Discovery Projects

Discovery Projects

Selection Report

for Funding Commencing in 2015

Discovery Projects

Selection Report for Funding Commencing in 2015

Overview

The Discovery Projects scheme provides funding for excellent fundamental research projects that can be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.

The objectives of Discovery Projects are to:

·  support excellent basic and applied research by individuals and teams;

·  enhance the scale and focus of research in the Strategic Research Priorities;

·  expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability;

·  encourage research and research training in high-quality research environments;

·  enhance international collaboration in research; and

·  foster the international competitiveness of Australian research.

Selection Process

Proposals for funding commencing in 2015 opened on 15 January 2014, and closed on 19March 2014. Proposals were submitted through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Management System (RMS). This report outlines recommendations from the selection process for that round.

ARC Executive Directors, assisted by ARC staff, prepared funding recommendations for submission to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The recommendations were based on advice from the ARC College of Experts which:

·  assessed proposals and reviewed assessments made by independent assessors;

·  reviewed applicants’ comments on assessors’ reports;

·  ranked each proposal relative to the others on the basis of the proposal, the assessors’ reports and applicants’ responses to those assessments;

·  assessed and recommended budgets;

and, on advice from the ARC Eligibility Committee which:

·  considered eligibility issues identified by ARC staff, the ARC College of Experts or independent assessors;

·  sought advice from institutions with respect to issues raised; and

·  made recommendations to the CEO in respect of ineligible proposals.

This report reflects the recommendations of the ARC CEO to the Minister. Unless otherwise specified, figures presented in this report exclude withdrawn proposals.

Selection Criteria

Selection criteria and corresponding weightings for Discovery Projects 2015 proposals are:

·  Investigator(s) (40%)

·  Project Quality and Innovation (25%)

·  Feasibility and Benefit (20%)

·  Research Environment (15%)

The ARC assessment and subsequent reporting process for 2015 used 82 College of Experts members across five discipline panels and was managed in the Research Management System (RMS). A total of 12,173 independent assessor reports were submitted to the ARC for Discovery Projects 2015.

Summary of Outcomes

The ARC received a total of 3696 proposals for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2015, of which seven proposals were withdrawn. This is a slight increase from the 3534 proposals received for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2014. Of the unsuccessful proposals, 12 were found to not meet eligibility requirements.

The overall success rate for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2015 is 18.0 per cent, with a higher percentage of allocation of requested funds compared to Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2014.

Please note that within this Selection Report approved funding may include indicative funding amounts.

Table 1. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates, requested and allocated funds for successful proposals from Discovery Projects from 2014 to 2015

Funding year / Proposals considered / Proposals approved / Success rate / Requested funds over project life (all proposals) / Requested funds over project life (approved proposals) / Funds allocated over project life / Allocation as a percentage of request
2014 / 3534 / 703 / 19.9% / $1,778,872,658 / $403,772,090 / $257,632,541 / 63.8%
2015* / 3689 / 665 / 18.0% / $1,950,089,142 / $389,438,184 / $250,044,435 / 64.2%

Approved funding by discipline panel

Table 2. Comparison of proposal numbers, success rates and requested and allocated funds for approved Discovery Projects 2015 proposals by discipline panel

Panel † / Proposals considered / Proposals approved / Success rate / Requested funds over project life for all proposals considered / Requested funds over project life for approved proposals / Indicative funds over project
life for approved proposals / Return
Rate for approved proposals
BSB / 801 / 141 / 17.6% / $483,908,503 / $90,824,541 / $60,499,936 / 66.6%
EMI / 1071 / 194 / 18.1% / $567,143,237 / $120,267,667 / $74,905,524 / 62.3%
HCA / 463 / 84 / 18.1% / $192,875,216 / $36,337,564 / $23,575,556 / 64.9%
PCE / 590 / 107 / 18.1% / $349,685,554 / $71,939,248 / $46,027,227 / 64.0%
SBE / 764 / 139 / 18.2% / $356,476,632 / $70,069,164 / $45,036,192 / 64.3%
Total / 3689 / 665 / 18.0% / $1,950,089,142 / $389,438,184 / $250,044,435 / 64.2%

† BSB = Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; EMI = Engineering, Mathematics and Informatics; HCA = Humanities and Creative Arts; PCE = Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences; SBE = Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

Career age and gender

A total of 10,772 participants (Chief Investigators (CIs) and Partner Investigators (PIs)) were named on all proposals considered in this round. Of these, 2693 are female and 8051 are male. The success rate for female and male participants in this round of Discovery Projects proposals is 17.6 per cent and 18.4 per cent respectively. 28 participants did not provide gender information.

Success rates of CIs by career age and gender in the current Discovery Projects round are represented in Figure 1 below. In addition to the participants who did not provide gender information, a small number of CIs do not hold a PhD. These participants are not represented in the table below.

* Career age is calculated as years since PhD.

International Collaboration Awards

International Collaboration Awards (ICAs) were introduced in Discovery Projects in 2010 for Chief Investigators and overseas Partner Investigators. The Awards aim to enhance opportunities for collaboration among researchers, research teams and/or research centres in Australia and overseas, and to build Australia’s international research capability.

