12.1 We will monitor the grant activities supported under this grant opportunity through requirements identified in the Grant Agreements for You to:
submit end-of-year financial reports, annual reports, and final reports;
participate in performance reviews as outlined below; and
provide information, as requested, for program or grant opportunity evaluations.
12.2 You must submit reports, in the required format, as stated in Your Grant Agreement. You will be able to download sample templates for a number of these reports from RMS. Annual reports are submitted via email and all other reports are submitted to Us through RMS.
12.3 The amount of detail You provide in Your reports should be relative to the size, complexity and grant amount.
12.4 We will monitor progress by assessing reports You submit and may conduct site visits or request records to confirm details of Your reports if necessary. Occasionally We may need to re-examine claims, seek further information or request an independent audit of claims and payments.
End of year financial reports
12.5 You must submit an End of Year Financial Report by 31 March in the year following each calendar year for which the grant was awarded.
12.6 If We are not satisfied with the progress of any Centre, further payment of funds may not be made until satisfactory progress has been made on the Centre. If satisfactory progress is still not achieved within a reasonable period of time, the grant may be terminated and all outstanding grant funding will be recovered by Us.
Annual report
12.7 You must submit an Annual Report covering both financial operations and research performance for Your Centre. This report must be submitted to Us by 31 March each year.
12.8 You must report on a range of KPIs common to all ARC Centres of Excellence and these are given in the Grant Agreement. The Centre will also be required to report on a range of Centre-specific KPIs. KPI targets must be developed by You and submitted for approval by us within six months of the commencement of the Centre’s operation and later specified as part of the Grant Agreement.
Final report
12.9 You must submit a Final Report for the project within 12 months of the final ARC approved Project End Date.
12.10 The Final Report must address compliance with the conditions on which funding was granted, as set out in the Grant Agreement.
12.11 If the Final Report is not submitted, or is not satisfactory to us, this will be noted against future applications submitted by all participants named on the project.
Section 12 - Linkage Program - ARC Centres of Excellence commencing 2020 - How We monitor Your grant activity | Zoe
12.12 We may seek additional information about subsequent Research Outputs after submission of the Final Report.
Performance reviews
12.13 Each ARC Centres of Excellence will undergo a rigorous and comprehensive external performance review arranged by us in its fourth year of operation.
12.14 Continuation of funding for the remaining years of operation will be dependent on the outcome of the review and You providing a satisfactory response including a plan to address the review recommendations.
12.15 ARC Centres of Excellence will not be eligible to apply for funding in future ARC Centres of Excellence grant opportunities until the scheduled fourth-year review is completed.
12.16 We may undertake ad hoc reviews of any Centre at any time. A review will be triggered in special circumstances including, but not limited to:
a change of Centre Director; or
proposed transfer of the Centre to a new Administering Organisation.
12.17 Outcomes and feedback arising from the performance reviews may inform any evaluations of the grant opportunity.
Compliance visits and record keeping
12.18 We may visit You during Your grant activity to review Your compliance with the Grant Agreement. We may also inspect the records You are required to keep under the Grant Agreement. We will provide You with reasonable notice of any compliance visit.
Evaluation
12.19 The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Linkage Program are specified each year in the ARC Portfolio Budget Statements and the ARC Corporate Plan. The KPIs focus on long-term outcomes as well as medium term outcomes relating to building Australia’s research capacity, for example, research careers and training, contributions in areas of national need and research collaboration. The KPIs are addressed each year in the ARC’s annual report.
12.20 We undertake periodic evaluations of the performance and administration of the grant opportunities under the Linkage Program, including ARC Centres of Excellence. Your Grant Agreement requires You to provide information to help with this evaluation.
12.21 We will evaluate the ARC Centres of Excellence grant opportunity to measure how well the outcomes and objectives have been achieved. We may use information from Your application and reports for this purpose. We may also interview You, or ask You for more information to help us understand how the grant impacted You and to evaluate how effective the NCGP was in achieving its outcomes.
12.22 We may contact You up to five years after You finish Your grant for information to assist with evaluation of the ARC Centres of Excellence grant opportunity.
Acknowledgement
12.23 Subject to commercial sensitivities and Intellectual Property considerations, the outcomes of projects are expected to be communicated to the research community and, where appropriate and possible, to the community at large in a way that highlights the value of the Australian Government research grants.
12.24 You must ensure that the ARC’s contribution and support of the project is acknowledged in a prominent place and in a form acceptable to the ARC when, at any time during or after completion of a project, You or the researchers or any other party publishes, produces or is involved in promotional material which relates to the project. Promotional material may include books, articles, television or radio programs, electronic media, newsletters or other literary or artistic works.
12.25 Similar efforts must be made when publicly speaking about a project. Advice of acceptable forms of acknowledgement and use of the logo is provided on the ARC website. Any Published Research Output must include acknowledgement of ARC funding and the ‘ARC Project ID'.