THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Early Career Researcher (ECR) Grant Scheme
GRANT GUIDELINES FOR FUNDING IN 2012

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1The University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher (ECR) Grant Scheme is supported equally by Planning and Budget Committee (PBC) and faculties. Funding available from the central contribution is around $1million. Faculties will match this figure. This Scheme is a core part of the University’s research development strategy, which places a high priority on the support of early career researchers.

1.2The Scheme is administered by the Melbourne Research Office in conjunction with Faculties.

1.3Applications will initially be assessed on a competitive basis by a committee established by eachFaculty, which would normally be chaired by the Faculty’s Associate Dean (Research), prior to consideration by the ECR Grant Scheme Central Committee.

1.4Each Faculty will rank their applications and put forward a list of supported applications for central funding consideration. The ECR Grant SchemeCentral Committee will decide on the final funding allocations.

2.Objectives

2.1The objectives of the Scheme are to:

  • Support early career researchers who demonstrate clear evidence of high research potential to progress their research careers, by funding on a competitive basis high quality research projects and pilot research projects.
  • Encourage research by new members of staff seeking to establish their program of research at the University of Melbourne.
  • Enhance the staff member’s competitiveness in bidding for external research funds.
  • Provide experience in preparing a grant application for peer review.

3.Funding

3.1Grants shall be awarded with a maximum value of:

  • $25,000 for the humanities and
  • $40,000 for engineering and the sciences.
  • Grants requesting funding of less than $5,000 will not be awarded.
  • Grants will be awarded for one year only, 1 January 2012- 31 December 2012.
  • The number and competitiveness of applications from each Faculty is expected to vary each year. It is anticipated that over time the total allocations made under the Scheme to researchers in a particular Faculty will broadly reflect a Faculty’s relative standing on national performance parameters, including research income, publications and research higher degree completions. Data on allocations, funding and performance trends will be available to the ECR Grant Scheme Central Committee.

4.APPLICANT Eligibility

4.1Applicants must hold a salaried academic appointment of at least 0.5 full-timeequivalent (FTE) at Level A, B or C at the University of Melbourne.

4.2Academic staff employed on an externally funded project (e.g. a fellowship holder or a senior research assistant) may apply providedthey demonstrate to the satisfaction of the relevant Faculty that the nature of their appointment means that they are allowed, and have the time available, to pursue additional research activities.

4.3Applicants shall normally be within the first five (5) years of an academic appointment at the University of Melbourne as of the 1 January 2012 and will not normally have held an external Australian Competitive Grant as a named Chief Investigator.

4.4It is expected that applicants will have their PhD qualifications at the time of application or will be awarded their PhD before the 1st of January 2012.

Staff who do not fit the above criteria (i.e. 4.1 – 4.4), but believe they can make a compelling argument as to why they should be considered for funding in the context of the objectives of the Scheme may make a one-page, special case in writing to the Faculty Associate Dean (Research) and attach this to their application(Q6.1 or Q6.2 as may be appropriate). The special case may include, but is not limited to, circumstances where a person has been at the University longer than five years but where their career has been significantly interrupted or affected by, for example, lengthy serious illness, child bearing or child rearing.

4.5Applicants must hold, or have reasonable expectation (at the time of application) of holding an appointment until 31 December 2012. Applicants who do not hold a continuing appointment, or a contract appointment to 31 December 2012, must attach to their application (Q6.3) a letter of support from their Head of Department. Failure to provide a letter of support in these circumstances will lead to an application being found ineligible.

4.6To be eligible for funding, all Chief Investigators on a single application must meet the eligibility criteria. (Early Career Researchers are welcome to indicate in their application where their project might draw on particular expertise, support or mentoring from more senior colleagues).

4.7Applications will not be accepted from academic staff undertaking postgraduate study, where they are seeking support for their own postgraduate research project from this Scheme.

4.8All Chief Investigators should demonstrate in their application that they have the time and basic infrastructure resources to pursue the project concerned, within the context of existing research, teaching and higher degree supervision responsibilities.

5.PROPOSAL Completeness and ELIGIBILITY

5.1All questions must be answered or marked ‘not applicable’. Do not leave any sections of the Application Form blank.

5.2Adhere strictly to page and word limits in each part of the Application Form.

