5Roles and eligibility for researchers

5                         Roles and eligibility for researchers

5.1 Researcher roles and general eligibility

5.1.1 Roles that may be undertaken by researchers under Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development are:

 

a. Chief Investigator;

b. Indigenous Researcher Fellow;

c. Mentor; and

d. Supervisor.

5.1.2 A Proposal must nominate at least one CI or IRF candidate.

5.1.3 All CIs and IRF candidates nominated on a Proposal must satisfy the eligibility criteria for their nominated role as specified in Section 5 of these Funding Rules.

5.1.4 The first-named CI or IRF candidate on a Proposal will be considered the ‘Project Leader’ of the project.

5.1.5 A researcher nominated as a CI or IRF candidate must take significant intellectual responsibility for the proposed project, its conception, and any strategic decisions called for in its pursuit and the communication of results. The researcher must have the capacity to make a serious commitment to the project and cannot assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be placed in the hands of others. The ARC reserves the right to determine whether a person has the requisite capacity to perform the role.

5.1.6 At the time of the submission of a Proposal all obligations regarding previously funded projects involving the CIs and IRF candidates on the Proposal must have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the ARC. Such obligations include the provision of satisfactory progress and final reports.

5.1.7 If the ARC considers that a researcher nominated in a Proposal as a CI or IRF candidate does not meet the eligibility criteria in this Section or Sections 5.2 or 5.3 for the role which that researcher is to perform, the Proposal will not be recommended or approved for funding.

5.1.8 CIs and IRF candidates may nominate Mentors and, where applicable, Supervisors of their postgraduate research, who will support them in developing as researchers. There is no requirement for Mentors and Supervisors to be Indigenous Researchers.

5.1.9 A researcher nominated as a Mentor or Supervisor must take significant responsibility for intellectual guidance and support of a CI or IRF nominated in the Proposal. The ARC reserves the right to determine whether a person has the requisite capacity to perform the role.

5.2 Eligibility criteria for Chief Investigators

5.2.1 To be eligible to be a CI, a person must meet the criteria stipulated in Section 5.2 and subsections 5.1.5 and 5.1.6.

5.2.2 A researcher nominated on a Proposal as a CI must meet at least one of the following criteria as at 1 January 2008, and for the full term of her/his participation in the project:

1. be an employee of, and derive at least 50 per cent of her/his Earnings from, an Eligible Organisation listed in Appendix 2; or
2. be a holder of an Adjunct Appointment or equivalent, at an Eligible Organisation listed in Appendix 2, and not derive more than 50 per cent of her/his Earnings from organisations outside the higher education sector that are funded predominantly from State/Territory or Commonwealth Government sources if the Government funding for her/his organisation, or her/his part of the organisation, is provided mainly for research activities. Such organisations include, but are not limited to, Commonwealth-funded Research Centres which are outside the higher education sector, AIATSIS, AIMS, ANSTO, CSIRO, DSTO, GA, and State/Territory Research and Development organisations and research areas within a Government entity; or
3. be enrolled as a student for a postgraduate research degree as at 1 January 2008.

5.2.3 He/she must reside predominantly in Australia for the full term of her/his participation in the project. If the person does not have permanent resident status he/she must obtain temporary or permanent resident status from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs before he/she may commence on the project.

5.2.4 He/she must be an Indigenous Researcher.

5.2.5 He/she must:

a. have completed successfully a Masters (by research) or PhD qualification, or demonstrate equivalent research capacity and experience in the Proposal to the satisfaction of the ARC; or

b. be enrolled in a Masters (by research) or PhD degree where the research project which is the subject of the Proposal forms part of the research towards the degree and the Proposal demonstrates her/his research capacity and experience is of a high standard to the satisfaction of the ARC.

5.2.6 Notwithstanding a researcher’s eligibility under the criteria above or below in this Section, a researcher may not be a CI if he/she:

a. is undertaking an undergraduate degree or an undergraduate diploma (unless it is outside the scope of the researcher’s postgraduate studies);

b. is undertaking a postgraduate coursework degree (unless it is outside the scope of the researcher’s postgraduate studies);

c. has participated as a CI on a project funded by the ARC, other than on a project funded under the Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme;

d. has held an ARC Fellowship or Research Cadetship-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander funded by the ARC;

e. holds or has participated in a nationally competitive grant or fellowship from the NHMRC; or

f. derives more than 50 per cent of her/his Earnings from organisations outside the higher education sector that are funded predominantly from State/Territory or Commonwealth Government sources if the Government funding for her/his organisation, or her/his part of the organisation, is provided mainly for research activities. Such organisations include, but are not limited to, Commonwealth-funded Research Centres which are outside the higher education sector, AIATSIS, AIMS, ANSTO, CSIRO, DSTO, GA, and State/Territory Research and Development organisations and research areas within a Government entity.

5.2.7 If a Proposal has been approved for funding and any or all of the CIs are at any time during the project no longer able to work on the project, the project may be continued under replacement CIs provided that:

 a. approval is obtained from the Minister for the change in CI; and

b. a replacement CI meets the following criteria at the time he/she is nominated as a replacement and for the full term of her/his participation in the project:

i.  he/she must take significant intellectual responsibility for the proposed project and any strategic decisions called for in its pursuit and the communication of results. The researcher must have the capacity to make a serious commitment and contribution to the project and cannot assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be placed in the hands of others; and

ii. he/she must reside predominantly in Australia for the full term of her/his participation in the project; and

iii. all obligations regarding previously funded projects involving the nominated replacement CI must have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the ARC; and

iv. he/she must be:

(a) an employee of, and derive at least 50 per cent of her/his Earnings from, an Eligible Organisation listed in Appendix 2; or

(b) be a holder of an Adjunct Appointment or equivalent, at an Eligible Organisation listed in Appendix 2 and not derive more than 50 per cent of her/his Earnings from organisations outside the higher education sector that are funded predominantly from State/Territory or Commonwealth Government sources if the Government funding for her/his organisation, or her/his part of the organisation, is provided mainly for research activities. Such organisations include, but are not limited to, Commonwealth-funded Research Centres which are outside the higher education sector, AIATSIS, AIMS, ANSTO, CSIRO, DSTO, GA, and State/Territory Research and Development organisations and research areas within a Government entity; or

(c)  be enrolled as a student for a postgraduate research degree.

