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FEDERATION FELLOWSHIPS

Guidelines for applicants

for funding commencing in

2002

Australian Research Council

Federation Fellowship

Guidelines for Funding Commencing in 2002

Table of Contents

1 Introduction....................................................4

2 Objectives......................................................4

3 Description.....................................................4

3.1 Type of research supported

3.2 Areas of investigation/work not supported

3.3 Support available

3.4 Duration of funding

3.5 Salary Level

4 Eligibility criteria for Federation Fellowships..........................6

4.1 Administering Institution for Fellows

4.2 Number of applications/grants

4.2.1 Limit on the number of applications

4.2.2 Limit on the number of ARC grants

5 Application process..............................................7

5.1 Submission of applications

5.1.1 Closing date for applications

5.1.2 How to submit applications

5.2 Number of copies

5.3 Application format

5.4 Application form and instructions to applicants

6 Selection and approval process.....................................8

6.1 Selection criteria

6.2 Selection procedure

6.2.1 Assessment

6.3 Federation Fellowships cycle 2001

6.4 Offer of Fellowship

6.5 Conditions of grant

6.5.1 Commencement of Fellowships

7 Appeals process................................................11

8 Grant administration............................................11

8.1 Reporting requirements

8.1.1 Failure to provide reports

8.2 Financial management - payments

8.3 Privacy of individuals

8.4 Confidentiality

8.5 Intellectual property

8.6 Incomplete or misleading information

8.7 Contact points

Acronyms

The following acronyms are used throughout these guidelines.

ARC Australian Research Council

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

DSTO Defence Science and Technology Organisation

NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council

Definition

An ‘administering institution’ is the institution which receives funds for the award. The administering institution signs the Conditions of Grant.

Australian Research Council

Federation Fellowships

Guidelines for Funding Commencing in 2002

1 Introduction

The Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Federation Fellowships are a major initiative arising from the Government’s 29 January 2001 statement Backing Australia’s Ability: an innovation action plan for the future.

The Federation Fellowships are a new, innovative and highly prestigious award designed to develop and retain Australian skills. By providing an internationally competitive salary, the Federation Fellowships will support and encourage Australian researchers to stay in, or return to, Australia to conduct research of significant national economic, environmental and social benefit. It will be expected that Federation Fellows will make a major contribution to the Australian research effort and national innovation system.

Up to 25 Federation Fellowships with a standard tenure of five years will be awarded in 2002.

Applications are invited from outstanding individuals with exceptional, internationally renowned research careers in any discipline. The Fellowships are available for tenure at Australian higher education institutions and Australian research organisations that are funded primarily for research from State or Commonwealth Government sources.

2 Objectives

The introduction of Federation Fellowships represents a commitment to pursue excellence in research, attract and retain world class Australian researchers in key positions and create new rewards and incentives for the application of their talents in Australia.

The Federation Fellowships aim to:

• attract and retain leading Australian researchers in key positions
• support research that will result in economic, environmental and social benefits for Australia
• expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability
• support excellent, internationally competitive research by individuals
• build and sustain world-class research teams and linkages

3 Description

The Federation Fellowships provide opportunities for outstanding Australian researchers to return to, or remain in key positions in Australia. Outstanding international researchers may also be attracted to undertake research which is demonstrated to be of national benefit to Australia.

It is expected that, through the Federation Fellowships, Australian researchers of international renown will make a significant contribution to the generation of knowledge and the Australian innovation system. They will also assist with the development of stronger links between researchers, industry and the international research community.

3.1 Type of research supported

The Federation Fellowships have been designed to support outstanding Australian researchers with track records of international renown, whose research may encompass—

• pure basic research: experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge without looking for long-term benefits other than the advancement of knowledge
• strategic basic research: experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge directed into specified broad areas that are expected to lead to useful discoveries. It provides the broad base of knowledge necessary to solve recognised practical problems
• applied research: original work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge with a specific application in view. It 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

3.2 Areas of investigation/work not supported

The Federation Fellowships do not support the following work—

• clinical medical and dental research and training and public health research and training that are covered by the NHMRC
• 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
• activities that lead solely to the creation or performance of a work of art, including visual art, musical compositions, drama, dance, designs and literary works. Commonwealth Government support for these activities is provided through the Australia Council for the Arts
• production of teaching materials, even though some research may be involved in their production
• compilation of data, unless an integral part of a project, in which case applicants must provide a statement indicating the research objectives to which the data would contribute
• development of research aids and tools (including computer programs), unless they form an integral part of a project, in which case applicants must provide a statement indicating the research objectives to which these activities would contribute.

