC assessment process for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) involved 17 SAC members as part of one multidisciplinary panel and was managed in RMS. A total of 1040 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC.
Funding of between $50,000 and $300,000 per annum for up to five years may be awarded for each Linkage Projects application.
The ARC received a total of 277 applications for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3), one of which was withdrawn.
The overall success rate for Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2020 (Round 3) is 24.3 per cent.
Of the unsuccessful applications, 12 were found to not meet eligibility requirements.
A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Projects applications from 2019 and 2020 (Rounds 1, 2 and 3)
Scheme Round
Applications considered
Applications approved
Success rate (%)
Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)
Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)
Funds allocated over project life for approved applications* ($)
Return rate for approved applications (%)
2019
432
175
40.5
$217,620,359
$92,200,635
$78,187,269
84.8
2020 (Round 1)
180
61
33.9
$87,268,182
$30,685,046
$26,881,001
87.6
2020 (Round 2)
259
67
25.9
$138,269,232
$36,054,450
$30,666,575
85.1
2020 (Round 3)
276
24.3
$140,742,080
$36,563,401
$31,724,738
86.8
*May include indicative funds
A summary of outcome by discipline is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) applications by discipline
Discipline*
Funds over project life for approved applications ($)
Return Rate for approved applications (%)
BEM
51
6
11.8
$31,013,568
$3,814,140
$2,913,126
76.4
ET
80
24
30.0
$40,604,815
$12,997,016
$11,016,371
HSE
87
26
29.9
$38,245,744
$12,955,923
$11,957,409
92.3
PMI
58
11
19.0
$30,877,953
$6,796,322
$5,837,832
85.9
Total
*BEM = Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Environmental, Medical and Health Sciences; ET = Engineering and Technology; HSE = Humanities and Creative Arts, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; PMI = Physical, Mathematical and Information Sciences
A summary of outcomes by Science and Research Priorities is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Approved funding and success rate for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) applications by Science and Research Priorities
Science and Research Priorities
Approved funds over project life ($)
Advanced Manufacturing
63
16
25.4
$7,068,103
Cybersecurity
12
0
-
Energy
21
8
38.1
$4,146,851
Environmental Change
32
34.4
$4,797,235
Food
17
5
29.4
$2,985,837
Health
28
17.9
$2,397,057
Resources
41.7
$2,172,841
Soil and Water
Transport
4
36.4
$2,054,562
None selected
68
13
19.1
$6,102,252
Total Applications
Total Applications within Science and Research Priorities
208
54
26.0
$25,622,486
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)
75.4
80.6
80.8
Of the 276 applications considered, 67 were approved with a total approved funding, of $31.7 million over the life of these projects. There are 172 unique Partner Organisations involved with these projects and they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $52.0 million. This represents $1.64 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.
A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Numbers of applications, success rates, ARC approved funding and Partner Organisation contributions for approved Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) applications by Administering Organisation
Administering Organisation
ARC approved funding over project life (approved applications)
Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)
Australian Capital Territory
3
27.3
$1,496,974
$2,301,119
The Australian National University
9
2
22.2
$1,152,272
$1,895,288
University of Canberra
1
50.0
$344,702
*
New South Wales
18
22.5
$8,579,452
$14,038,460
Australian Catholic University
Macquarie University
23.1
$1,441,809
$2,328,070
Southern Cross University
The University of New South Wales
23
26.1
$3,193,626
$4,750,863
The University of Newcastle
The University of Sydney
$1,438,118
$3,135,208
University of Technology Sydney
16.7
$970,408
$1,619,254
University of Wollongong
12.5
$418,601
Western Sydney University
75.0
$1,116,890
$1,593,065
Northern Territory
Charles Darwin University
Queensland
50
24.0
$4,941,698
$6,767,243
Griffith University
20.0
$384,924
Queensland University of Technology
15
13.3
$843,854
$1,105,993
The University of Queensland
29
27.6
$3,284,379
$4,810,270
The University of Southern Queensland
100.0
$428,541
South Australia
20
40.0
$3,952,172
$6,523,278
Flinders University
$1,218,653
$1,635,000
The University of Adelaide
10
$1,965,291
$3,741,576
University of South Australia
$768,228
$1,146,702
Tasmania
33.3
$242,783
University of Tasmania
Victoria
94
22.3
$10,202,727
$15,240,633
Deakin University
$925,256
$1,462,375
Federation University Australia
La Trobe University
$561,297
Monash University
25.0
$1,960,023
$2,988,855
RMIT University
6.7
$338,595
Swinburne University of Technology
62.5
$2,630,426
$3,343,611
The University of Melbourne
36
7
19.4
$3,787,130
$6,089,933
Victoria University
Western Australia
$2,308,932
$6,886,941
Curtin University
$396,000
Edith Cowan University
Murdoch University
The University of Western Australia
$1,912,932
$6,353,174
$52,018,787
* For confidentiality reasons, total contributions by Partner Organisations are not shown in instances in which Administering Organisations are associated with one approved application 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 2020 (Round 3) applications approved for funding are shown below in Table 5.