5.3All supplied text within an application must meet the formatting requirements, which are as follows:

  • Typewritten in black type.
  • Single column.
  • Minimum 11 point highly legible font (e.g. Helvetica, Times New Roman and Arial). This includes reference lists, figure captions, table captions and table contents. Text within figures may be any font size, but it should be legible for reviewers.
  • Must not include URLs except in reference lists (do not hyperlink URLs in reference lists).
  • Colour may be used in figures, but any labelling must be in black type.

6.CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY

6.1Prospective applicants are advised to contact their ECR Faculty Administrator for decisions related to eligibility as outlined in Sections 4 and 5. A list of Administrators can be found on the ECR website:

7.Number of applications

7.1Applicants may submit a maximum of one (1) application, whether as sole, first-named or other Chief Investigator in a single year.

7.2An applicant may be awarded of only one ECRgrant

8.WORK SUPPORTED

8.1Areas of investigation/work supported

8.1.1The Scheme supports excellent pure and applied research projects by individual researchers or teams of researchers in all research fields.

8.1.2Pure research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge without looking for long-term benefits other than the advancement of knowledge. Applied research is original work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge with a specific application in view.

8.2Areas of investigation/work not supported

8.2.1Applications that are not primarily oriented towards research will not be considered.
This means that the following, for example, will not be funded under the Scheme:

  • Scholarly investigations that do not lead to conceptual advances or discoveries, or to novel practical outcomes and applications.Projects such as uncritical bibliographical compilations, purely descriptive catalogues and editions that do not involve original research are examples of work in this category.
  • Activities that lead solely to the creation or performance of a work of art.This includes visual art, musical compositions, drama, dance, designs or literary works (to be eligible for funding under this Scheme, such work would need to be accompanied by an exegesis or other form of critical analysis, in enduring form, open to peer review).
  • Production of teaching materials, even though some research may be required in their creation.
  • Development of research aids and tools, including computer programs. If the development of research aids and tools forms an integral part of the research project then the application needs to explicitly explain how the development of these tools contributes to the research objectives and outcomes.

9.RELATIONSHIP OF THE PROPOSAL TO OTHER PROJECTS

9.1Applications which request funds to supplement another current internal University grant, external grant or research contract will be excluded from consideration. If an applicant already holds a grant in a related area, the onus is on the applicant to provide sufficient information to assure their Faculty that the ECR grant is notbeing used to “top up” another existing grant.

9.2Applicants who are successful in obtaining ECR funding for 2012, and who subsequently win an external Australian Competitive Grant for funding in 2012, will be able to hold both awards.

10.BUDGET

10.1Funding may not be sought or used to fund Chief Investigator salaries.

10.2Requests for support to relieve a staff member of teaching and/or other duties should be specified in the application and will be considered where it is argued that this is essential for the research work and the successful outcome of the project. Final decisions regarding teaching relief are dependent on approval by the Faculty Associate Dean (Research)in conjunction with the applicant’s Head of Department.

11.Evaluation and Assessment

11.1 Assessment Process

11.1.1Applications will in the first instance be assessed on a competitive basis by a committee established by each Faculty, in accordance with the objectives of the Scheme and the assessment criteria (see 11.2). This Committee would normally be chaired by the Faculty’s Associate Dean (Research).

11.1.2Faculties shall rank applications prior to consideration by the ECR Grant Scheme Committee chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) or delegate. The Committee shall receive advice in writing explaining each Faculty’s ranking and the total amount of matching funds each faculty is willing to provide.

11.1.3Where an application is made by two or more researchers from different Faculties, the Associate Deans (Research) of the relevant Faculties shall consult and provide coordinated advice to the ECR Grant Scheme Committee.

11.1.4The ECR Grant Scheme Committee reserves the right to discuss applications, on a confidential basis, with Deans, Associate Deans (Research), Heads of Department, Centre Directors or other senior colleagues.

11.2Assessment Criteria

11.2.1Excellence is the primary criterion for the award of a grant, both in terms of the project and the track record of the researcher(s) relative to opportunity. Consideration will also be given to the likelihood that the proposal will provide a real conceptual advance; lead to an important discovery or innovation or the solution of an important practical problem; or, as appropriate, contribute economic or social benefit to Australia.

11.2.3Assessment of each application by a Faculty Research Committee and the ECR Grant Scheme Committee shall have regard to:

  • Researcher Development: how the project will contribute to the researcher(s) career development and enhance their competitiveness in securing external funding in the future to support their research program (applicants must include a statement on their plans to secure funding in the future).
  • The Quality of the Project: including the significance of the project, and the extent to which the project is soundly conceived and planned.
  • Feasibility: the extent to which the project is feasible given the timelines and budget, and the skills, experience and time commitment of the investigators.
  • Resources: the extent to which the budget is justified and appropriate.

