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About ARC
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ARC Profile
Contents
- About the ARC
- The ARC Team
- National Competitive Grants Program
- National Research Priorities
- Discovery
- Linkage
- ARC Research Centres
- Special Research Initiatives
- Research Excellence
About The ARC
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a statutory agency within the Australian Government's Industry, Innovation, Science Research and Tertiary Education (IISRTE) portfolio. The ARC advises the Government on research matters and manages the National Competitive Grants Program, a significant component of Australia's investment in research and development. Through the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative the ARC is also tasked with identifying excellence in research, by comparing Australia's university research effort against international benchmarks, creating incentives to improve the quality of research and identifying emerging research areas and opportunities for further development.
The ARC's mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.
In seeking to achieve its mission, the ARC supports the highest-quality fundamental and applied research and research training through national competition across all disciplines, with the exception of clinical medicine and dentistry. In addition, the ARC encourages partnerships between researchers and industry, government, community organisations and the international community.
The outcomes of ARC-funded research deliver cultural, economic, social and environmental benefits to all Australians.
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The ARC Team
The people of the ARC are a mix of academics, including a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and three professor-level Executive Directors (EDs) with strong research backgrounds, and about 100 career public servants.
The ARC's academic EDs are contracted, usually for between three and five years, to:
- oversee the assessment of funding proposals through a peer review process
- integrate the views of external reviewers with the views of selection advisory or ARC College committees
- liaise and communicate with the research community and users of research
- identify emerging disciplinary and cross-disciplinary developments and innovative approaches to research
- conduct forums and reviews of the state of Australian research in an international context.
The EDs are among the most respected researchers in their fields and have extensive Australian and international research networks with whom they interact. They are well placed to assist researchers and research users to understand the Government's research objectives.
They are also able to provide high-quality advice to Government, through the ARC, to help ensure that its approaches to research are aligned with the realities of the research environment and can respond flexibly to changes in those conditions.
The ARC College supports the advancement of knowledge and contributes to national innovation through its role in assessing and ranking funding proposals, making funding recommendations, and providing strategic advice on emerging disciplines and cross-disciplinary developments.
The ARC College members are drawn from a multitude of disciplines in the Australian research community — from higher education, industry and public sector research organisations. They are drawn together flexibly to form groupings of expertise to meet particular needs at different times. Members of the ARC College are appointed for periods of between one and three years.
The ARC College is supported by thousands of well credentialed Australian and international referees whose expert reviews underpin the peer review processes conducted by the ARC.
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National Competitive Grants Program
The ARC funds research and researchers under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). As part of its commitment to nurturing the creative abilities and skills of Australia’s most promising researchers, the NCGP provides:
- support for the highest-quality research leading to the discovery of new ideas and the advancement of knowledge
- financial assistance towards facilities and equipment that researchers need to be internationally competitive
- support for the training and skills development of the next generation of researchers
- incentives for Australia’s most talented researchers to work in partnership with leading researchers throughout the national innovation system and internationally, and to form alliances with Australian industry.
The NCGP comprises two main elements - Discovery and Linkage - under which the ARC funds a range of complementary schemes to support researchers at different stages of their careers, build Australia's research capability, expand and enhance research networks and collaborations, and develop centres of research excellence.
Administration of the NCGP is usually scheme-based and across the following inter-disciplinary groupings:
- Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
- Engineering, Mathematics and Informatics
- Humanities and Creative Arts
- Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
- Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences.
Funding recommendations are made to the Minister responsible for research by the CEO following independent and extensive competitive peer review by Australian and international experts.
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National Research Priorities
ARC funding schemes aim to support research and research training in the Australian Government's four National Research Priority areas of:
- an environmentally sustainable Australia
- promoting and maintaining good health
- frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries
- safeguarding Australia.
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Discovery
The ARC's Discovery schemes recognise the importance of fundamental research to the national innovation system. The national innovation system includes the people (for example, in government, higher education and business), processes and relationships involved in 'new' knowledge in a knowledge-based economy.
A strong capability in fundamental research (sometimes called discovery, basic or blue sky research) will result in the development of new ideas, the creation of jobs, economic growth and an enhanced quality of life in Australia.
The objectives of Discovery are to:
- support excellent fundamental research by individuals and teams
- enhance the scale and focus of research in the National Research Priorities
- assist researchers to undertake their research in conditions most conducive to achieving best results
- expand Australia's knowledge base and research capability
- foster the international competitiveness of Australian research
- encourage research training in high-quality research environments
- enhance international collaboration in research
The ARC's main Discovery schemes are: Discovery Projects, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, Future Fellowships, Australian Laureate Fellowships and Discovery Indigenous.
Discovery Projects
The Discovery Projects scheme provides funding for research projects that can be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.
Under the Discovery Projects scheme, Discovery Outstanding Researcher Awards (DORA) are available for researchers of exceptional promise to undertake research in Australia of national and international significance.
Proposals for funding under the Discovery Projects scheme are processed once a year.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)
The DECRA scheme was introduced to provide more focused support for researchers and create more opportunities for early-career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions.
The objectives of the DECRA scheme are to:
- support and advance promising early career researchers;
- promote enhanced opportunities for diverse career pathways;
- focus research effort in the National Research Priority areas to improve research capacity and policy outcomes; and
- enable research and research training in high quality and supportive environments.
Researchers may be eligible to apply if they have been awarded a PhD within five years or, commensurate with a period of significant career interruption, have been awarded a PhD within eight years of the closing time of submission of Proposals. Please refer to the relevant Funding Rules for this scheme for eligible periods and types of career interruptions.
Australian Laureate Fellowships
The Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme reflects the ARC’s commitment to support excellence in research by attracting world-class researchers and research leaders to key positions, and creating new rewards and incentives for the application of their talents in Australia.