Table 5. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) applications
Type
Cash
In-Kind
$
%
Government
Australian Federal
$375,000
2.4
$1,372,426
3.8
$1,747,426
3.4
Australian state, territory and local
$696,000
4.4
$4,887,289
13.4
$5,583,289
10.7
Sub-total
$1,071,000
6.8
$6,259,715
17.2
$7,330,715
14.1
Industry Body
Australian
$11,176,546
71.4
$16,989,433
46.7
$28,165,979
54.1
International
$2,161,801
13.8
$3,745,736
10.3
$5,907,537
11.4
$13,338,347
85.2
$20,735,169
57.0
$34,073,516
65.5
Non-profit
$891,147
5.7
$6,707,094
18.4
$7,598,241
14.6
$130,000
0.8
$208,000
0.6
$338,000
$1,021,147
6.5
$6,915,094
$7,936,241
15.3
Higher Education
$0
0.0
$537,051
1.5
1.0
Other
$222,000
1.4
$1,919,264
5.3
$2,141,264
4.1
$15,652,494
100
$36,366,293
Note: All percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum to 100%.
Linkage Projects applications represent partnerships between researchers, higher education organisations and other organisations, as well as collaborations between Partner Organisations within projects. There are a total of 174 instances of collaboration with Partner Organisations (including multiple collaborations with a number of organisations) in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) giving an average of 2.60 Partner Organisations involved in each application. These partnerships form congruent and/or complementary linkages in Fields of Research (FoR). A summary of the FoR categories identified by applicants of approved applications and the total Partner Organisation contributions are shown below in Table 6.
Table 6. Application data by Field of Research category for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3)
Field of Research category
Number of applications approved#
Physical Sciences
$2,257,617
Chemical Sciences
$3,851,546
Earth Sciences
Environmental Sciences
$1,505,770
Biological Sciences
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
$2,271,345
Information and Computing Sciences
$2,241,490
Engineering
19
$14,181,500
Technology
$3,664,077
Built Environment and Design
$788,000
Education
$1,542,320
Economics
$1,893,888
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
$3,083,293
Studies in Human Society
$2,486,288
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
$1,505,959
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing
$672,061
Language, Communication and Culture
$3,086,860
History and Archaeology
$5,738,195
# 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 application only. The Table 6 total does, however, include the total contributions by Partner Organisations on approved Projects associated with those FoR codes.
Of the 987 Chief Investigators (CIs) in this round, 352 were female, 631 were male and 4 chose not to specify their gender. The success rate for female, male and unspecified CIs in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) is 27.0 per cent, 24.2 and 50.0 per cent respectively.
Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not provide gender information (0.4 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD (or equivalent) or who do not hold a PhD (1.1 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.
Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Chief Investigators (CIs) in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) by gender and career age*
*Career age is calculated as years since PhD (or equivalent). The earliest PhD award date was used where there was more than one PhD.
In the 276 applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 221 instances of collaboration with researchers in 44 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 36 foreshadowed 56 instances of collaboration with researchers in 23 overseas locations (Figure 2).
Figure 2. International collaborations by location on approved Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3) applications*
*The top 11 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 2 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category.