The Discovery Indigenous scheme provides grant funding to support research programs led by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researcher and builds the research capacity of higher degree research and early career researchers.
The objectives of Discovery Indigenous are to:
Applications for funding commencing in 2021 opened on 27 November 2019 and closed on 18 March 2020. Applications were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the ARC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to the Minister.
These recommendations are based on advice from the ARC Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) which:
and, advice from the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) Eligibility Committee which:
This report reflects the funding recommendations to the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, data represented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.
All applications that meet the eligibility criteria for the Discovery Indigenous 2021 applications were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:
Investigator(s)/Capability (35%)
Describe:
Project quality and innovation (40%)
Describe the:
Benefit (15%)
Describe the potential benefits including the:
Feasibility (10%)
If the project involves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research describe:
The ARC assessment process for Discovery Indigenous 2021 involved 10 College of Experts members as part of one multidisciplinary panel and was managed in RMS. A total of 149 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC.
Funding of between $30,000 and $500,000 per annum for up to five years may be awarded for each Discovery Indigenous application, including, annual salary contributions for Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA) recipients of $104,316 to $220,907 (including 30 per cent on-costs).
The ARC received a total of 24 applications for Discovery Indigenous for funding commencing in 2021, of which no applications were withdrawn. All applications met eligibility requirements.
Nine of the Discovery Indigenous for funding commencing in 2021 applications are approved for funding, as shown Table 1. The overall success rate for Discovery Indigenous for funding commencing in 2021 is 37.5 per cent.
A comparison of success rates and funding amounts is shown in Table 1.
Funding year
Applications considered
Applications approved
Success rate (%)
Requested funds over project life for all applications considered ($)
Requested funds over project life for approved applications ($)
Funds allocated over project life for approved applications ($)
Return rate for approved applications (%)
2020
29
7
24.1
$31,760,462
$7,506,005
$4,688,884
62.5
2021
24
9
37.5
$24,793,664
$10,408,491
$7,121,756
68.4
Of the 24 applications considered this round, there was funding requested for ten DAATSIAs at one of five salary levels. The overall success rate for Discovery Indigenous DAATSIA requests in 2021 is 30 per cent and is shown in Table 2.
DAATSIA Salary Level
Number of DAATSIAs considered
Number of DAATSIAs approved
Salary Level 1
3
0
Salary Level 2
1
Salary Level 3
33.3
Salary Level 4
Salary Level 5
2
66.7
Total
10
30
A summary of outcomes by discipline panel is shown in Table 3.
Discipline *
Funds over project life for approved applications ($)
Return Rate for approved applications (%)
BSB
100
$2,322,229
$1,565,000
67.4
EIC
4
25
$5,392,142
$2,487,482
$1,776,000
71.4
HCA
28.6
$4,968,878
$1,708,629
$1,235,027
72.3
MPCE
$454,044
SBE
11
36.4
$11,656,371
$3,436,107
$2,091,685
60.9
* BSB – Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EIC – Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences, MPCE – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE – Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences; HCA – Humanities and Creative Arts
A summary of outcomes by Science and Research Priorities is shown in Table 4.
Science and Research Priorities
Approved funds over project life ($)
Advanced manufacturing
Cybersecurity
Energy
Environmental change
Food
Health
$2,246,712
Resources
Soil and water
Transport
Unspecified
$2,856,000
Total within Science and Research Priorities
14
6
42.9
$4,265,756
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)
58.3
59.9
A summary of outcomes by Administering Organisation is shown in Table 5.
Administering Organisation
New South Wales
$757,685
Australian Catholic University
Macquarie University
The University of New South Wales
The University of Newcastle
University of Technology Sydney
Northern Territory
Charles Darwin University
Queensland
57.1
$4,911,000
Griffith University
50
$820,000
James Cook University
Queensland University of Technology
The University of Queensland
$4,091,000
South Australia
Flinders University
The University of Adelaide
Tasmania
$415,027
University of Tasmania
Victoria
La Trobe University
Monash University
The University of Melbourne
Western Australia
$584,000
Murdoch University
The University of Western Australia
Of the 91 Chief Investigators (CIs), including ten DAATSIA candidates, considered in this round, 54 were female, 36 were male and one chose not to specify their gender. The success rate for female, male and unspecified CIs in this round is 59.3 per cent, 39.6 per cent and 100 per cent respectively.
Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Discovery Indigenous 2021 round are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not provide gender information (1.1 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD or who do not hold a PhD (5.5 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.
* Career age is calculated as years since PhD
Gender of DAATSIA candidate
No of DAATSIAs considered
No of DAATSIAs approved
Female
Male
In the 24 applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 36 instances of collaboration with researchers in 14 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, six foreshadowed 15 instances of collaboration with researchers in seven overseas locations (Figure 2).
* The international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 2.