Table 4. Number of proposals requesting and recommended for one or more ICAs

Funding year / Number of submitted Proposals requesting one or more ICAs / Number of Proposals awarded one or more ICAs
2014 / 544 / 91
2015 / 755 / 100

International Collaboration

Applicants foreshadowed 4005 instances of collaboration with researchers in 108 overseas locations on 2279 proposals. Of the proposals approved for funding, 452 foreshadowed 878 instances of collaboration with researchers in 57 overseas locations.

Figure 2. International collaborations by location in approved proposals

Strategic Research Priorities

Table 5. Numbers of proposals and success rates by Strategic Research Priority

Strategic Research Priority / Proposals considered / Proposals
approved / Success
rate (%) / Indicative funds (over project life)
Lifting productivity and economic growth / 1091 / 203 / 18.61% / $83,507,551
Living in a changing environment / 696 / 125 / 17.96% / $47,972,334
Managing our food and water assets / 178 / 31 / 17.42% / $12,182,100
Promoting population health and wellbeing / 643 / 106 / 16.49% / $35,767,772
Securing Australia's place in a changing world / 409 / 65 / 15.89% / $19,388,398
None selected / 672 / 135 / 20.09% / $51,226,280
Total / 3689 / 665 / 18.03% / $250,044,435
Total priority proposals / 3017 / 530 / 17.57% / $198,818,155
% within priority area / 81.8% / 79.7%

Selection Outcomes by Administering Organisation

Table 6. Numbers of proposals and success rates for funding commencing in 2015 by Administering Organisation

Administering Organisation / Proposals considered / Proposals approved / Success rate (%) / Indicative funding over project life (approved proposals) ($)
New South Wales / 1289 / 234 / 18.2% / $87,863,804
Australian Catholic University / 15 / 3 / 20.0% / $838,300
Charles Sturt University / 12 / 1 / 8.3% / $333,300
Macquarie University / 99 / 12 / 12.1% / $4,759,864
Southern Cross University / 12 / 3 / 25.0% / $803,987
The University of New England / 21 / 3 / 14.3% / $1,083,488
The University of New South Wales / 403 / 84 / 20.8% / $31,499,459
The University of Newcastle / 131 / 24 / 18.3% / $9,395,244
The University of Sydney / 310 / 65 / 21.0% / $26,147,578
University of Technology, Sydney / 95 / 16 / 16.8% / $4,863,041
University of Western Sydney / 84 / 6 / 7.1% / $1,710,024
University of Wollongong / 107 / 17 / 15.9% / $6,429,519
Victoria / 876 / 151 / 17.2% / $56,308,673
Deakin University / 63 / 10 / 15.9% / $3,681,855
Federation University Australia / 19 / 0 / 0.0% / $0
La Trobe University / 56 / 13 / 23.2% / $4,303,148
Monash University / 302 / 52 / 17.2% / $19,105,785
RMIT University / 73 / 11 / 15.1% / $4,085,641
Swinburne University of Technology / 55 / 7 / 12.7% / $2,443,180
The University of Melbourne / 295 / 57 / 19.3% / $22,383,164
University of Divinity / 1 / 0 / 0.0% / $0
Victoria University / 12 / 1 / 8.3% / $305,900
Queensland / 601 / 111 / 18.5% / $40,816,251
Bond University / 4 / 0 / 0.0% / $0
Central Queensland University / 14 / 1 / 7.1% / $236,700
Griffith University / 103 / 10 / 9.7% / $3,734,804
James Cook University / 26 / 1 / 3.8% / $511,100
Queensland University of Technology / 115 / 19 / 16.5% / $7,888,971
The University of Queensland / 320 / 79 / 24.7% / $27,986,076
University of Southern Queensland / 11 / 0 / 0.0% / $0
University of the Sunshine Coast / 8 / 1 / 12.5% / $458,600
South Australia / 284 / 46 / 16.2% / $17,458,166
The Flinders University of South Australia / 60 / 13 / 21.7% / $5,038,786
The University of Adelaide / 152 / 28 / 18.4% / $10,620,380
University of South Australia / 72 / 5 / 6.9% / $1,799,000
Western Australia / 307 / 44 / 14.3% / $16,436,731
Curtin University of Technology / 109 / 12 / 11.0% / $4,508,385
Edith Cowan University / 10 / 1 / 10.0% / $365,211
Murdoch University / 39 / 4 / 10.3% / $1,033,976
The University of Notre Dame Australia / 2 / 0 / 0.0% / $0
The University of Western Australia / 147 / 27 / 18.4% / $10,529,159
Tasmania / 66 / 12 / 18.2% / $4,145,063
University of Tasmania / 66 / 12 / 18.2% / $4,145,063
Northern Territory / 7 / 1 / 14.3% / $378,818
Charles Darwin University / 7 / 1 / 14.3% / $378,818
Australian Capital Territory / 259 / 66 / 25.5% / $26,636,929
The Australian National University / 239 / 62 / 26.0% / $24,991,145
University of Canberra / 20 / 4 / 20.0% / $1,645,784
Total / 3689 / 665 / 18.0% / $250,044,435

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