Overview The Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme provides funding for early career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions. It supports research in areas of critical national importance by enabling outstanding Australian and international early career researchers to conduct their research in Australia. The objectives of Discovery Early Career Researcher Award scheme are to: support excellent basic and applied research by early career researchers advance promising early career researchers and promote enhanced opportunities for diverse career pathways enable research and research training in high quality and supportive environments expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability; and enhance the scale and focus of research in the Australian Government’s Science and Research Priorities. Selection Process Applications for funding commencing in 2020 opened on 15 October 2018, and closed on 13 March 2019. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines the outcomes from the selection process for that round. Funding recommendations have been prepared for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The outcomes are based on advice from the ARC Selection Advisory Committee which: assigned independent assessors to review the applications assessed applications and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors reviewed candidates’ comments on assessors’ reports ranked each application relative to the others on the basis of the application, the assessors’ reports and candidates’ responses to those assessments assessed and recommended budgets and, advice from ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) Eligibility Committee which: considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the ARC College of Experts or independent assessors where required, sought advice from the ARC’s Medical Research Advisory Group made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible applications. This report reflects the outcomes approved by the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications. Assessment Criteria Assessment criteria and corresponding weightings for Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 applications are: DECRA Candidate (40%) Project Quality and Innovation (35%) Feasibility (10%) Benefit and Collaboration (15%) The ARC assessment process for Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 used 82 ARC Selection Advisory Committee members across five discipline panels and was managed in RMS. A total of 4313 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC. Funding levels and duration Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards are funded for three consecutive years on a full-time basis. The annual salary contribution that may be awarded is fixed at $102,372 (2018$), including 30 per cent on-costs. In addition, the ARC may provide up to $40,000 in project costs per annum. Summary of Outcomes The ARC received a total of 1251 applications for Discovery Early Career Researcher Award for funding commencing in 2020, of which three applications were withdrawn. This represents an increase from the 1165 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award applications received for funding commencing in 2019. Of the unsuccessful applications, 19 did not meet eligibility requirements. The overall success rate for Discovery Early Career Researcher Award for funding commencing in 2020 is 16.0 per cent, with a higher allocation of requested funds compared to funding that commenced in 2019. A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1. Table 1. Comparison of application numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Early Career Researcher Award applications from 2019 to 2020 Funding year Applications considered Applications approved Success rate (%) Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($) Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($) Funds allocated over project life for approved applications ($) Return rate for approved applications (%) 2019 1162 200 17.2 $464,976,543 $80,100,931 $76,912,659 96.0 2020 1248 200 16.0 $507,777,318 $81,972,769 $81,838,415 99.8 Outcomes by discipline A summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 2. Table 2. Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 applications by discipline Discipline † Applications considered Applications approved Success rate (%) Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($) Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($) Funds over project life for approved applications ($) ReturnRate for approved applications (%) BSB 235 39 16.6 $97,708,025 $16,263,705 $16,202,828 99.6 EIC 322 49 15.2 $131,742,686 $20,229,882 $20,229,882 100.0 HCA 181 29 16.0 $72,485,299 $11,732,812 $11,732,812 100.0 MPCE 252 41 16.3 $100,978,426 $16,581,802 $16,572,365 99.9 SBE 258 42 16.3 $104,862,882 $17,164,568 $17,100,528 99.6 Total 1248 200 16.0 $507,777,318 $81,972,769 $81,838,415 99.8 † BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC – Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences, MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE – Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; HCA – Humanities and Creative Arts Outcomes by Science and Research Priorities A summary of outcomes by Science and Research Priorities is shown in Table 3. Table 3. Approved funding and success rate for Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 applications by Science and Research Priorities Science and Research Priorities Applications considered Applications approved Successrate (%) Approved funds over project life ($) Advanced manufacturing 172 28 16.3 $11,568,736 