2Changes from last year

2                         Changes from last year

2.1.1              A number of clarifications and revisions have been made in these Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2007 (the 2007 Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development Funding Rules). Significant changes from the 2006 Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development Funding Rules include:

a. A definitions section has been added to the 2007 Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development Funding Rules (pages 6-7).

b. The Introduction Section (page 8) alerts Applicants and other parties involved in Proposals that a Proposal may be deemed ineligible if a researcher on the Proposal has caused or significantly contributed to the failure of an Administering Organisation to meet obligations under a current or prior Funding Agreement.

c. Subsection 3.5.2i. stipulates that the ARC will not pay for costs not directly related to the research Proposal, such as those of a personal nature.

d. The Research Cadetship-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander has been re-named to be called Indigenous Researcher Fellowship (IRF).

e. Subsection 5.1.1.4 now states that ‘A researcher nominated in a Proposal as a CI or IRF must take significant intellectual responsibility for the proposed project, its conception, and any strategic decisions called for in its pursuit and the communication of results. The researcher must have the capacity to make a serious commitment to the project and cannot assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be placed in the hands of others. The ARC reserves the right to determine whether a person has the requisite capacity to perform the role.’

f. Subsection 5.1.1.5 now states that ‘A researcher nominated in the Proposal as a Mentor or Supervisor must take significant responsibility for intellectual guidance and support of a CI or IRF nominated in the Proposal. The ARC reserves the right to determine whether a person has the requisite capacity to perform the role.’

g. Section 5.2.1 includes a change to the timing for satisfying eligibility criteria for CIs.

h. Generic information on the Eligibility Ruling process has been moved to Section 7.1. Requests must now be submitted on a form available on the ARC web site. A registration number will be supplied by the ARC and must be quoted in the application form.

i. The ARC/NHMRC overlap process is addressed by Eligibility Rulings for clinical medical and dental research (Sections 6.3 and 7.1).

j. Section 8.1 introduces revised selection criteria and assigns weightings for each selection criterion.

k. Provision has been made for the termination of a project and repayment of funding if an Administering Organisation and/or researcher provides the ARC incomplete, false or misleading information in relation to either the Proposal for, or reporting of progress of, a project (Section 11.5).

l. The rate for on-costs for Indigenous Researcher Fellowships has increased from 26% to 28% (Appendix 3).

2.1.2              The list of changes above is not comprehensive – a number of minor formatting, style and other changes have also been made. Applicants and other parties involved in Proposals should read and understand the entire Funding Rules and draft Funding Agreement before a Proposal is submitted to the ARC.