Australian Research Council Funding Rules for schemes under the Discovery Program (2017 edition)
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In these Funding Rules, unless the contrary intention appears:
Active Project means a Project that is receiving funding according to the terms of the original Funding Agreement, or has any carryover funds approved by the ARC, or an approved variation to the Project’s end date.
Active Project Assessment Date means the date on which Active Project eligibility will be considered.
Administering Organisation means an Eligible Organisation which submits a Proposal for funding and which will be responsible for the administration of the funding if the Proposal is approved for funding.
Applicant means the Administering Organisation.
ARC means the Australian Research Council, as established under the ARC Act.
ARC Award means a named Award position within any ARC scheme where the salary is funded wholly or partly by the ARC.
ARC College of Experts means a body of experts of international standing appointed to assist the ARC to identify research excellence, moderate external assessments and recommend fundable Proposals.
ARC Fellowship means a named Fellowship position within any ARC scheme where the salary is funded wholly or partly by the ARC.
Award of PhD Date means the date of conferral of a PhD, not the date of submission of the thesis, nor the date the thesis was accepted by the examination board.
Bench Fees means the fees that an organisation charges for an individual to use infrastructure which would normally be provided by the organisation for their employees. This infrastructure may vary and could include, for example, an office or a laboratory space with appropriate equipment, or access to non-specialised equipment owned by the organisation.
Candidate means a person nominated in a Proposal for an ARC Award or ARC Fellowship.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) means the person holding the position of ARC Chief Executive Officer in accordance with the ARC Act or any person acting in that position.
Chief Investigator (CI) means a participant who satisfies the eligibility criteria for a CI under these Funding Rules.
Commonwealth means the Commonwealth of Australia.
Commonwealth Fellowship means a position held by a participant where the salary is funded wholly or partly by the Commonwealth.
Conflict of Interest means any conflict of interest, any risk of a conflict of interest and any apparent conflict of interest arising through a party engaging in any activity, participating in any association, holding any membership or obtaining any interest that is likely to conflict with or restrict that party participating in the Project. The is available on the .
Consultancy means the provision of specialist advice, analysis, assistance, services or products to another organisation(s), generally where the consultancy services are for the sole or preferred use of that other organisation(s).
Discovery Program refers to, for the purposes of eligibility, the schemes funded under the Discovery Program of the NCGP which consist of: Australian Laureate Fellowships, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, Discovery Indigenous, Discovery Projects, and Future Fellowships and other schemes as updated from time to time.
Eligible Organisation means an organisation listed in A13.
Emeritus Appointment means any honorary position that gives full academic status, as certified by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) (or equivalent) in the Proposal. For ARC purposes this relationship must include access to research support comparable to employees. The person would not be considered to hold an Emeritus Appointment for the purposes of these Funding Rules if they hold a substantive, paid position elsewhere.
Field Research means the collection of information integral to the Project outside a laboratory, library or workplace setting and often in a location external to the participant’s normal place of employment.
Funding Agreement means the agreement entered into by the ARC and an Administering Organisation when a Proposal from that organisation is approved for funding.
Funding Commencement Date means the date on which funding may commence as defined for each scheme in Parts B to F of these Funding Rules.
Funding Offer means the Project Details listed in RMS under Funding Offers.
GrantConnect means the central information system for all Commonwealth grants publicised and awarded and is found at www.grants.gov.au.
GST has the meaning as given in section 195-1 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.
Instructions to Applicants means a set of instructions prepared by the ARC to assist Applicants in completing the Proposal form.
Minister means the Minister responsible for the administration of the ARC Act.
NCGP means the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program.
NHMRC means the National Health and Medical Research Council.
ORCID Identifier means a persistent digital identifier for an individual participant, available on the ORCID website, www.orcid.org.
Other Eligible Organisation means an Eligible Organisation which is listed on a Proposal as a contributor to the Project but is not the Administering Organisation.
Other Organisation means an organisation which is listed on a Proposal and is not an Eligible Organisation, Host Organisation or a Partner Organisation.
Partner Investigator (PI) means a participant who satisfies the eligibility criteria for a PI under these Funding Rules.
PhD is a qualification that meets the level 10 criteria of the Australian Qualifications Framework Second Edition January 2013.
Project means a Proposal approved by the Minister to receive funding from the ARC.
Project Activity Period means the period during which a Project is receiving funding according to the original Funding Offer, or has any carryover funds approved by the ARC, or an approved variation to the Project’s end date. During this period, the Project is known as an Active Project.
Project Leader means the participant from the Administering Organisation who is the first-named CI on a Proposal.
Proposal means a request to the ARC for the provision of funding which is submitted in accordance with these Funding Rules.
Recipient means an individual who has received funding for an ARC Award, ARC Fellowship or Project under the Discovery or Linkage Programs.
Research is defined, for the purposes of these Funding Rules, as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it is new and creative.[1]
Research Impact is the demonstrable contribution that research makes to the economy, society, culture, national security, public policy or services, health, the environment, or quality of life, beyond contributions to academia.
Research Infrastructure means assets, facilities, services, and coordinated access to major national and/or international research facilities or consortia which directly support research in higher education organisations and more broadly and which maintain the capacity of researchers to undertake excellent research and deliver innovative outcomes.
Research Office means a business unit within an Administering Organisation that is responsible for contact with the ARC about Proposals and Projects.
Research Output means all products of a research Project.
RMS means the ARC’s online Research Management System.
Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) means a group of experts from industry and/or academia appointed to assist the ARC to evaluate Proposals and to provide a recommendation for funding to the CEO. The SAC may be drawn from the ARC College of Experts.
Special Condition means a special condition specified in a Funding Offer which governs the use of the funding provided by the ARC.
Science and Research Priorities means priority research areas identified by the Australian Government, and available on the ARC website.
Technical Workshop Services means specialised construction and maintenance activities carried out by a technician, often within a dedicated facility for working with materials such as wood, glass, metal, plastics or electronics.
Travel Costs means domestic and international economy travel costs associated with the Project, including to foster and strengthen collaborations between researchers in Australia and overseas.
Additional scheme-specific definitions are detailed in Parts B to F of these Funding Rules.