10.1. All applications will be considered through a competitive grant process.
10.2. Applications are accepted and assessed on a continuous basis.
Who will assess applications?
10.3. Applications submitted for Linkage Projects grants will be assessed by Detailed Assessors and a SAC comprising General Assessors.
10.4. Detailed Assessors are discipline-specific and interdisciplinary experts in their knowledge fields drawn from the ARC assessor community. Detailed Assessors are assigned applications to review based on their specific expertise in one or more fields of research.
10.5. We appoint one SAC for the Linkage Projects grant opportunity. The SAC may consist of both eminent academic experts and/or ARC College of Expert members who are assigned applications to assess based on their discipline.
10.6. Any Detailed Assessors or General Assessors who are not Australian Public Servants must adhere to and uphold the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018).
10.7. Any College of Experts or SAC members who are not an Australian Public Servant must uphold the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct in accordance with Part 1, section 2.9 of the CGRGs.
10.8. We have procedures in place for managing organisational and personal Conflicts of Interest for Detailed Assessors, SAC members and ARC staff. Details of these procedures are in the relevant section of these grant guidelines and in the ARC’s Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy.
What is the grant assessment process?
Eligibility process
10.9. We will review Your application against all the eligibility criteria contained in these grant guidelines.
10.10. We may determine whether an application meets the eligibility requirements in these grant guidelines at any stage during assessment of the application.
10.11. If We consider that an application is ineligible, the application may not be progressed through the assessment process.
10.12. If an application is ineligible, We must not recommend the application for funding.
The assessment process
10.13. All applications which meet the eligibility criteria will be assessed and merit ranked using all the assessment criteria.
10.14. We manage the assessment of applications. Your application will be considered on its merits, based on:
how well it meets the assessment criteria;
b. how it is ranked against other applications; and
10.15. The process that we will undertake includes the following steps:
We assign applications to General Assessors.
b. Applications are assigned to Detailed Assessors. In assigning assessors, We may take requests not to assess into account (see below for further information).
c. Detailed Assessors provide assessments to Us with scores and written comments against assessment criteria for each application.
d. Applicants are provided with Detailed Assessors’ comments and are invited to submit a rejoinder to the assessment text (see below for further information on this process).
e. Applications, scores and comments provided in the detailed assessments and the applicant’s rejoinder are provided to the General Assessors for consideration. General Assessors assign their own scores against the relevant assessment criteria.
f. The SAC meets to discuss the ranking of each application relative to other applications and determines funding recommendations.
g. The SAC makes recommendations to the CEO on which applications should be approved for funding, which applications should not be approved for funding, and the level of funding and duration of each grant. The CEO will make recommendations for funding to the Minister based on any number of assessments.
h. The CEO will make grant recommendations to the Minister who may make a decision on which applications are approved for funding.
National interest test
10.16. On the application form, applicants must provide a separate response on the national interest of the research proposal.
10.17. In making recommendations to the Minister, the CEO will:
consider the recommendations from the SAC;
consider the applicant’s response to the National Interest Test;
seek information from Administering Organisations on applications where there is concern about how they meet the National Interest Test based on the information provided in the application form; and
make grant recommendations to the Minister that satisfy the National Interest Test and which are eligible for funding.
Requests not to assess process
10.18. You may name up to three persons whom You do not wish to assess an application by submitting a ‘Request Not to Assess’ form as detailed on GrantConnect and the ARC website. For this grant opportunity, the form must be received by Us on or before the application submission date.
10.19. Only one request containing the names of up to three individual assessors may be submitted per application.
10.20. If You name a current ARC College of Experts member, as listed on the ARC website at the time of submitting the ‘Request Not to Assess’ form, the request must be accompanied by comprehensive evidence justifying the request for the ARC College of Experts member or members named. If We consider the evidence is not sufficient for the named ARC College of Experts member or members, We will reject part, or all, of the request.
10.21. You may submit a ‘Request Not to Assess’ form naming more than three persons whom You do not wish to assess an application. Any request containing more than three names must be accompanied by comprehensive evidence justifying the request for all persons listed. If We consider the evidence is not sufficient for one or more of the named people, We will reject part, or all, of the request.
10.22. We will have absolute discretion about whether We accept or refuse a ‘Request Not to Assess’. We will not notify you of the outcome.
Rejoinder Process
10.23. You will be given the opportunity to respond to assessors’ written comments through a rejoinder, and to provide any additional information requested by Us. Names of assessors will not be provided. Further information on the rejoinder process is available on the ARC website.
Who will approve grants?
10.24. In accordance with the ARC Act, Our CEO will submit grant recommendations to the Minister for consideration.
10.25. The Minister will determine which grants to approve. In addition to the assessment criteria set out in Section 8, the Minister may consider the National Interest Test in determining which applications to approve. Under the ARC Act, the Minister may (but is not required to) rely solely on recommendations made by the CEO.
10.26. The Minister’s decision is final in all matters, including:
the approval of the grant;
b. the grant funding amount to be awarded;
c. the duration of the grant; and
d. the terms and conditions of the grant.
10.27. The ARC Act states that the Minister must not approve a grant for any application that fails to:
meet the eligibility criteria;
comply with the assessment process; and
satisfy the requirements for financial assistance.
10.28. The CGRGs state that the Minister must consider the key principle of achieving value with money when approving a grant.
10.29. Any successful application awarded a grant will be subject to sufficient funds being available for the Program and the provisions of the ARC Act.