Selection Report: Linkage Projects 2020 Round 1

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Overview

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:

• support the development of long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and industry and other research end-users, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems;
• provide opportunities for internationally competitive research projects to be conducted in collaboration with organisations outside the higher education sector; and
• enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

Selection process

Applications for Linkage Projects 2020 Assessment Round 1 opened on 20 December 2019 and closed on 22 April 2020. Applications were submitted using a continuous application process, and this is the first of three assessment rounds for this scheme round. 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: 

• assigned independent assessors to review the applications
• 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 Unless otherwise specified, data presented in this report exclude withdrawn applications.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 Projects 2020 (Round 1) were assessed and merit ranked using the following assessment criteria:

Investigator(s)/Capability (25%)
Describe the quality of the candidates’ Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence (ROPE) including evidence of:

• potential to engage in collaborative research with end-users;
• experience in research training, mentoring and supervision; and
• time and capacity to undertake and manage the proposed research in collaboration with the Partner Organisation(s).

Project quality and innovation (25%)
Describe the extent to which the project is significant and innovative including: 

• any new methods or technologies to be developed that address a specific market opportunity;
• how the anticipated outcomes will advance the knowledge base to address an important problem and/or provide an end-user and/or industry advantage;
• how the project’s aims and concepts are novel and innovative; and
• how the project will significantly enhance links with industry and/or other organisations outside the Australian publicly-funded research and higher education sectors.

Describe the research approach and training including: 

• the conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses, demonstrating these are adequately developed, well integrated and appropriate to the aims of the project; and
• the intellectual content and scale of the work proposed is appropriate to a higher degree by research student where relevant.

Feasibility and commitment (20%)
Describe:

• the extent to which the project represents value for money;
• the supportive and high quality environment for this research in the Administering Organisation and the Partner Organisation(s);
• the availability of the necessary facilities to conduct the research;
• the commitment of each Partner Organisation to collaboration in the research project and capacity to implement the outcomes of the research; and
• the adequacy of the budget, including cash and in-kind contributions pledged by the participating organisations.

If the project involves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research describe:

• the strategies for enabling collaboration with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities where appropriate (for example, dialogue/collaboration with an Indigenous cultural mentor); and
• any existing or developing, supportive and high quality research communities.

Benefit (30%)
Describe: 

• the new or advanced knowledge resulting from outcomes of the research;
• the economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for relevant Australian research end-users (including relevant industry sectors);
• the potential contribution to building capacity in the Australian Government’s National Science and Research Priorities and other priorities identified by Government;
• benefits of the research for Partner Organisation(s) and other relevant end-users;
• the contribution of the research to developing strategic research alliances between the higher education organisation(s) and industry and/or other organisation(s);
• strategies to encourage dissemination, commercialisation, and if appropriate, the promotion of research outcomes; 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 and/or end-users.

Assessment process

The ARC assessment process for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) involved 17 SAC members as part of one multidisciplinary panel and was managed in RMS. A total of 789 independent assessors’ reports were submitted to the ARC.

Funding levels and duration 

Funding of between $50,000 and $300,000 per annum for up to five years may be awarded for each Linkage Projects application.

Summary of outcomes

The ARC received a total of 180 applications for Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1), none of which were withdrawn. 

The overall success rate for Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2020 (Round 1) is 33.9 per cent. 

Of the unsuccessful applications, nine 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 (Round 1)

Scheme Round	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	432	175	40.5	$217,620,359	$92,200,635	$78,187,269	84.8
2020 (Round 1)	180	61	33.9	$87,268,182	$30,685,046	$26,881,001	87.6

*May include indicative funds

Outcomes by discipline

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 1) 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 ($)	Return Rate for approved applications (%)
BEM	31	14	45.2	$14,943,405	$7,878,325	$6,783,465	86.1
ET	57	20	35.1	$27,827,912	$9,234,911	$8,017,263	86.8
HSE	53	19	35.8	$23,839,104	$8,730,606	$7,830,669	89.7
PMI	39	8	20.5	$20,657,761	$4,841,204	$4,249,604	87.8
Total	180	61	33.9	$87,268,182	$30,685,046	$26,881,001	87.6

*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

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 Projects 2020 (Round 1) applications by Science and Research Priorities

Science and Research Priorities	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	Approved funds over project life ($)
Advanced Manufacturing	33	11	33.3	$4,666,194
Cybersecurity	6	1	16.7	$371,806
Energy	11	3	27.3	$981,722
Environmental Change	25	14	56.0	$6,262,602
Food	12	7	58.3	$3,373,286
Health	35	7	20.0	$3,196,650
Resources	11	6	54.5	$3,079,346
Soil and Water	5	1	20.0	$1,161,512
Transport	8	2	25.0	$565,112
None selected	34	9	26.5	$3,222,771
Total Applications	180	61	33.9	$26,881,001
Total Applications within Science and Research Priorities	146	52	35.6	$23,658,230
Percentage within Science and Research Priorities (%)	81.1	85.2		88.0

Leverage of ARC Funding

Of the 180 applications considered, 61 were approved with a total approved funding, of $26.9 million over the life of these projects. There are 141 unique Partner Organisations involved with these projects and they have pledged a total (cash and in-kind) of $39.9 million. This represents $1.48 from Partner Organisations for every dollar funded by the ARC.