3.3 Support Available

The support available under Federation Fellowships is salary and on-costs.

3.4 Duration of Funding

The Federation Fellowships have a standard tenure of five years.

3.5 Salary Level

Successful Federation Fellows will attract salary commensurate with internationally competitive salaries to help attract and retain key researchers in Australia. At $A225,000 per annum plus 26% on-costs, these Fellowships provide salaries substantially higher than those payable under other ARC National Competitive Grants Programmes.

4 Eligibility criteria for Federation Fellowships

Federation Fellowships are tenable only on a full-time basis at Australian higher education institutions and other Australian research organisations, funded primarily for research from State or Commonwealth Government sources, such as DSTO and CSIRO. Researchers with both continuing and non-continuing appointments are eligible to apply for Federation Fellowships. Successful Fellowship applicants must relinquish their existing positions before taking up the award.

Federation Fellows are expected to work full-time on research and research-related activities. While a Fellow’s principal duty is to undertake research, it is also important to specify the role he/she would be expected to play within the host department or institution. Research-related activities could include supervision of postgraduate students.

Applicants must be distinguished researchers who are at the forefront of international research and who are either:

• Australia‑based Australian researchers who have a research record of highest international standing, or
• expatriate Australian researchers, with research records of high international standing, who wish to return to pursue research in Australia; or
• extremely high profile non-Australian researchers who wish to pursue research which would provide major benefit to Australia, within Australia.

Preference for Federation Fellowships will be given to Australian citizens and permanent residents. There is scope for up to five Federation Fellowships to be awarded in any given year to researchers who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents. Applicants who do not currently hold Australian citizenship or permanent resident status at the time of application will need to demonstrate that the Fellowship would be of national benefit to Australia. These applicants will also need to demonstrate a higher level of performance than their Australian competitors or be able to offer special expertise, extensive skills or exceptionally high performance levels not available locally, which will be of benefit to Australian research in facilitating the transfer of critical knowledge to Australia and Australians.

Federation Fellows must reside predominantly in Australia for the full term of the grant. If the applicant does not have permanent resident status he/she must obtain temporary resident status from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs before taking up the grant.

Although applicants are required to reside predominantly in Australia, it is expected that the holders of Federation Fellowships will pursue research that is at the leading edge, internationally, in their field. To facilitate this aim, Federation Fellows may undertake periods of research overseas. The option of approved periods overseas for Federation Fellowship holders is available in instances in which it can be demonstrated clearly that this is in the best interests of the research and its outcomes, and of national benefit to Australia. Periods overseas of up to two years in total during the period of award may be approved.

4.1 Administering Institution for Fellows

The institution will be required to certify its agreement to provide a high level of support, including facilities, access to support requirements such as qualified technicians, all library services and any equipment necessary for the conduct of the research. Institutions will be required to show their commitment to the Fellow by providing a detailed submission for their contributions towards the Fellowship which could include cash and in-kind support (Part E of the application form). The level of guaranteed support must match, at least dollar-for-dollar, the financial assistance (in salary) provided by the Commonwealth over the life of the Fellowship.

4.2 Number of applications/grants

4.2.1 Limit on the number of applications

In any one year, the ARC will consider no more than one application for a Federation Fellowship from any one researcher, regardless of any variation in the proposed administering institution.

4.2.2 Limit on the number of ARC grants

Successful applicants will be required to relinquish any current Fellowships before accepting a Federation Fellowship. This applies to all ARC Fellowships and any other Fellowship held from another funding body.

Federation Fellowship holders are eligible to hold the maximum number of grants in all other ARC schemes. This includes (but is not exclusive to) 2 Discovery-Projects and 4 Linkage-Projects.

