ARC LINKAGE PROJECTS 2016 Continuous Round UQR&I ... · (2012 – 2016) • Second nationally in 2016 (29 awards) ... (1 January 2017 for LP) and for the duration of the project:

CRICOS Provider No 00025B

ARC LINKAGE PROJECTS2016 Continuous Round

UQR&I Information Session

Nicole Thompson – Director, Research Management Office, UQR&I5 October 2016


Agenda

• UQ Performance in ARC Linkage• ARC Linkage Scheme Overview:

o Objectives and Selection Criteriao Eligibility and Budgetso Important Changeso Submitting your Application, including key dates,

documents and links


UQ Performance in Linkage Projects (2012 – 2016)• Second nationally in 2016 (29 awards)• Cumulatively second nationally in 2012-2016 by $:

• $52,062,568 total ARC funds awarded to UQ• 145 Linkage Projects funded in total

2012 (round 1 and 2) 2013 2014

Submitted AwardedSuccess

Rate Submitted AwardedSuccess


Rate

UQ 82 40 48.7% 62 30 48.3% 74 24 32.4%

National 922 336 36.4% 785 306 39.0% 699 251 35.9%

2015 2016

Submitted AwardedSuccess


Rate

UQ 67 22 32.8% 69 29 42.03%

National 710 252 35.5% 742 231 31.13%


Linkage Projects – Scheme Objectives• Support the initiation and/or development of long-term strategic research

alliances between higher education organisations and other organisations, including industry and other research end-users, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems and/or to provide opportunities to obtain national economic, commercial, social or cultural benefits;

• Provide opportunities for internationally competitive research projects to be conducted in collaboration with organisations outside the higher education sector, targeting those who have demonstrated a clear commitment to high-quality research;

• Encourage growth of a national pool of world-class researchers to meet the needs of the broader Australian innovation system; and

• Build the scale and focus of research in the national Science and Research Priorities.


Linkage Projects – Selection Criteria

INVESTIGATORS (20%)

ROPE, potential to engage in collaborative research with end-users, and time and capacity

PROPOSED PROJECT (50%) Significance and Innovation (25%)Approach and Training (15%)Project Research Environment (10%)

COMMITMENT FROM PARTNER ORGANISATIONS (30%)

Genuine commitment and collaboration in the project, encouraging and developing strategic research alliances, budget justification for cash/in-kind, dissemination and commercialisation

Further detail – Funding Rules Section D5


Linkage Projects – PO Eligibility

Partner Organisation Eligibility:

To be eligible as a Partner Organisation, an organisationcannot be:

(a) an eligible Organisation (ie University)(b) a controlled entity of any Eligible Organisation; or(c) an entity (for example a joint venture) where more than 50% is owned by one or more Eligible Organisations.

A Proposal must include at least one Partner Organisation.


Linkage Projects – CI/PI Eligibility

Key CI Eligibility: A CI must meet at least one of the following criteria at the scheme-specific commencement date (1 January 2017 for LP) and for the duration of the project:• Be an employee for at least 0.2 FTE (20 per cent of Full Time Equivalent)

at one Eligible Organisation; or• Be a holder of an Emeritus appointment (as defined at Funding Rules A3)

at an Eligible Organisation.

Key PI Eligibility: The Proposal may* nominate a PI from each Partner Organisation. A PI who is representing a Partner Organisation on the Proposal is required to have a role within that Partner Organisation. • A participant nominated as a PI on a Proposal must not meet the

eligibility criteria for a CI, and must have the capacity to make a serious commitment to carrying out the Project.

*If a PO does not wish to nominate a PI, they may still pledge the in-kind value of PO staff in the Linkage budget more generally.


Linkage Projects – Eligibility Limits

• A CI may submit and/or be funded concurrently for a maximum of four Linkage Projects as a CI.

ARC FAQ 3.14 How do I calculate the total number of Linkage Project (LP) proposals/projects on which I am a Chief Investigator (CI)? For the purposes of this calculation, please assume a commencement date of January 2017 for all LP16 proposals submitted from 1 July to 22 December 2016. To calculate your total number of proposals/ projects, include all Linkage Projects that you currently hold which will continue in 2017 as well as those that may commence in 2017 (i.e. the one/s for which you are submitting a proposal). Exclude projects which are scheduled to be completed by January 2017, including those which will have carry-over funds after January 2017.


