Section D2: Organisational Statement in Respect to Project Research Environment

University of Adelaide Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) 2018

Section D2: Organisational Statement in respect to Project Research Environment

(Administering Organisation strategic statement) – 3 pages max (up from 2 pages last year)

NOTES:

You should work together with any support available in your Discipline/School/Institute to craft the D2 statement. The D2 statement should be personalised for your application and project research environment. You should avoid generic statements common to other applications from the University of Adelaide that may lead reviewers to mark down an application.

ALL INTENDING APPLICANTS MUST CONTACT THEIR HEAD OF SCHOOL TO DISCUSS THEIR APPLICATION PRIOR TO SUBMISSION.

• Head of School must approve the draft D2 Organisational Statement
• CI submits draft D2 Statement (along with HoS approval) to Research Branch by 10 March 2017
• Research Branch will arrange for DVCR sign-off
• Research Branch will return the completed D2 Statement to the CI for upload into RMS

Important: This D2 Statement must be approved by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) - see section D6 of the DE18 Funding Rules ( Please do not approach the DVCR’s office directly, as Research Services will review the D2 and arrange signoff when all supporting documentation is in place.

Support for ALL applicants

• The DVCR Office will reimburse your School for costs associated with your DECRA project if awarded, up to $25,000 - referred to overleaf (Establishment Grant). Successful candidates should aim to spend these funds in the first year of their DECRA funding, but if this is not possible alternative arrangements can be made with the DVCR Office.
• Additional support may be offered at the discretion of the relevant Head of School, Faculty Executive Dean, and/or Institute Director.
• Each Faculty/School may have specific additional support that will be offered to intending DECRA Applicants. This support may depend on whether the applicant is a current University employee with a substantive position, or an external applicant.
• Written confirmation of additional School/Faculty support must be provided to Research Branch when (or before) the D2 Statement is submitted for DVCR sign-off.

THE DECRA ORGANISATIONAL STATEMENT MUST:

• Outline the area of core or emerging research strength for the institution and describe the level of resources to be provided to support the successful DECRA candidate (for example, project costs, PhD students, or salary top-up);

• Detail opportunities for the DECRA Candidate to demonstrate the level of independence required to be competitive for research and/or research and teaching pathways at the University during and after the Project.

The following template headings can be used for guidance on how to structure the D2 statement. You do not need to use this template – as stated above, your application may be more competitive if you draft an original and project/candidate-specific organisational statement. Remember that assessors will see many applications and it may not be beneficial to have the same statement drawn from this template as every other University of Adelaide applicant.

Finally, note that there is a three (3) page limit and that the mandatory formatting restrictions outlined in Appendix B of the DE18 Instructions to Applicants apply

Red text represents our hints and suggestions - this text is indicative only, and should be paraphrased, not repeated verbatim. Black text you can reproduce as written or adapt as required:

D2 Organisational Statement by the Administering
Organisation

<insert date>

Ms Leanne Harvey

Acting Chief Executive Officer

Australian Research Council

Dear Ms Harvey,

Re:<insert details> ARC DE1801XXXXXX, applicant: Dr XX XX, Title: “XXXXX”

I strongly endorse and recommend Dr XX’s application for an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award and provide this Organisational Statement in support of the application.

<insert a short para about the applicant – e.g. track record relative to opportunity, years since PhD conferral, any awards or career highlights, relevance to the project focus etc>

Core/Emerging [delete whichever is not required] research strength in [insert field] at the University of Adelaide

School/Centre/Institute level:Insert a para about the area of the project being a core or emerging research strength. How does it align with of the School/Institute/Centre – discuss key researchers and infrastructure, cutting edge research groups and publication/grant success.

Faculty level: You could also insert a para about the key researchers and infrastructure, cutting edge research groups and publication/grant successes of the wider Faculty.

University level: You may also briefly cover the research strengths of the University in your discipline – could mention ERA ratings of relevant disciplines, key researchers (especially those with Laureate, Future or other senior Fellowships) and infrastructure, cutting edge research groups and publication/grant successes.

Resources tosupport the DECRA candidate at the University of Adelaide

You may include a short preamble about University of Adelaide’s excellence in research performance and opportunities, generally and in the area of project focus, for DECRA recipients to build on this excellence.

In support of securing and retaining talented early-career researchers, the University of Adelaide will support successful DECRA recipients with:

• A $25,000 establishment grant to accelerate research momentum, enhance research collaboration & dissemination;
• Also list here any specific support negotiated with your School or Faculty, such as salary supplementation for appointment above Level A, step 6; &
• Access to University funding schemes such as Overseas Conferences, Special Studies Leave, University Research Infrastructure Scheme, Interdisciplinary Research Scheme, University Research Fellowship Scheme for further research career development, the Innovation Accelerator and schemes such as the Entrepreneurship Challenge and the Commercial Accelerator Scheme.

Version: 13/10/2018PROFESSOR JULIE OWENS

ACTING DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR AND VICE-PRESIDENT (RESEARCH)

The University of Adelaide SA 5005 AUSTRALIA

Tel: +61 8 8313 5665 Fax: +61 8 8313 4409 Email:
CRICOS provider number 00123M

If the applicant is aligned with a designated University Institute or Centre, then a paragraph expanding on, but not limited to the following, should also be included:

• The University has committed X (e.g. money, building and/or other resources) to build and establish the Institute/Centre <name>
• What are the key strengths or research successes of the Institute/Centre that align with your application?
• What expertise and/or collaborative networks are available at the Institute/Centre to support the candidate?
• Access to Institute/Centre funding schemes or development programs, and detail these, especially for ECR/MCRs.
• If successful, how will you integrate your research and become a key member of this Institute/Centre?

Supporting the DECRA candidate in a collaborative project research environment

Mentors: You might wish to mention what mentors/mentoring are available to you in your local area and more broadly (within the University, collaborative networks, professional associations etc.). You should provide objective evidence, including metrics, as to the World class nature of their research expertise and achievements and/or ranking and impact in their domain/sector.

School and Faculty environment: You could insert a short para about the School/Faculty environment – e.g. infrastructure, resources, research/teaching nexus, HDR and Honours students.

Opportunities for the DECRA Candidate to demonstrate the level of independence required to be competitive for research and/or research and teaching pathways at the University of Adelaide during and after the project.

During: Insert any means and outcome measures by which you can demonstrate independence in research (or research & teaching) activity during the project. How will this award allow you to ‘step up’ and become more established individually, and how will this be evident?

After: What are your/your School’s plans to employ you upon completion of the fellowship?If you have a continuing position now, you should indicate that you will return to this at the completion of the DECRA. If you are on a contract, you could insert a few sentences outlining what you have negotiated with your Head of School regarding your post-DECRA employment, e.g. The School will offer/negotiate [delete whichever is not appropriate] an employment contract with the DECRA applicant on the basis of achievement of clear key performance indicators during the Fellowship.

It is therefore with great delight that the University of Adelaide supports this DECRA applicant, whose innovative and exciting research project will create new knowledge in the area of X.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Julie Owens

Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Research).

**Research Services will arrange DVCR signature once we receive an email with your Head of School’s approval**

(Remember, you can use up to 3 pages for your D2 statement)

Version: 13/10/2018PROFESSOR JULIE OWENS

ACTING DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR AND VICE-PRESIDENT (RESEARCH)

The University of Adelaide SA 5005 AUSTRALIA

Tel: +61 8 8313 5665 Fax: +61 8 8313 4409 Email:
CRICOS provider number 00123M