Open to applications from outstanding researchers of international repute, the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme particularly encourages proposals involving Australian and non-Australian researchers currently working overseas by providing eligible Australian Laureate Fellows with Project Funding in addition to a salary supplement and salary-related (on-cost) support.
Future Fellowships
The Future Fellowships scheme was introduced to promote research in areas of critical national importance by giving outstanding researchers incentives to conduct their research in Australia. The aim of Future Fellowships is to attract and retain the best and brightest mid-career researchers.
Future Fellowships will encourage proposals from researchers working in areas of national priority. Preference will be given to those researchers who can demonstrate a capacity to build collaboration across industry and/or research institutions and/or with other disciplines.
Although international experience is important for Australian researchers, it is also important they have the opportunity to return home to continue their work. The Future Fellowships scheme aims to encourage outstanding Australian researchers currently based overseas to return to Australia.
Discovery Indigenous
The Discovery Indigenous scheme provides funding to Eligible Organisations to support research programs led by an Indigenous Australian researcher and build research capacity of higher degree research and early career researchers.
Discovery Indigenous for funding commencing in 2012 includes the new Discovery Indigenous Award (DIA), available to Chief Investigators who are Indigenous Australian Researchers.
The objectives of the Discovery Indigenous scheme are to:
- develop the research expertise of Indigenous Australian researchers;
- support fundamental research and research training by Indigenous Australian researchers as individuals and as teams;
- support and retain established Indigenous Australian researchers in Australian higher education institutions; and
- expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability.
Applications for funding under the Discovery Indigenous scheme are processed once a year.
The Discovery Indigenous scheme was previously named the Discovery Indigenous Researcher Development scheme.
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Linkage
The ARC's Linkage funding schemes aim to encourage and extend cooperative approaches to research and improve the use of research outcomes by strengthening links within Australia’s innovation system and with innovation systems internationally.
Linkage promotes national and international research partnerships between researchers and business, industry, community organisations and other publicly funded research agencies.
By supporting the development of partnerships, the ARC encourages the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research.
The main Linkage schemes are: Linkage Projects; Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities; ARC Research Centres; and Special Research Initiatives.
Linkage Projects
The Linkage Projects scheme supports research and development (R&D) projects which are collaborative between higher education researchers and other parts of the national innovation system, which are undertaken to acquire new knowledge, and which involve risk or innovation.
Proposals for funding under the Linkage Projects scheme must include at least one Australian Partner Organisation. The Partner Organisation must make a significant contribution in cash and/or in kind, to the project that is equal to, or greater than, the ARC funding.Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
The Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme fosters collaboration through its support of the cooperative use of national and international research facilities.
Essentially, the scheme provides funding for large-scale cooperative initiatives so that expensive infrastructure, equipment and facilities can be shared by researchers in partnered organisations. However, the ARC may fund single-organisation proposals in some circumstances.
Under the scheme, applicants may seek funding for:
- infrastructure, equipment and facility purchases, construction and installation
- major computing/data facilities, animal houses, herbaria and experimental farms
- salaries directly associated with creating and installing infrastructure, equipment or facilities
- consortium membership costs, travel to the facility and secretariat costs in the case of Australia's participation in the use of significant international-scale research facilities
- library and research information infrastructure.
Applications for funding under the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme are processed once a year.
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ARC Research Centres
ARC-funded research centres support large teams to undertake focused and sustained investigations into, and find solutions to, challenging and important problems. The funding enables groups of first-class researchers to come together to work on a problem and to leverage additional research funding from other sources.
ARC Centres of Excellence
ARC Centres of Excellence are prestigious foci of expertise through which high-quality researchers maintain and develop Australia’s international standing in research areas of national priority. Through ARC Centres of Excellence, a high level of collaboration occurs between universities and other organisations in Australia and overseas.
Applications for funding of ARC Centres of Excellence are invited periodically.
Co-funded Centres
There are currently four Co-funded Centres:
- the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, with the Grains Research and Development Corporation
- the Australian Stem Cell Centre, with the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
- National ICT Australia, also called NICTA, with the Department of Broadband Communications, Information and the Digital Economy
- National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, with the National Water Commission.
Applications for funding of Co-funded Centres are invited periodically.
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Special Research Initiatives
The ARC takes a proactive approach, in consultation with research organisations, professional associations and peak higher education bodies, to identifying new or emerging areas of research and providing funding for them under the Special Research Initiatives scheme. Specifically, funding is provided under the scheme to support:
- cooperative activities among researchers
- cooperative development of national and international linkages
- cooperative development of innovative research areas
- rapid response to unforeseen opportunities, such as conducting field-work at an erupting volcano
- activities aimed at building the scale and focus of research and research training
- other activities the ARC judges to be consistent with the scheme's objectives.
Activities funded under this scheme may include, but are not restricted to, one-off conferences, workshops and seminars.
Funding may also be used to develop networks and initiate collaborations that would be unlikely otherwise to occur and, where appropriate, disseminate the outcomes of the collaborative activities funded under the scheme.
Applications for Special Research Initiatives funding are by means of occasional calls for proposals.
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Excellence in Research for Australia initiative
The development of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative announced by the Australian Government on 26 February 2008.
The ERA initiative will assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts.
Among the main functions of the REB team are the following:
- development and implementation of the ERA policy;
- external communications and consultation with the higher education and research sector regarding the ERA policy development and implementation;
- contributing to the development of government policy for open access for publicly funded research, including the development and implementation of an Accessibility Framework.
- development of metrics methodologies for ERA;
- development and consultation of the Outlet Ranking list and maintenance of the list;
- quality assurance for the use of metrics for ERA;
- management of the ERA evaluation process; and
- establishment and management of the Research Assessment Committees.