Linkage Projects – Budgets

Total funding provided by the ARC is a minimum of $50,000 per year to a maximum of $300,000 per year, per Project, for two to five years.

Budget Items Supported – Funding Rules Section A7 and D7, including personnel (no CI or PI salaries); HDR Stipends; Teaching Relief; Travel (average $20K pa); Facilities access; Technical Workshop Services; Field Research, 3rd Party Services, Equipment; Publication and dissemination costs; Project-specific web hosting/development; Workshops.

Troubleshooting:• Be aware of the travel cap, and differences between travel and field work • Teaching relief ($50K pa total – not per CI)

Budget Items Not Supported – Funding Rules Section A8


Linkage Projects – PO Contributions

• Combined Partner Organisation cash and in-kind contributions equal to or greater than the total sought from the ARC.

• Of this, the combined Partner Organisation cash contribution/s must be at least 25% of the total sought from the ARC.

Example: Application budget Y1: $78,000 ARC requested + Y2: $113,000 ARC requested = $191,000

PO(s) must provide at least $47,750 in cash (25% of total requested from ARC) and $143,250 in in-kind (cash + in-kind must equal total ARC request)

But there are additional complexities for some Partner Organisations:Partner Organisation(s) whose funds are appropriated predominantly from Commonwealth or Australian State or Territory funding sources for the purposes of research are restricted in their capacity to contribute to the required Partner Organisation contribution. Cash and/or in-kind contributions from Partner Organisation(s) of this type are only eligible to make up a maximum of 25 per cent of the required Partner Organisation contribution. This maximum of 25 per cent is the combined eligible contribution from Partner Organisations of this type, and is not the maximum per individual Partner Organisation of this type.


Linkage Projects – PO Contributions

The following types of Partner Organisation(s) are exempt from the Cash Contribution requirements:• Exempt Archive and Public Record Office;• Exempt Charity; • Exempt Herbarium;• Exempt Museum and Collecting Organisation;• Exempt Non-Profit Organisation;• Exempt Start-up.

IMPORTANT: In order for your LP Proposal to be exempt from the cash contribution requirements, all partner organisationsmust fall into exempt category/ies. The overall match for the scheme (for example via in-kind) still needs to be met.


Linkage Projects – PO In-kinds

• Staff time of Partner Investigator(s) and/or other PO personnel

• Access to facilities, equipment and databases• Analytical and other services• Equipment• Materials and consumables• Patents and licences• Contribution of software• TravelThe ARC FAQs (Q4.7) provide useful guidance on in-kinds.


Linkage Projects – Other Tips

Intellectual Property:Consider the types (background and Project) of IP, and your developing application, with your Faculty/Institute RPM.

Conflict of Interest (COI): Each party involved in a proposal must declare to the Administering Organisation at the date of submission any COI that exists or is likely to arise in relation to any aspect of the Proposal.

Reports:It is now an eligibility requirement that all outstanding ARC reports (for any scheme) be lodged.

http://www.uq.edu.au/research/research-partnerships/about-rpms


Linkage Projects – Important Changes 2016

• The 2016 continuous ARC Linkage Projects application round accepts applications from 1 July to 22 December 2016.

• Linkage applications, Requests Not to Assess and Rejoinders are all now continuous. Flow on to post-award contract execution dates.

• New Funding Rules are also now available for the 2017 continuous Linkage Projects round.

• Key considerations around resubmission of unsuccessful Linkage proposals: A6 and A7 are new questions on the application form.

• An unsuccessful proposal may be resubmitted: ARC recommends all parts of the proposal be reviewed with a view to improvement.

• Awareness of Word Cloud guiding assignment of assessors• Arial 11 font (except Part C references Arial 9)• G5 HDR must be conferred by 31 December 2016 (for CI eligibility)• G7 and G8: the assumed commencement date is 1 January 2017



ARC FAQ 2.13 Can a proposal be submitted which has been unsuccessful in previous rounds?

