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 Unless otherwise specified, data presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.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:
Describe the quality of the candidates’ Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence (ROPE) including evidence of:
Describe the extent to which the project is significant and innovative including:
Describe the research approach and training including:
Describe:
If the project involves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research describe:
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The ARC received a total of 277 applications for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 3), one of which was withdrawn.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)
*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
*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
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
* 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
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)
# 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.