Presentation by Wendy LaunderGeneral Manager

CRC and Small Business Programs

Part 1: Presentation by General Manager, CRC program

Part 2: Insights from the CRC committee

Part 3: Presentation by CRCA

Part 4: Presentation by State/Territory government

Overview of the presentations

Overview of the CRC Program

Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program

Established in 1990. Objective: to deliver significant economic, environmental and

social benefits to Australia. Achieved by: supporting end-user

industry driven research partnerships to address major

challenges that require medium to long-term collaborative efforts.Open to all industry sectors and

research disciplines.

Essential activities

• CRCs undertake: o collaborative research activitieso education and training activities (including a PhD

program)o strategies to build innovation and R&D capacity

in SMEso utilisation activities to deploy research outputs

and encourage adoption by industry and end-users

• International engagement is encouraged

Structure of a CRC• Governance:

o Flexibleo Chair must be independento Majority of board independent of research participantso ASX principles

• Research programs

• Participants contribute resources to the CRC in order to achieve the major challenge

• Use of CRC indicia

Term sheetThe term sheet is a planning tool which will help set the groundwork for engagement in your CRC

Use it to agree on:• the key challenge• the rationale for the CRC• the participants, what they will contribute and

how they will work together• the legacy of the CRC

Eligibility requirements

Participants:• Must have one Australian higher education institution

and one Australian end-user

Matched funding:• Contributions equal to or greater than funding requested

Up to 10 years duration:• Medium to long-term

PhD program

Participants• Participants are classed as either essential or other

• All participants must contribute resources to the CRC• Resources can be in the form of cash, staff in-

kind or non-staff in-kind• Cash and in-kind treated equally for matching

purposes

• The number of participants in a CRC will vary (average of 19)

Roles and responsibilities• Independent advisory committee, the CRC

committee, manages the planning, monitoring and evaluation of CRCs and the program, and provides advice to the Minister on applications for funding

• Minister for Industry has overall responsibility for the CRC program

• The Department of Industry administers the CRC program and carries out functions authorised by the Minister

Funding

No specific limit to funding available for each CRC under the CRC program

The amount of funding awarded since the 2008 review has been on average $3.6 million per year of funding

Extension funding• Not exceeding 15 years total

Supplementary funding• Current CRCs only

Public good funding• Only current CRCs not eligible for extension funding and address

public good criteria in CRC Program Guidelines

Selection Rounds

Selection roundsCritical dates for the 17th selection round:

3 March 2014 CRC Online available for lodgement of stage one applications

March-April 2014 Information sessions held across Australia 28 April 2014 Submission of new or extension consideration

form (optional)3 July 2014 (5:00pm AEST) Stage one applications close September 2014 Expected announcement of stage one outcomesLate September / October Commencement of stage two with the submission of 2014 Research Project Proposals 17-19 November 2014 Interviews held in Canberra December 2014 Expected announcement of successful applications 1 July 2015 CRCs successful in the 17th selection round commence

operations

Selection round process

• Selection round conducted in two stages

• Government priority areas

• Independent probity advisor

Selection Criteria

Applications are assessed in a competitive merit based process against the following criteria:• Research• Results• Resources

Stage one process

• There are 3 components to the stage one application• CRC Online• Written application• Impact tool

• Applications are shortlisted at the stage one process

CRC Online

CRC Online is the department’s online application and contract management system

Applicants need to:• Register• Provide basic information on the proposed CRC• Include participant and key personnel details• Outline the budget, including participant contributions• Upload written application documentation

System opened on 3 March 2014

Applicants are encouraged to start applications through CRC Online early

Written application - summary• 100 word major challenge description

• 250 word government priorities alignment description

• 500 word executive summary

• Response to selection criteria

• CVs

• Participant declarations

Impact ToolThe impact tool is a high level, strategic planning tool that supports applicants to identify and make a transparent, defensible assessment of the intended impacts and benefits of the CRC.

Determining impacts

Five key questions to consider when forecasting impacts:• What the impact will be? • When it will occur?• With what likelihood?• At what cost?• With what benefit?

Completing the Impact Tool

• Read the guidance material

• Know how many research programs and the number of associated activities/outputs/usages/impacts

• Understand the path from input of resources through to research activity, output, usage and impact

• Consider the associated risks and management strategies

• Justify claims

Stage two process

Submission of Research Project Proposals:• Similar level of detail to an NHMRC

Project grant or ARC Linkage Project • Peer reviewed by independent experts

Interview is typically conducted by a panel comprising members of the CRC committee and independent experts

Compliance following submission of application

• All selection round application documents have specific compliance requirements including (but not limited to):• Lodgment times and dates• Formatting and page limits• Participant declaration details matching CRC Online • Eligibility against the CRC program requirements (i.e. at least

one Australian higher education institution and one end-user)

Applicants should also note that the Department may deem non-compliant responses ineligible for consideration

in the selection process.

CRC program – Commonwealth Agreement

• Between Commonwealth and recipient

• Single party to sign within 6 months of letter of offer

• Participants agreement

• Contracts start 1 July 2015

• CRC reviews

Further information

• CRC website www.crc.gov.au(Including a

subscription service for CRC news updates)

• CRC helpline (02) 6213 7177

• CRC email crc.program@industry.gov.au

• CRC Association www.crca.asn.au