Outcomes by Administering Organisation

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 1) applications by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation	Applications considered	Applications approved	Success rate (%)	ARC approved funding over project life (approved applications)	Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)
Australian Capital Territory	7	3	42.9	$1,901,098	$2,282,643
The Australian National University	7	3	42.9	$1,901,098	$2,282,643
New South Wales	69	23	33.3	$8,905,182	$13,975,067
Australian Catholic University	1	0	0	-	-
Charles Sturt University	1	0	0	-	-
Macquarie University	7	2	28.6	$505,267	$662,215
The University of New England	1	0	0	-	-
The University of New South Wales	20	9	45.0	$3,534,516	$6,200,792
The University of Newcastle	15	3	20.0	$916,598	$1,238,231
The University of Sydney	15	5	33.3	$1,392,019	$1,880,560
University of Technology Sydney	2	0	0	-	-
University of Wollongong	3	1	33.3	$1,115,069	*
Western Sydney University	4	3	75.0	$1,441,713	$2,855,384
Northern Territory	1	1	100	$535,200	*
Charles Darwin University	1	1	100	$535,200	*
Queensland	32	10	31.3	$4,360,472	$5,700,530
Griffith University	5	1	20.0	$250,000	*
James Cook University	1	0	0	-	-
Queensland University of Technology	8	3	37.5	$1,200,955	$1,393,860
The University of Queensland	14	5	35.7	$2,490,517	$3,359,523
The University of Southern Queensland	3	1	33.3	$419,000	*
University of the Sunshine Coast	1	0	0	-	-
South Australia	16	6	37.5	$2,131,278	$3,034,301
Flinders University	5	1	20.0	$212,212	*
The University of Adelaide	9	3	33.3	$1,284,066	$2,072,206
University of South Australia	2	2	100	$635,000	$745,822
Tasmania	5	1	20.0	$720,000	*
University of Tasmania	5	1	20.0	$720,000	*
Victoria	34	12	35.3	$5,862,479	$8,703,137
Deakin University	3	3	100	$1,277,120	$1,549,011
La Trobe University	4	0	0	-	-
Monash University	12	5	41.7	$2,660,800	$4,333,056
RMIT University	7	2	28.6	$986,739	$1,335,371
Swinburne University of Technology	4	1	25.0	$442,000	*
The University of Melbourne	4	1	25.0	$495,820	*
Western Australia	16	5	31.3	$2,465,292	$4,507,319
Curtin University	2	0	0	-	-
The University of Western Australia	14	5	35.7	$2,465,292	$4,507,319
Total	180	61	33.9	$26,881,001	$39,886,559

* 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 1) applications approved for funding are shown below in Table 5. 

Table 5. Partner Organisation contributions by sector for approved Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) applications 

Type		Cash		In-Kind		Total
		$	%	$	%	$	%
Government
Australian Federal		$676,106	5.8	$1,496,451	5.3	$2,172,557	5.5
Australian state, territory and local		$1,231,593	10.6	$6,621,467	23.5	$7,853,060	19.7
International		$52,047	0.5	$109,000	0.4	$161,047	0.4
	Sub-total	$1,959,746	16.8	$8,226,918	29.2	$10,186,664	25.5
Industry Body
Australian		$5,913,678	50.6	$9,732,919	34.5	$15,646,597	39.2
International		$2,674,008	22.9	$4,167,485	14.8	$6,841,493	17.2
	Sub-total	$8,587,686	73.5	$13,900,404	49.3	$22,488,090	56.4
Non-profit
Australian		$966,139	8.3	$3,877,142	13.7	$4,843,281	12.1
International		$0	0.0	$280,327	1.0	$280,327	0.7
	Sub-total	$966,139	8.3	$4,157,469	14.7	$5,123,608	12.8
Higher Education
International		$0	0.0	$1,085,944	3.9	$1,085,944	2.7
	Sub-total	$0	0.0	$1,085,944	3.9	$1,085,944	2.7
Other
Other		$163,200	1.4	$839,053	3.0	$1,002,253	2.5
	Sub-total	$163,200	1.4	$839,053	3.0	$1,002,253	2.5
	Total	$11,676,771	100	$28,209,788	100	$39,886,559	100

Note: All percentages are shown using rounded figures, and as such may not sum to 100%.

Partnerships 

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 147 instances of collaboration with Partner Organisations (including multiple collaborations with a number of organisations) in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) giving an average of 2.41 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 1)

Field of Research category	Number of applications approved#	Partner Organisation contributions (cash & in-kind) over project life (approved applications)
Mathematical Science	1	*
Physical Sciences	2	$1,062,399
Chemical Sciences	2	$2,233,000
Earth Sciences	3	$2,972,348
Environmental Sciences	7	$4,226,528
Biological Sciences	3	$1,985,677
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences	4	$3,720,661
Engineering	19	$11,361,913
Technology	1	*
Medical and Health Sciences	1	*
Built Environment and Design	2	$815,055
Education	1	*
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services	2	$546,650
Studies in Human Society	8	$5,307,606
Law and Legal Studies	1	*
Studies in Creative Arts and Writing	1	*
History and Archaeology	3	$3,334,200
Total	61	$39,886,559

# 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.

Career age and gender

Of the 598 Chief Investigators (CIs) in this round, 208 were female, 389 were male and one chose not to specify their gender. The success rate for female, male and unspecified CIs in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) is 35.6 per cent, 32.4 and 100 per cent respectively. 

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) are presented in Figure 1. CIs who did not provide gender information (0.17 per cent) and CIs who did not specify the date of completion of their PhD (or equivalent) or who do not hold a PhD (1.0 per cent) are not represented in the figure below.

Figure 1. Participation and success rate of Chief Investigators (CIs) in Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) 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.

International collaboration

In the 180 applications considered, applicants foreshadowed 154 instances of collaboration with researchers in 34 overseas locations. Of the applications approved for funding, 33 foreshadowed 63 instances of collaboration with researchers in 23 overseas locations (Figure 2).

Figure 2. International collaborations by location on approved Linkage Projects 2020 (Round 1) applications*

 

 

*The top 11 international collaboration locations are listed in Figure 1 and the remaining locations are grouped in the ‘Other’ category.