Section 3 - Australian Research Council Act 2001 - Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities - Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2008 - Funding | Zoe
Australian Research Council Act 2001 - Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities - Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2008
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3.1.1 All amounts referred to in these Funding Rules are to be read as exclusive of GST (if any), unless expressly stated otherwise.
3.1.2 The minimum level of funding which will be provided by the ARC for a LIEF project is $100,000 per calendar year.
3.1.3 Subject to Sections 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, the maximum level of funding which will be provided by the ARC for a project is 75% of the total direct cost of the purchase, upgrading, construction, transportation and installation of and/or accessing the infrastructure, equipment or facility for which funding is being requested. If the amount of funding being requested from the ARC exceeds this amount, the ARC may at its absolute discretion decide to not recommend the Proposal for approval.
3.1.4 The ARC reserves the right to recommend the levels of funding allocated to a project at levels which may differ from those requested in the Proposal.
3.2 Period of funding
3.2.1 Financial assistance may be payable under these Funding Rules for LIEF projects in respect of the financial year 2007-08 and any subsequent years to which the ARC Act applies. Funding for approved projects will commence with effect 1 January 2008, unless other arrangements are approved by the Minister or the ARC.
3.2.2 Projects may be funded for 1 to 5 years, subject to sufficient funding being available for LIEF, the provisions of the ARC Act, and continued satisfactory progress of the project. Funding is for 1 year only, except in the case of subscriptions or other payments in respect of major international research facilities where up to 5 years of funding may be provided.
3.2.3 Funding for subscriptions or other payments in respect of major international research facilities would normally occur under an international agreement that is approved by the ARC. The ARC will approve such agreements only if there are significant benefits to Australia by way of access to a facility not otherwise available to Australian researchers.
3.2.4 The ARC may recommend funding for a project for a duration different from that requested in the Proposal.
3.3 Types of research infrastructure, equipment and facilities supported
3.3.1 Subject to Sections 3.4 and 3.5, LIEF supports the purchase, upgrading, construction, transportation and installation of and/or access to major research infrastructure, facilities and equipment, including:
a. infrastructure, equipment and facility purchase, construction and installation;
b. major computing/data facilities, animal houses, herbaria, experimental farms;
c. salaries if these are directly associated with creating and installing the infrastructure, equipment or facility;
d. consortium membership costs, travel to the facility, costs associated with establishment or upgrading of the facility, reasonable operational costs, and secretariat costs in the case of Australia’s participation in the use of major international research facilities; and
e. library and research information infrastructure (non-capital aspects only to support specific research projects). Administering Organisations should refer to the advice at Appendix 3.
3.3.2 Integrated facilities
3.3.2.1 LIEF supports major facilities and equipment. Minor items of equipment are the responsibility of Eligible Organisations. However, there may be special circumstances in which a case can be made for an integrated facility consisting of a number of small items. If a Proposal requests funding for a number of small items and it does not contain justification to the satisfaction of the ARC that the items form part of an integrated facility and are necessary to support research activities, the ARC may in its absolute discretion decide to not recommend the Proposal for approval.
3.4 Areas of investigation/work not supported
3.4.1 LIEF does not support:
a. infrastructure, equipment or facilities which, in the opinion of the ARC, are to be used predominantly for Medical and Dental Research;
b. activities leading solely to the creation or performance of a work of art, including visual art, musical compositions, drama, dance, film, broadcasts, designs and literary works. These areas are generally covered by other Australian Government funding agencies, such as the Australia Council for the Arts;
c. 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 compilations and purely descriptive catalogues or editions that do not involve original research are not funded;
d. production of teaching materials, even though some research may be involved in their production;
e. 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
f. 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 not permitted under Sections 3.4 or 3.5, then to that extent part or all of the Proposal will not be recommended or approved for funding. However, if the ARC considers that 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 Subject to subsection 3.5.2, the following items are not eligible for support under LIEF:
a. construction or refurbishment of general purpose buildings;
b. rental of accommodation;
c. operational costs, including salaries of staff engaged in teaching and research, outreach, community relations, and in research only (including the cost of ‘buying time’ to free such staff to do more research) except, at the ARC’s discretion, where subscriptions for major international facilities may cover such costs;
d. salaries of staff supporting research at the organisational level (for example, Deputy or Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, Research Grants Officer);
e. stipends of postgraduate research students;
f. travel costs directly associated with individual projects (with the exception of travel costs to allow participation in international consortia); and
g. minor equipment that should be normally funded by Eligible Organisations (such as personal computers), unless otherwise approved by the ARC.
3.5.2 Proposals that seek non-capital works aspects of library or research information infrastructure may include salaries and minor pieces of equipment to build an integrated facility if the entire Proposal is a cohesive attempt to provide infrastructure support for research. Please refer to Appendix 3 for further details.
3.6 Number of Proposals
3.6.1 A researcher may not be nominated as a CI on more than two LIEF Proposals in the same funding round. For the purposes of applying this limit, the number of Proposals on which the researcher is nominated is evaluated as at the closing time for the submission of Proposals, regardless of any subsequent change in, or withdrawal of, Proposals. Submitting Proposals that exceed this limit may result in all Proposals involving the relevant researcher(s) not being recommended or approved for funding.
3.6.2 Duplication
3.6.2.1 Only one Proposal may be submitted to LIEF 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 as 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.
3.7 Ownership and location of infrastructure, equipment and facilities
3.7.1 All the organisations involved in a Proposal must reach agreement on time-sharing and access to the infrastructure, equipment and facilities before the Proposal is submitted. Details of time-sharing and access arrangements must be included in the Proposal. If the Proposal is approved for funding, the Administering Organisation must, prior to expending ARC funding for the project, execute a written agreement with the Collaborating and Partner Organisations which accords with the arrangements outlined in the Proposal and which specifies:
a. the location of the infrastructure, equipment or facilities;
b. the terms and conditions of access for the parties listed on the Proposal; and
c. details of the arrangements and costs of managing the infrastructure, equipment or facilities (including any recurrent expenditure) and how any costs will be distributed across the users of the infrastructure, equipment or facilities.
3.7.2 Unless otherwise approved by the ARC (for example in the case of major international research facilities), ownership of shared infrastructure, facilities and equipment funded under LIEF is to be vested in the Administering Organisation and listed in its assets register. If ownership is to be vested in any other entity the Proposal must provide justification to the satisfaction of the ARC of the proposed ownership arrangements.
3.7.3 Unless otherwise approved by the ARC (for example in the case of major international research facilities located overseas or cases where the research specifically needs to be conducted elsewhere) the infrastructure, equipment and facilities must be located on the Administering Organisation’s premises. If infrastructure, equipment and facilities are not going to be located on the Administering Organisation’s premises, the Proposal must provide justification to the satisfaction of the ARC of the proposed location arrangements.
3.7.4 If a Proposal is required to address any of the matters specified in subsections 3.7.2 or 3.7.3, and it fails to do so, the ARC may in its absolute discretion decide to not recommend the Proposal for approval.