Cybersecurity 46 8 17.4 $3,261,910 Energy 84 14 16.7 $5,810,616 Environmental change 147 28 19.0 $11,527,009 Food 42 6 14.3 $2,495,684 Health 163 27 16.6 $11,113,867 Resources 33 3 9.1 $1,257,134 Soil and water 32 4 12.5 $1,646,744 Transport 34 5 14.7 $2,079,025 Unspecified 495 77 15.6 $31,077,690 Total 1248 200 16.0 $81,838,415 Total within Science and Research Priorities 753 123 16.3 $50,760,725 Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%) 60.3 61.5 62.0 Outcomes by Administering Organisation A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 4. Table 4. Numbers of applications and success rates for approved Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 applications by Administering Organisation Administering Organisation Applications Considered Applications approved Success rate (%) Funds over project life for approved applications ($) Australian Capital Territory 105 18 17.1 $7,353,123 The Australian National University 97 15 15.5 $6,109,099 University of Canberra 8 3 37.5 $1,244,024 New South Wales 391 65 16.6 $26,284,129 Australian Catholic University 7 2 28.6 $793,029 Charles Sturt University 3 0 0.0 $0 Macquarie University 40 6 15.0 $2,327,531 Southern Cross University 5 0 0.0 $0 The University of New England 9 4 44.4 $1,554,513 The University of New South Wales 101 15 14.9 $5,979,217 The University of Newcastle 19 3 15.8 $1,222,313 The University of Sydney 114 19 16.7 $7,841,845 University of Technology Sydney 42 9 21.4 $3,711,324 University of Wollongong 40 6 15.0 $2,438,941 Western Sydney University 11 1 9.1 $415,416 Northern Territory 3 0 0.0 $0 Charles Darwin University 3 0 0.0 $0 Queensland 220 37 16.8 $15,213,954 Bond University 2 0 0.0 $0 Central Queensland University 2 0 0.0 $0 Griffith University 30 5 16.7 $2,119,175 James Cook University 10 1 10.0 $416,000 Queensland University of Technology 35 8 22.9 $3,334,132 The University of Queensland 129 19 14.7 $7,705,485 University of Southern Queensland 7 3 42.9 $1,219,122 University of the Sunshine Coast 5 1 20.0 $420,040 South Australia 62 8 12.9 $3,283,083 Flinders University 13 2 15.4 $810,412 The University of Adelaide 38 5 13.2 $2,054,273 University of South Australia 11 1 9.1 $418,398 Tasmania 25 6 24.0 $2,483,499 University of Tasmania 25 6 24.0 $2,483,499 Victoria 371 61 16.4 $25,173,816 Deakin University 22 1 4.5 $421,979 Federation University Australia 3 0 0.0 $0 La Trobe University 15 5 33.3 $2,072,118 Monash University 138 22 15.9 $8,909,882 RMIT University 28 8 28.6 $3,334,292 Swinburne University of Technology 25 3 12.0 $1,253,276 The University of Melbourne 139 22 15.8 $9,182,269 Victoria University 1 0 0.0 $0 Western Australia 71 5 7.0 $2,046,811 Curtin University 9 0 0.0 $0 Edith Cowan University 3 0 0.0 $0 Murdoch University 1 0 0.0 $0 The University of Notre Dame Australia 1 0 0.0 $0 The University of Western Australia. 57 5 8.8 $2,046,811 Total 1248 200 16.0 $81,838,415 Career age and gender Of the 1248 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award candidates in this round, 500 were female, 746 were male and two were unspecified. The success rate for female, male and unspecified Discovery Early Career Researcher Award candidates in this round is 16.4 per cent, 15.8 per cent and 0.0 per cent respectively. Success rates of Discovery Early Career Researcher Award candidates by career age and gender in the current Discovery Early Career Researcher Award round are presented in Figure 1. Discovery Early Career Researcher Award candidates who did not provide gender information (0.16%) are not represented in the figure below. At the closing time of submission of applications, of the 1248 candidates, 1035 were within five years of the award of their PhD and 213 candidates were beyond five years of the award of their PhD. To be eligible to apply for a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, the latter group of researchers had their significant career interruptions certified by their Administering Organisation. Of the approved Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards, 160 candidates were within five years of the award of their PhD and 40 candidates were beyond five years of the award of their PhD. Figure 1. Participation and success rate of candidates in Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 by gender and career age*^ * Career age is calculated as years since PhD based on the relevant qualification as selected in the application. ^ Calculated career age does not take career interruptions into consideration. Attracting and retaining outstanding researchers Applications were open to Eligible Organisations to nominate candidates who are promising early career researchers, resident either within Australia or overseas. A summary of outcomes by citizenship/residency status is shown in Table 5. Table 5. Citizenship/residency status of Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 candidates and approved Awardees Citizenship/residency status Applications considered Applications considered (%) Applications approved Success rate (%) Foreign Nationals 367 29.4 60 16.3 Resident Australians 795 63.7 121 15.2 Returning Australians 86 6.9 19 22.1 Total 1248 100 200 16.0 International Collaboration Among 1248 of the applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 2329 instances of collaboration with researchers in 103 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 171 foreshadowed 406 instances of collaboration with researchers in 56 overseas locations (Figure 2). Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2020 applications* *The top 12 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 2 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category