Australian Research Council Act 2001 - Discovery Projects - Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2007
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3.1.1 All amounts referred to in these Funding Rules are to be read as exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (if any), unless expressly stated otherwise.
3.1.2 The minimum level of funding which will be provided by the ARC for a project is $20,000 per annum and the maximum is $500,000 per annum. The ARC reserves the right to recommend the levels of funding allocated to a project from within the above funding range.
3.1.3 If an ARC Fellowship is requested, the Proposal should include a request for the Fellowship salary and on-costs in the budget (see Appendix 3 for ARC Notional Fellowship Salaries for Funding Commencing in 2007).
3.2 Duration of funding
3.2.1 Funding for projects may be awarded for 1 to 5 years, subject to sufficient funding being available for Discovery Projects, and the provisions of the ARC Act.
3.2.2 APDs are awarded for a standard duration of 3 years, but a 4-year research and teaching option is available. ARFs, QEIIs, and APFs are awarded for a standard duration of 5 years.
3.2.3 The ARC may recommend funding for a project for a duration different from that requested in the Proposal.
3.3 Types of research supported
3.3.1 Subject to Section 3.4, Discovery Projects supports all types of research, including:
pure basic research which is experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge without looking for long-term benefits other than the advancement of knowledge;
strategic basic research which is experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge directed into specified broad areas that are expected to lead to useful discoveries. Such research provides the broad base of knowledge necessary to solve recognised practical problems; and
applied research which is original work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge with a specific application in view. Such research is undertaken either to determine possible uses for the findings of basic research or to determine new ways of achieving some specific and predetermined objectives.
3.3.2 The following project costs may be supported under Discovery Projects:
personnel (salaries and on-costs), including:
ARC Fellowships as outlined in Section 5.5;
Research Associates, technicians, laboratory attendants, and so on;
but excluding those items detailed in subsection 3.5.2b and e.
b. teaching relief for Chief Investigators, but only where the request is justified to the satisfaction of the ARC (see subsection 3.5.2c.);
c. equipment;
d. maintenance; and
e. travel.
3.4 Areas of investigation/work not supported
3.4.1 Discovery Projects does not support:
clinical medical and dental research and training. These areas of research are generally covered by other Commonwealth Government funding agencies, such as the NHMRC;
activities leading solely to the creation or performance of a work of art, including visual art, musical compositions, drama, dance, designs and literary works. These areas are generally covered by other Commonwealth Government agencies, such as the Australia Council for the Arts;
scholarly investigations that, while important in themselves, do not lead to conceptual advances or discoveries, or to novel practical outcomes or applications. Projects such as uncritical biographical compilations and purely descriptive catalogues or editions that do not involve original research are not funded;
production of teaching materials, even though some research may be involved in their production;
compilation of data, unless this is an integral part of a project, in which case the Proposal must include a statement indicating the research objectives to which the data would contribute; and/or
development of research aids and tools (including computer programs), unless they form an integral part of the Proposal, in which case the Proposal must include a statement indicating the research objectives to which these activities would contribute.
3.4.2 If the ARC considers that a Proposal seeks funding for a project that involves any of the items listed in subsection 3.4.1, then to that extent part or all of the Proposal will not be recommended or approved for funding. However, if the ARC considers other parts of the proposed project remain worthy of support, the ARC may recommend that a reduced amount of funding be approved for the Proposal.
3.5 Restrictions on budget items
3.5.1 Discovery Projects supports only costs which directly support a research project. The ARC may in its absolute discretion determine whether any project costs meet this requirement.
3.5.2 Discovery Projects has restrictions on the following budget items:
Capital works and general infrastructure Capital works and general infrastructure costs are not funded in whole or in part under Discovery Projects.
Salaries of Chief Investigators (CIs) and Partner Investigators (PIs)
The Commonwealth will not provide support, in whole or in part, to meet the salaries of CIs or PIs under Discovery Projects.
c. Teaching
Commonwealth funds may be used for teaching relief only if specifically approved for that purpose. Discovery Projects funding is not provided to fund teaching. However, the ARC may consider a request for teaching relief for a period of not more than 6 months per calendar year if such a request is fully justified in terms of achieving a successful outcome for the project. If approved, the funding contribution is limited up to a maximum amount for 6 months per calendar year in accordance with the figure specified in Appendix 3, Item 3, regardless of the level of appointment of the staff member, and is a Special Condition.
