Section 3 - Australian Research Council Act 2001 - Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities - Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2007 - Funding | Zoe
Australian Research Council Act 2001 - Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities - 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 $100,000 per annum. The ARC reserves the right to recommend the levels of funding allocated to a project.
3.2 Duration of funding
3.2.1 Funding is normally for 1 year only. However, Proposals for up to 5 years of funding, subject to parliamentary appropriation and the provisions of the ARC Act, may be considered in the case of subscriptions to or other payments in respect of major international research facilities. Normally this would occur only under an international agreement 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. If funding is required for more than 5 years, a review of the project may be conducted early in the fourth year, before any request for further funding is considered.
3.2.2 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 Section 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, and secretariat costs in the case of Australia’s participation in the use of significant international-scale 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 4.
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. Such Proposals will be considered only where justification to the satisfaction of the ARC has been provided that an integrated facility is necessary to support research activities.
3.4 Areas of investigation/work not supported
3.4.1 LIEF does not support the following work:
a. clinical medical and dental research and training. These areas of research are generally covered by other Commonwealth Government funding agencies, such as the NHMRC;
b. 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;
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 biographical 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 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 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 4 for further details.
3.6 Number of Proposals
3.6.1 A researcher may not be nominated in a Proposal 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 Except with the written approval of the ARC, ownership of shared infrastructure, facilities and equipment funded under LIEF is to be vested in the Administering Organisation, listed in its assets register and located on campus. All the organisations involved in a Proposal must reach agreement on time-sharing and access to infrastructure, equipment and facilities before the Proposal is submitted. Details of time-sharing and access arrangements must be included in the Proposal.
3.7.2 In exceptional circumstances, the ARC may permit the location of infrastructure, equipment and major facilities outside an Administering Organisation’s premises, when access is provided to an Administering Organisation and one or more Collaborating Organisations and/or Partner Organisations to better utilise its research potential. In these circumstances, unless otherwise approved by the ARC, the terms of access must be guaranteed and agreed to by the parties in a contract prior to the submission of the Proposal. The costs of managing the infrastructure, equipment and facilities should then be reasonably distributed across the users of the infrastructure, equipment or facility and agreed to prior to the submission of the Proposal. A copy of the signed agreement specifying location, access and sharing of recurrent expenditure must be attached to the Proposal. The copy of the signed agreement will not be counted towards the page limit (Section 7.4).