Selection Report: Supporting Responses to Commonwealth Science Council Priorities for Funding Commencing in 2018

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Overview

The objective of Supporting Responses to Commonwealth Science Council Priorities is to support the development of Australian research in priority areas as set by the Commonwealth Science Council. It aims to provide the Learned Academies and the Australian Council of Learned Academies with the flexibility to achieve that objective in leveraging existing funding provided by non-ARC sources. 

The 2017 round of Supporting Responses to Commonwealth Science Council Priorities scheme (CS17) will address the following Commonwealth Science Council approved horizon scanning topics:

• Internet of Things
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Next Generation Agriculture

Selection Process

Proposals for funding commencing in 2018 opened on 12 December 2017 and closed on 23 January 2018. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for that round.

The proposals were assessed by a Selection Advisory Committee comprising the four ARC Executive Directors. The ARC has prepared recommendations for submission to the ARC Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The recommendations were based on advice from the Selection Advisory Committee which:

• assessed proposals and ranked proposals relative to other proposals
• assessed and recommended budgets.

This report reflects the approved recommendations by the Minister.

Selection Criteria

Assessment of proposals for Commonwealth Science Council Priorities was based on the following criteria:

The potential for the research to contribute to issues of national significance as identified in the Commonwealth Science Council’s areas of priority	50%
The merit of the Proposal in relation to its goals and potential outcomes iconceptual framework, design, methods and analyses; and	35%
The extent to which the Proposal may be expected to have results of broad benefit.	15%

Funding Levels and Duration

The minimum level of funding provided by the ARC under Supporting Responses to Commonwealth Science Council Priorities is $50,000 and the maximum is $400,000 per project. Funding is provided for up to one year.

Summary of Outcomes

The ARC received a total of two Supporting Responses to Commonwealth Science Council Priorities in the 2017 submission round. The overall success rate for CS17 is 100 per cent.

Total requested funding over the financial year 2018–19 for all approved proposals received was $557,255. Total approved funding is $417,941 equating to 75 per cent of the total funding requested for approved proposals, as shown in Table 1.

 

Table 1. Numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for recommended CS17 proposals

Funding year	Proposals considered	Proposals recommended	Success rate	Requested funds over project life (all proposals)	Requested funds over project life (recommended proposals)	Funds allocated over project life	Allocation as a percentage of request
2018	2	2	100%	$557,255	$557,255	$417,941	75%

 

Outcomes by Commonwealth Science Council Priorities

Table 2. Recommended funding and success rate for CS17 proposals by Commonwealth Science Council Priorities 

Commonwealth Science Council Priorities	Proposals considered	Proposals recommended	Success  rate (%)	Recommended funds (over project life)
Internet of Things	1	1	100%	$208,595
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning	1	1	100%	$209,346
Total	2	2	100%	$417,941

 

Selection Outcomes by Organisation

The number of proposals considered and recommended, and funding requested and approved, by administering organisation are shown in Table 3.

 

Table 3: Number of proposals and percentage funded, by administering organisation

Administering Organisation	Proposals considered	Proposals recommended	Funding requested (all proposals)	Funding recommended over project life (approved proposals)	Recommended funding as a percentage of requested funding
Australian Council of Learned Academies	2	2	$557,255	$417,941	75%
Total	2	2	$557,255	$417,941	75%

 

Scheme Budget by Financial Year

The allocations from the Supporting Responses to Commonwealth Science Council Priorities budget approved for commencement in 2018 are shown in Table 4 below.

 

Table 4: Approved allocations by financial year

	2018–19	Total
Total	$417,941	$417,941