12.APPLICATION PROCESS

12.1Applications consist of three parts:

  1. Application Form, Questions 1-4.
  2. Project Proposal, Question 5.
  3. Supporting Documentation, Question 6.0-6.3.

12.2All documents must be written in English and must comply strictly with the format and submission requirements.

12.3The application must contain all the information necessary for assessment of the project without the need for explanation or reference to further documentation, including reference to the World Wide Web.

12.4This is an internal grant. Applications submitted will not be checked by the Research Office for completeness, or eligibility prior to final lodgment; this is the responsibility of the applicant. Ineligible or incomplete applications will be excluded and not considered by the Committees.

12.5Applications will also need to be entered online via Themis as per the ECR Guidelines. Applicationsthat are not signed off by head of department in Themis by the 31st of Augustwill not be considered. Once applications have been submitted on Themis they cannot be changed.

13.TIMETABLE

Monday 7h of March 2011Release of guidelines

Friday5thof August2011Applications close with Faculties, draft applications due

Friday5thof August 2011Faculties reviewapplications

Friday 19thof August 2011Final applications submittedto Faculty and lodged in Themis

Wednesday31stofAugust 2011Faculties provide ranking and funding amounts to Melbourne Research

September/October, 2011ECR Grant Scheme Committee meeting to provide ranking and funding amounts to the Research Office based on Faculty recommendations

October/November, 2011Notification of results to applicants from ECR Grant Scheme Committee, including Acceptance of Offer Forms

October/November 2011Acceptance Forms returned to the Research Office

January2012Funds made available to researchers

14.APPEALS

14.1The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) has established an independent Appeals Committee.

14.2Appeals will be heard only against the implementation or exercise of the selection procedures. Appeals will not be heard against Faculty or ECR Grant Scheme Committee ratings or comments as to the academic merit of applications. An applicant should appeal only where there is clear evidence that the implementation or exercise of the selection procedures has contravened the Scheme Guidelines.

14.3Applicants wishing to appeal against a decision must notify the Executive Director, Research in writing within twenty-eight (28) days of advice of the outcome of the application.

15.CONDITIONS OF GRANT

15.1Grant Offers must be accepted in writing by the Chief Investigator(s) and their Heads of Department.

15.2The Chief Investigator(s) are responsible for the project, for its concept, the strategic decisions called for in its pursuit and for the communication of the results.

15.3The first-named Chief Investigator will be the contact person for all administrative matters to do with the project.

15.4The Chief Investigator(s) must ensure that the research is conducted in accord with University policy, including compliance with the Code of Conduct for Research and policies on human research ethics, animal experimentation ethics, requirements of the Office of Gene Technology Regulator, health and safety and intellectual property. No project may proceed unless the appropriate ethical or other required clearances have been obtained.

15.5 Funding is for one year only, commencing January 2012. Projects must be completed and funds expended by 31 December 2012. Extensions to this completion date will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, with a maximum extension date of 30 June 2013. Where exceptional circumstances exist, a written request must be approved by the Chief Investigator’s Head of Department and submitted to the Ms Ana Brown, Manager Research Grants no later than 1 December 2012. Where grant holders take Parental Leave the completion date will be extended by the length of the Parental Leave taken. Grant holders should advise the Melbourne Research Office when Parental leave is approved.

15.6Chief Investigator(s) must comply with any instructions or conditions in the Offer of Grant relating to approved items of expenditure.

15.7Unless special conditions are set down by the Committee, the grant should be regarded as a ‘one-line budget’. Chief Investigators are responsible for ensuring that the expenditure of the grant is broadly in accord with the budget presented in the application and is consistent at all times with the nature and aims of the specific project approved and the objectives of the Scheme.

15.8The first-named Chief Investigator is required to provide a written report on the outcomes of the project by 31 May 2013. A pro forma for the report will be provided on the Melbourne Research website ( ). Unsatisfactory reports will be referred to relevant Heads of Department and/or Associate Deans (Research) for comment or follow-up action. Summaries of projects funded and project final reports may be published.

15.9Successful applicants are expected to provide appropriate acknowledgement of University support when communicating research outcomes.

16.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

16.1Prospective applicants should also read the Instructions to Applicants prepared by Melbourne Research.

University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant Scheme for funding in 2012 Guidelines page 1