Yes. An unsuccessful Linkage Projects proposal can be submitted again in the Linkage Projects scheme (including an unsuccessful LP16 proposal being submitted again in LP16), provided the outcome has been announced for the previous proposal. Applicants should identify that the proposal being submitted is similar to a previously submitted Linkage Projects proposal, and demonstrate how the proposal differs to the previously submitted proposal. Applicants should carefully consider all feedback provided on the previously submitted proposal, including assessor comments. It is recommended that all parts of the proposal are reviewed with a view to improvement. Please note that the ARC has a mechanism in place for identifying duplicate proposals RMS. If a proposal is deemed by the ARC to be the same as a previously submitted proposal, i.e. the aims and methodology of the Project Description have not substantially changed, then the ARC reserves the right to refer to the assessment for the previous proposal. Furthermore, new Detailed Assessments will not be sought and applicants will not be given the opportunity for a rejoinder.


Linkage Projects – UQ Key Dates

Next UQR&I Closing Date: 17 October 2016 (for submission to ARC 2 Nov)

UQR&I will also support proposals submitted at other times via continuous application processing, with a 2 week processing turn-around.

Request not to Assess Forms:Ensure you submit the RNTA form to UQR&I three weeks before the proposal submission to ARC (ARC RNTA deadline is two weeks prior to the submission of the Linkage proposal)*

*Pending update by ARC.


Linkage Projects – Application ProcessApplications are to be completed and submitted using RMS. Please see UQR&I’s RMS web page for FAQs, hints and tips on using RMS.

Submit application to UQR&I for internal review – once your full proposal and all of its attachments are ready (and valid) in RMS, you will need to submit internally as follows:• Submit online to UQR&I by pressing the ‘Submit to Research Office’

button on the Action Centre home page. • Email [email protected] with your completed and signed UQ

Coversheet to advise that the application is ready for internal review. • Provide your completed and signed Certification Proformas to UQR&I

prior to ARC submission.UQR&I will review and provide feedback to applicants. Final submission instructions will be provided with the review.Ensure you seek School/Faculty/Institute Peer Review – maximisingquality upfront due to resubmission limitations is important.

http://www.uq.edu.au/research/research-management/arc-rms

mailto:[email protected]


Linkage Projects – Key Documents & Links

• Funding Rules for all schemes under the Linkage Programme are in the one document (Linkage Projects - Parts A and D): http://www.arc.gov.au/sites/default/files/filedepot/Public/NCGP/LP16/Linkage_Programme_Funding_Rules_2015.pdf

• Linkage Projects Instructions to Applicants and FAQs: http://www.arc.gov.au/instructions-and-faqs

• Medical Research Policy: http://www.arc.gov.au/arc-medical-research-policy. UQR&I can also assist in terms of eligibility advice.

• UQR&I webpage (instructions and templates for applicants – as the ARC has changed this round’s proposal formatting, please use the new UQR&I templates): http://www.uq.edu.au/research/research-management/arc-linkage-projects

http://www.arc.gov.au/sites/default/files/filedepot/Public/NCGP/LP16/Linkage_Programme_Funding_Rules_2015.pdf

http://www.arc.gov.au/instructions-and-faqs

http://www.arc.gov.au/arc-medical-research-policy

http://www.uq.edu.au/research/research-management/arc-linkage-projects


Linkage Projects – Key Contacts at UQ

UQR&I Email• [email protected]

RMS Help• http://www.uq.edu.au/research/research-management/arc-rms or• [email protected]

Your UQR&I Linkage pre-award team (Research Grants Unit)• http://www.uq.edu.au/research/contact-us

Research Partnerships Managers (for partner relationships, IP)• http://www.uq.edu.au/research/contact-us


http://www.uq.edu.au/research/research-management/arc-rms


http://www.uq.edu.au/research/contact-us

http://www.uq.edu.au/research/contact-us


Linkage Projects – New UQ Brochure





Limits on Projects and Proposals• In calculating eligibility under any scheme, limits will now be considered in terms of

the life of a project (known as an ‘Active Project’ including carry-forwards and extensions to end date), rather than only the funding years set out in the original Funding Agreement. This change applies to all schemes and will have implications for researchers in determining their eligibility in forthcoming rounds.

• For the purposes of eligibility under the Linkage Programme, CIs on ITRHs commencing in 2015 or later, or ITTCs commencing in 2016 or later will each count as one LP.

Other Key Changes• Selection Criteria including weightings have been updated across the majority of

schemes including DECRA, Future Fellowships, DP, IN, LIEF, LP, ITRH and ITTC.• Small Businesses (fewer than 20 full-time employees) are now listed as a Partner

Organisation exempt from the Cash Contribution requirements under LP.• Request Not to Assess forms for LP may be submitted at the same time as a

continuous proposal.