5 Application process

As the application is the prime source of information available to the selection committee, applicants must include in their Fellowship application a mature research plan ready for implementation. The application must contain all the information necessary for assessment of the proposal without the need for further written or oral explanation, or reference to additional documentation, including the World Wide Web, unless requested by the selection committee. All details in the application, particularly concerning any successful grants, must be current.

Applications under Federation Fellowships consist of three parts—

1 Application form to be completed in paper format

2 Additional text Section B8 and Part D of the application form

3 Supporting documentation Section E of the application form

5.1 Submission of applications

5.1.1 Closing date for applications

The ARC must receive applications for Federation Fellowships by close of business (AEST) Friday 22 June 2001. Replacement pages or late additional pages will not be accepted after submission. Applications received after close of business (AEST) 22 June 2001 will not be accepted.

5.1.2 How to submit applications

Applicants should submit their applications through the research office or equivalent (eg CEO) of the administering institution by the institution’s closing date.

Research Offices should send applications–

5.2 Number of copies

An original and one identical copy only are required. The application must be clipped with NAL clips, not stapled.

5.3 Application format

All documents must be written in English and must comply strictly with the format and submission requirements.

All pages should be in black type, 12-point font size on white A4 paper, printed on one side only and unbound, with at least 2 cm margins on each side. As applications are scanned electronically, applicants must use a highly legible font type, such as Arial, Courier, Palatino, Times New Roman and Helvetica. Variants such as mathematical typesetting languages may also be used. References may be reproduced in 10-point font size. Colour graphs or colour photographs may be included but they will be reproduced in black and white.

5.4 Application form and instructions to applicants

Applicants must use the application form available from the institution’s Research Office or from the World Wide Web at www.arc.gov.au.

The application form is organised into five modules—

Part A Administrative summary

Part B Personnel

Part C Research Support

Part D Description of Project/Programme of Research

Part E Description of Facilities and Support by Administering Institution

Applicants should note that a separate document, Federation Fellowship Instructions to Applicants for Funding Commencing in 2002, is available from www.arc.gov.au to assist in preparing applications.

6 Selection and approval process

6.1 Selection criteria

The primary assessment criteria for Fellowships are—

• Investigator(s) (60%)
• Project/Programme of research activity content

 significance and innovation (20%)

 approach (10%), and

 national benefit (10%)

Investigator(s)

The Federation Fellowships are designed to attract and retain the very best researchers in Australia, and as such, the primary assessment criterion for the Federation Fellowships is the track record of the applicant.

Project Content

Significance and innovation

 does the research address an important problem?

 how will the anticipated outcomes advance the knowledge base of the discipline?

 are the project aims and concepts novel and innovative?

 will new methodologies or technologies be developed?

Approach

• are the conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses adequately developed, well integrated and appropriate to the aims of the project?

National benefit

• what is the potential of the research project to result in economic, environmental or social benefits for Australia from the expected results and outcomes of the project?

Institutional support

The strength of institutional commitment will be a determining factor in the granting of Federation Fellowships. A statement detailing the support that the institution will be providing is necessary (Refer to section 4.1 and Part E of application form).

6.2 Selection procedure

Assessment of applications will be undertaken by a special committee whose memberships will be drawn from the ARC’s Expert Advisory Committees which may:

• assign independent readers/assessors to review the applications
• rank each application relative to the others on the basis of the application
• assess and recommend applicants for funding
• prepare funding recommendations that are submitted to the ARC Board for endorsement and then to the Minister for approval.

The ARC has procedures for declaring conflicts of interest and for Committee members to withdraw from considering particular applications.

6.2.1 Assessment

Step 1 Exclusion of ineligible applications by the Committee which may take place at any time during the selection process. Applications which contravene the guidelines in any way will be excluded, for instance:

 failing to submit the application through the appropriate Research Office/Chief Executive Officer for certification

 not meeting the eligibility criteria

 providing incomplete or misleading information

 designating the application as ‘Commercial-in-Confidence’.

Step 2 The Committee will rank the applications. The Committee may make final checks on eligibility. A list of Fellowships recommended for funding will then be prepared and submitted to the ARC Board for endorsement.

Step 3 A recommendation from the ARC Board is sent to the Minister for his/her consideration. The Minister approves the applications that will be offered funding.