d. Special Studies Programs
Funds are not provided for travel or related expenses for researchers when on a Special Studies Program. Some specified costs may be supported within a Discovery Projects project provided that the Proposal clearly demonstrates that such expenses are not covered by a Special Studies Program and that the research to be undertaken directly relates to the project. In these cases the use of funds needs to be approved as a Special Condition.
e. Research support for Partner Investigators
Funds are not provided for Partner Investigators, apart from short-term project support for investigators visiting from overseas.
f. International students’ fees and Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) liability
Funds are not provided to pay the fees of international students or the HECS liabilities for Australian students.
g. Computer facilities for molecular analysis
Applicants for projects involving molecular biology should be aware that a number of organisations provide access to a range of databases and a large suite of analysis programs. As a result, Proposals seeking funding for computer facilities to undertake molecular analysis must justify such needs very thoroughly and to the satisfaction of the ARC.
h. Basic facilities
The Administering Organisation must agree to provide the following basic facilities (where relevant to the Proposal), which will not be funded under Discovery Projects:
i. accommodation (e.g. laboratory and office, suitably equipped and furnished in standard ways);
ii. access to workshop services (e.g. machine tools and qualified technicians available to each member of staff, according to need, for research);
iii. access to film or music editing facilities;
iv. access to a basic library collection;
v. standard reference materials or funds for abstracting services;
vi. provision of computers (excluding access to high-performance computers or other specialised applications) and basic computing facilities such as word processing and other standard software; and
vii. use of photocopiers, telephones, mail, fax, email and internet services.
i. Publication costs
Publication costs, including page costs, will not be funded under Discovery Projects.
j. Costs not directly related to a project
Costs not directly related to a project will not be funded, for example costs of a personal nature such as childcare.
3.6 Number of Proposals and funded projects
3.6.1 General requirements
3.6.1.1 Proposals may be submitted only to the extent that, if all were successful, the researchers nominated on those Proposals would not be involved in more than the maximum numbers of projects permitted in 2007 (see subsection 3.6.1.2). For the purposes of applying these limits, the number of ongoing research projects which are to be funded for 2007 and the number of Proposals on which the researcher is nominated are evaluated as at the closing time for the submission of Proposals, regardless of any subsequent change in, or withdrawal of, Proposals, taking into account proposed relinquishment of Fellowships for those seeking a subsequent ARF/QEII/APF (see subsections 5.5.5.3c and 5.5.6.2b). Submitting Proposals that exceed this limit may result in all Proposals involving the relevant researcher(s) not being recommended or approved for funding.
3.6.1.2 Specific limits on number of projects funded for 2007
Limit type
Limit description
a. CI/Fellow limit
A researcher may not be involved in more than two Discovery Projects projects on which he/she is a CI or ARC Fellow, regardless of the<br>number of PIs involved.
b. Sole CI/Fellow limit
A researcher may not be involved in more than one Discovery Projects project on which he/she is the sole CI or sole ARC Fellow, regardless<br>of the number of PIs involved.
c. PI limit
A researcher may not be involved as a PI on more than four Discovery Projects projects (note: a researcher who is eligible to be a CI is not eligible to be a PI).
d. CI/Fellow limit if a researcher is substantially associated with a Commonwealth-funded Research Centre
Subject to subsection 3.6.1.2e, a researcher who is eligible to be a CI or an ARC Fellow who is substantially associated with a<br>Commonwealth-funded Research Centre may not be involved in more than one Discovery Projects project (see Section 6.3).
e. Federation Fellow limit
A Federation Fellow may be involved in up to two Discovery<br>Projects projects (one may be as a sole CI), in addition to her/his Federation Fellowship.
3.6.1.3 For the purposes of these Funding Rules, a project for which funding was/is to be carried over, or deferred, into the next year is considered to be funded for the years for which it was recommended for funding. For example, if a project was originally funded for three years and funding is subsequently carried over to a fourth year, this project will still be considered for these purposes as funded for the original three years.
3.6.2 Duplication
3.6.2.1 Only one Proposal may be submitted to Discovery Projects in respect of a particular project in the same funding round, regardless of any variation in the listed researchers and/or Administering Organisation. If the ARC considers that the project described in a Proposal is the same or similar (in whole or in part) to a project described in another Proposal that is submitted in the same funding round, the ARC may in its absolute discretion decide to not recommend for approval any or all of those Proposals, or recommend that a reduced amount of funding be provided for that or any similar Proposal. The ARC reserves the right to determine whether Proposals are duplicates or sufficiently similar to warrant one or more Proposals’ being not recommended for approval.