5.3 Eligibility criteria for IRFs

5.3.1 General eligibility

5.3.1.1 IRFs provide opportunities for researchers at the postdoctoral level to undertake research of national and international significance, and to broaden their research experience.

5.3.1.2 IRF candidates must meet the criteria for CIs in subsection 5.2.3, plus as at 1 January 2008 and for the full term of the funding they must meet the eligibility criteria below in subsection 5.3.1.3.

5.3.1.3 Proposals may seek funding for an IRF to commence in 2008 if:

a. the IRF candidate has been awarded a PhD or equivalent on or after 4 May 2004 or has obtained approval from the ARC, via the submission of an Eligibility Exemption Request pursuant to the process outlined in Section 7.1, for the recognition of an equivalent research qualification or experience and/or relaxation of the qualification and/or timing requirements; or

b.              the IRF candidate has not yet submitted a PhD thesis but is expected to do so before the end of 2007, in which case the ARC will require official confirmation that the thesis has been submitted by 31 December 2007. An IRF cannot commence until formal advice is received by the ARC that the PhD has been awarded within a maximum time limit of 6 months of the date of submission of the thesis. If these conditions have not been satisfied, the offer of funding for the Proposal will be withdrawn or the Funding Agreement will be terminated;

c the IRF candidate is an Indigenous Researcher; and

d. the IRF candidate has not been previously awarded an ARC Fellowship (or ARC Research Cadetship-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander).

5.3.1.4 Eligibility Exemption Requests must contain supporting information justifying the IRF candidate’s special circumstances for an eligibility exemption, including information indicating that the candidate’s qualifications/experience is equivalent to a PhD obtained within the time limits specified and/or a case justifying the relaxation of the timing requirements in terms of issues such as, but not limited to, research career interruption, non-research employment, misadventure or carer responsibilities. Exemptions may be given by the ARC only if the exemption has been sought in accordance with the process described in Section 7.1.

5.3.1.5 The ARC may, in its absolute discretion, determine the validity and date of effect for the attainment of PhD-equivalent status for researchers for the purpose of determining the eligibility of IRF candidates and whether to relax the timing requirements.

5.3.1.6 Notwithstanding a researcher’s eligibility under the criteria above, a researcher may not be an IRF candidate if he/she:

a.              is undertaking an undergraduate degree, an undergraduate diploma, or a postgraduate coursework degree (unless it is outside the scope of the researcher’s postgraduate studies);

b.              has participated as a Chief Investigator on a project funded by the ARC, other than on a project funded under the Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme;

c.              has held an ARC Fellowship or Research Cadetship – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; or

d.              holds or has participated in a nationally competitive grant or fellowship from the NHMRC.

5.3.1.7 Unless otherwise specified in these Funding Rules, Proposals requesting an IRF must be made on the basis that the Fellow’s research will be carried out on a full-time basis only. Nevertheless, if an IRF Proposal is successful the Fellow may, during the term of the IRF, request approval from the ARC for conversion of the IRF to part-time status for a limited period or periods of time. The ARC may, in its absolute discretion, approve the conversion of the IRF to part-time status for one or more periods of time.

5.3.2 Tenure details and salary support entitlements for IRFs

5.3.2.1 IRFs are awarded on a full-time basis only.

5.3.2.2 IRFs support one year’s or two years’ full-time employment on an approved project and are tenable at Eligible Organisations.

5.3.2.3 The ARC salary support for IRFs is set out in Appendix 3.

5.3.2.4 A Proposal which nominates a researcher for an IRF, and accordingly seeks salary and salary-related on-costs for the IRF, may also request funding for other research costs for a proposed project. If the Proposal seeks funding only for the salary and on-costs for the IRF, the Proposal must confirm that the IRF candidate will have her/his research costs funded for research on the proposed project. If the Proposal does not contain this confirmation, then the ARC may, in its absolute discretion, decide to not recommend the Proposal for approval.

5.3.2.5 A researcher who has been awarded an IRF may not apply for an APD (in the ARC’s Discovery Projects scheme) or APDI (in the ARC’s Linkage Projects scheme) in the first year of her/his IRF.

5.3.3 Host Organisations for IRFs

5.3.3.1 See subsection 4.1.2 for information on Host Organisations at which Fellows may undertake their research.

5.4 Mentors and Supervisors

5.4.1 As Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development aims to develop the research expertise of Indigenous Researchers, the strength of the research environment and support for the researcher are important factors in the assessment of Proposals. In particular, it is strongly recommended that a Mentor (who does not need to be an Indigenous Researcher) be associated with the Proposal to provide specific expert advice on the subject of the research.

5.4.2 If the proposed research is part of research towards a higher research degree, it is strongly recommended that the researcher’s Supervisor be consulted on the preparation of the Proposal and be associated with the Proposal. The roles of Supervisor and Mentor can be filled either by the same individual or by separate persons, and Proposals may nominate both a Mentor and Supervisor.