6.3 Federation Fellowships cycle 2001

6.4 Offer of Fellowship

Following the Minister’s approval, the ARC will inform the successful administering institution in a letter of offer that will indicate any special conditions that may apply such as temporary overseas residency.

A Fellowship may not begin, nor funds be expended, until the administering institution and each collaborating institution have entered into a written agreement. The agreement must cover the role of the institutions in the project including—

• contributions by the institutions
• payment of salaries for Federation Fellows
• intellectual property arrangements
• an undertaking by the institutions to abide by the Conditions of Grant

6.5 Conditions of grant

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the Conditions of Grant. These will be available on the ARC website (www.arc.gov.au).

The grantee must accept the Conditions of Grant and the administering institution must sign the Conditions of Grant before grant payments can be made.

6.5.1 Commencement of Fellowships

Fellowships must commence after 1 January 2002 and by 31 October 2002. Failure to do so will result in termination of funding.

7 Appeals process

Appeals will be considered only on process issues and not against committee decisions or assessor ratings and comments. Appeals must be made on the appeals form available from the ARC website (www.arc.gov.au).

The form must be lodged through the institution’s Research Office or equivalent and be received, within 28 days of the date on the letter notifying the outcome of applications, to:

The Appeals Officer

Australian Research Council

GPO Box 9880

CANBERRA ACT 2601

8 Grant administration

8.1 Reporting requirements

Institutions are required to submit these documents to the ARC—

• an Exceptions Report on awards that have financial exceptions, by 1 November in the calendar year for which they were granted
• an End-of-year Report on the expenditure of Fellowship funds, by 31 March in the year following the calendar year for which they were granted
• a Progress Report on the project, by 31 March in the year following the calendar year for which funds were granted
• a Final Report on the project, within six months of the completion of the Fellowship
• an Audited Financial Statement, by 30 June of each year following the calendar year of the Fellowship, in accordance with the appropriate Act.

The ARC reserves the right to suspend payment of further instalments of any current grant until the appropriate reports have been received and assessed as satisfactory.

8.1.1 Failure to provide reports

Where an institution fails to submit satisfactory reports, as required, the Minister may determine that funds have not been used in accordance with conditions applicable to the award, and that all or part of the grant must be repaid. In this case, the ARC may withhold the remainder of the institution’s payments under the Federation Fellowships for the current year or initiate recovery of grant money.

8.2 Financial management — payments

Federation Fellowships operates on a calendar year basis. Subject to appropriations, payment of funds will be made to institutions in regular instalments, in accordance with approved payment arrangements made under the appropriate Act. Funds must be used only for purposes approved under Federation Fellowships, otherwise they must be returned through the usual payments system.

8.3 Privacy of individuals

Documents containing personal information are handled and protected in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988, which sets standards for the collection, storage, use and disclosure of, and access to, personal information. Personal information is disclosed only with permission of the individual to whom it relates or where the Act allows.

8.4 Confidentiality

Information contained in applications is regarded as confidential unless otherwise stated and will be received and treated as confidential by the ARC, institutions and assessors.

8.5 Intellectual property

The institution must adhere to an intellectual property policy, approved by that institution’s governing body, which has as one of its aims the maximisation of national benefits arising from research.

8.6 Incomplete or misleading information

If an application is incomplete or contains information that is considered misleading, it will be excluded from any further consideration for funding.

If the ARC believes that omissions or inclusion of misleading information are intentional, or if there is evidence of malpractice, the ARC will refer the matter for appropriate legal advice. The Commonwealth Government is committed to protecting its revenue, expenditure and property from any attempt, either by members of the public, contractors, sub-contractors, agents, intermediaries or its own employees to gain financial or other benefits by deceit. Any offences committed under Commonwealth criminal law attract substantial penalties, including fines and gaol sentences.

Examples of malpractice include, but are not restricted to—

 providing fictitious track records

 falsifying claims in publications records (such as describing a paper as accepted for publication when it has only been submitted).

8.7 Contact points

For further information, the institution’s Research Office or equivalent should be contacted in the first instance.

Enquiries about Federation Fellowships may be addressed to—

Director

Programme Co-ordination Section

Australian Research Council

GPO Box 9880

CANBERRA ACT 2601

Phone: 02 6284 6600

Fax: 02 6284 6638

Web www.arc.gov.au