Selection Report: Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021

Overview

The Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme provides funding for research infrastructure, equipment and facilities to Eligible Organisations. It enables researchers to participate in cooperative initiatives so that expensive research infrastructure, equipment and facilities can be shared between higher education organisations and also with industry. The scheme also fosters collaboration through its support of the cooperative use of international or national research facilities.

The objectives of the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme are to:

• support excellent basic and applied research and research training through the acquisition of research equipment and infrastructure and access to national and international research facilities; and
• encourage Eligible Organisations to develop collaborative arrangements with other Eligible Organisations and/or Partner Organisations for the acquisition and use of research equipment and infrastructure or access to national and international facilities;

Selection Process 

Applications for funding commencing in 2021 opened on 29 January 2020, and closed on 29 April 2020. 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 Committee (SAC) which:

• assessed applications and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors
• reviewed applicants’ comments on assessors’ reports
• ranked each application relative to the others on the basis of the application, the assessors’ reports and applicants’ responses to those assessments
• assessed and recommended budgets;

and, advice from the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) Eligibility Committee which:

• considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the members of 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 Unless otherwise specified, data presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.

Assessment Criteria 

All applications that meet the eligibility criteria for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:

a. Investigator(s)/Capability (20%)

Describe the:

• demonstrated record in these activities (for CIs and PIs who will manage the purchase, design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and coordination of access to the proposed research infrastructure); and
• relevance of the research infrastructure to the research capacity and planned activities of each CI and PI on the application and, where relevant, to the research groups represented on the application.

b. Project quality and innovation (25%)

Describe the:

• aims and significance of the research that will be supported by LIEF funding;
• relevance of the proposed research infrastructure to the needs of ARC and other competitively funded research projects/programs;
• importance of equipment for the training of research students;
• enhancement of support for areas of existing and/or emerging research strength; and
• demonstrated national or international focus for large scale cooperative initiatives.

c. Feasibility and strategic alignment (25%)

Describe the:

• extent to which the project represents value for money;
• feasibility of the plan to use the research infrastructure;
• relevance of the research to the strategic priorities of the organisations;
• evidence that each of the organisations is genuinely committed to, and prepared to collaborate in, the project;
• existing or planned strategic research alliances between the higher education organisation(s) and other organisation(s); and
• effectiveness of cooperative arrangements for the management and sharing of the proposed research infrastructure, including arrangements for ongoing operational expenditure where applicable.

d. Benefit (10%)

Describe the:

• benefit of the proposed research infrastructure to the broader research community; and
• where relevant, the extent to which the applicants have identified the freedom to operate in the Intellectual Property and patent landscape to enable future benefits to industry.

e. Sustainability/Need (20%)

Describe the:

• demonstrated needs from the researchers and/or research projects that they will utilise the proposed research infrastructure, including level of demand and likely measurable impact on the research program, including beyond the project activity period;
• availability of and access to similar research infrastructure at organisational, regional, national and/or international level;
• planned rate of use of the proposed research infrastructure, including proposed arrangements for broader access to individuals not named on the application;
• alignment of the planned use with other similar existing infrastructure within Australia and/or internationally; and
• special needs for regional or otherwise remote institutions.

Assessment process 

The ARC assessment process for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 involved 16 SAC members as a part of one multidisciplinary panel and was managed in the RMS. A total of 430 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC.

Funding levels and duration 

The minimum level of funding provided by the ARC under Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 is $150,000 per annum and the maximum level of funding cannot exceed 75 per cent of the total direct cost of the eligible budget item(s). Funding is provided for up to one year; or, up to five years for leasing infrastructure, equipment or facilities, the construction of research infrastructure, or subscription or coordinated access to international facilities and major national facilities

Summary of Outcomes 

The ARC received a total of 139 applications for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities for funding commencing in 2021, one of which was withdrawn.

The overall success rate for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities for funding commencing in 2021 is 34.1 per cent.

Of the unsuccessful applications, five 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 Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications from 2020 and 2021

*May include indicative funds

Outcomes by discipline

A summary of outcomes by discipline is shown in Table 2. 

Table 2. Application numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 applications by discipline 

* BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC – Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences; HCA – Humanities and Creative Arts; MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE – Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

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 Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 applications by Science and Research Priorities

Outcomes by Administering Organisation 

A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 4. 

Table 4. Number of applications and success rates for approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 applications by Administering Organisation

Career age and gender 

Of the 1402 Chief Investigators (CIs) in this round, 329 were female, 1066 were male and seven chose not to specify their gender. The success rate for female and male and unspecified CIs in Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 is 39.6 per cent, 36.4 per cent and 28.6 per cent respectively. 

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not provide gender information (0.5 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD 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 Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 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.

Collaboration with Other Eligible Organisations, Partner Organisations and Other Organisations

Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications are expected to develop collaborative arrangements with Other Eligible Organisations and/or Partner Organisations and Other Organisations. 

A summary of success rates by number of Eligible Organisations is shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 application success rates by number of Eligible Organisations

* An application with only one Eligible Organisation (the Administering Organisation) may or may not include Partner Organisations and/or Other Organisations.  There were no applications with 11 Eligible Organisations. 

A summary of application success rates by number of collaborating organisations is shown in Table 6. 

Table 6. Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 application success rates by number of collaborating organisations

* Collaborating organisations include the Administering Organisation, Other Eligible Organisations, Partner Organisations and Other Organisations. There were no applications with 13, 14 or 16-19 collaborating organisations.

International collaboration 

In the 138 applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 333 instances of collaboration with researchers in 49 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 30 foreshadowed 129 instances of collaboration with researchers in 40 overseas locations (Figure 2).

Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 applications*

*The top 12 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 1 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category.

Leverage of ARC funding  

On Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2021 applications approved for funding, for every dollar funded by the ARC the proposed dollar contribution of the collaborating organisations listed on these applications is $9.43. The leverage of ARC funds for approved applications is shown in Table 7.

Table 7. Leverage of ARC funds for approved applications

Summary of Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications approved for funding 

A summary of the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications approved for funding commencing in 2021, by Administering Organisation is outlined in Table 8. The application titles indicate the variety of equipment, infrastructure and facilities supported in this scheme round.

Table 8. Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities applications approved for funding commencing in 2021