Request Not to Assess

The ARC relies on impartial and independent peer review in the assessments of applications. Individuals applying for ARC funding have the opportunity to nominate persons whom they do not wish to assess an application by completing and submitting a Request Not to Assess to the ARC through their Research Office in the ARC's Research Management System (RMS). The ARC discourages such requests to exclude assessors, as it limits the pool of available assessors for an application; however the ARC recognises that there are situations in which some assessors should be excluded.

How do I prepare a Request Not to Assess?

Before submitting a Request Not to Assess applicants should familiarise themselves with the ARC Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy and the handling of individual Conflicts of Interest page.

• Only one request per application may be submitted. 
• Up to three individuals only per application can be nominated without the need for further information unless the Request Not to Assess names a current ARC College of Experts member (the Request Not to Assess form in RMS will not validate if more than three names per application are entered). 
• If the Request Not to Assess includes a current ARC College of Experts member(s) (as listed on the ARC website and in RMS at the time of submitting the request), the request must be accompanied by comprehensive evidence justifying this request. If the ARC considers the evidence is not sufficient for the named ARC College of Experts member/s to be excluded from assessment of the application, the ARC may reject the request.

Please note: Appropriate justification and substantive evidence must be provided where justified. Justifications based on unsubstantiated rumours, apparent speculation and other arguments devoid of hard evidence will not be accepted.

How do I submit a Request Not to Assess?

• All Request Not to Assess forms must be submitted in RMS through the Administering Organisation's Research Office by the date and time specified for the relevant scheme on the ARC Grants Calendar page.
• The ARC will only consider requests for named persons and will only use the information provided on the Request Not to Assess form in RMS. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the information provided on the form is correct, including spelling and variants of the name. The ARC will not uphold requests to exclude institutions, departments or units. 

Further Information

Instructions on how to use RMS to submit a Request Not to Assess for an application is available for each Grant Opportunity located on GrantConnect and below.

Submitting a Request Not to Assess in RMS – PDF Format (618KB) – Word Format(785KB)