Linkage: Projects - Research Grants and Contracts

Linkage Projects

The ARC has released information relating to the Linkage Programs schemes for 2012 for funding commencing in 2013.

Industrial Transformation Research Program

In December 2011, the Industrial Transformation Research Program was announced. This is a new component in the ARC Linkage Program, and consists of Industrial Transformation Research Hubs and Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Please visit the ITRP page for more information.

Linkage Projects

The Linkage Projects scheme will have one round for funding to commence in 2013. The ARC expects that this round will open for proposals in September 2012 for funding commencing in July 2013.

The ARC will provide further notification when the Funding Rules for the above mentioned schemes become available.

Key Dates	MRO Date	ARC Date
Eligibility Exemptions	26 September 2011	28 September 2011
Draft Application	17 October 2011	N/A
Review by Graham Steed	Well before 31Oct 2011	N/A
Final Application	31 October 2011	16 November 2011
Request not to Assess	14 November 2011	16 November 2011
Outcomes 2011 Rd2	N/A	30 May 2011
Rejoinders	9am 2 March 2012	5pm 5 March 2012
Outcomes 2012 Rd1	N/A	01 Nov 2011

Funding body	Australian Research Council
Status	CLOSED Submit a Notice of Intent now to indicate your intention to submit an application to this scheme and receive email updates from the Melbourne Research Office.
Aim	Supports collaborative research between higher education organisations and other bodies (including industry), enabling the application of advanced knowledge to problems. The scheme also provides awards and fellowships for industry-oriented research training, including Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships (Industry).
Funding	Minimum of $30,000 pa and a general maximum of $500,000 pa. Partner organisations are required to provide total cash and in-kind support equal to the amount requested from the ARC for project costs. See Section 6.4 of the Funding Rules.
Seminars	Tips for Researchers Planning to Submit an ARC Linkage Project Application - Listen to the recording here Successful past applicants Professor Colin Ferguson and Dr Lisa Gibbs shared their insights on the preparation of successful Linkage Project applications. Preparing a Linkage Project Budget - Listen to the recording here (ppt slides) A practical session to assist applicants in preparing an ARC Linkage Project budget. This session focused on topics including: budget items that can be requested from the ARC, they layout of the budget, matching contributions and tips on entering the budget into RMS. Writing a Linkage Project Application - Listen to the recording here (ppt slides) A practical session to assist applicants in preparing and submitting their ARC Linkage Project application. Discussion points included, the ARC Funding Rules, due dates, the key sections of the proposal and a demo of the Research Management System (RMS).
Submission Policy	Please refer to the timing and Level of Service provided by MRO for grant application review in major ARC & NHMRC rounds for funding commencing in 2012: http://www.research.unimelb.edu.au/rgc/timeservice
Submission Process	Notice of Intent All applicants must now complete and submit a Notice of Intent. The Notice of Intent advises Melbourne Research and your Faculty/Department that you are preparing an application. A University of Melbourne internal tracking number will be allocated and emailed to the nominated applicant. First Draft Technical Check by MRO – Due Monday 17th Oct 2011 All applications received by this date will receive a full check for technical correctness and fulfillment of eligibility criteria. Feedback will be provided and the revised final applications will be due back to MRO by the final due date below. Applications received after the first due date will be checked provided MRO has adequate resources. Late applications will still have a final due date of 31st Oct 2011. Please submit: One hard copy print out of the PDF generated in RMS of the complete application (excluding Part C), bulldog clipped and double sided. One Authority to Submit Form. Signatures can be provided with the final application. Part C - Proposal Review by Graham Steed Due well before 31st Oct 2011 (this will allow Graham to provide feedback and for changes to be incorporated before the final proposal due date of 31st October 2011). MRO engages the services of Dr Graham Steed to review ARC Linkage Proposals to help improve application competitiveness. Note the later you submit your proposal for Graham’s review, the less time you will have to incorporate his feedback into your final proposal so it is a good idea to get in early. Early Career Researchers and Linkage Project first timers should aim to get their draft proposals in for review by early Oct to get the greatest benefit. Applicants should email a copy of their draft proposal to Anita Vecchies. Please provide the 100 word summaries in Part A, the Project Description in Part C, and the additional text for each investigator in Part F (section 12) in one MS Word or PDF document. Fully Completed Applications – Due Monday 31st October 2011 This is the due date for final applications. A hard copy of the Final Application (fully complete and in a state that would be ready to send to the ARC) is due at MRO by 31st October 2011 and the application must be ‘Submitted to Research Office’ in RMS. Applications submitted on this date will receive a brief check against the eligibility criteria only (some parts of the proposal will not be checked) and applicants will be given two days to make any amendments before re-submitting their application to MRO for submission to the ARC. Please note that if you choose not to submit your application for a first draft technical check on the 17th October and instead submit your application for the first time to MRO on the 31st October, we will only provide your application with a single brief check against the eligibility criteria and you will only have one opportunity to make revisions before we submit your application to the ARC. Applications submitted after the 31st October date will only be given a brief check if MRO staff have time. If not, applications will be submitted to the ARC as is.
RMS	All applications are submitted to the ARC via their online Research Management System (RMS). All Chief Investigators (CIs), Partner Investigators (PIs) and Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (Industry) (APDI) participants must have an RMS account. Please refer to RMS Tip Sheet for instructions on how to access the system and the Instructions to Applicants for details on completing the application.
Special Considerations	Eligibility Exemptions Eligibility Exemptions (ARC site) The ARC funding rules describe situations in which an Eligibility Exemption Ruling Request form must be submitted to the ARC as part of the funding application process. Situations that may require an eligibility exemption include the eligibility of APDI Fellowship candidates and Partner Organisation minimum cash contribution. Eligibility exemptions are due to Melbourne Research on Monday 26th September 2011. Medical and Dental Research Before Melbourne Research submit proposals to the ARC via RMS, we are responsible for certifying that the application meets a number of criteria. This includes certifying that the proposal is not “near-term clinical medical (including dental) research”, as defined on the ARC website. When we review the applications prior to giving feedback, if we believe that the proposal may have a medical or dental focus, we direct the applicant to the ARC website and we obtain written (e-mail) confirmation from the lead CI that they have reviewed the ARC website definition and can confirm that they satisfy the eligibility criteria. Request not to Assess Request not to assess (ARC site) – due to Melbourne Research on Monday 14th November 2011.
Resources	ARC Documents 2012 ARC Linkage Projects Instructions to Applicants 2012 ARC Linkage Projects Funding Rules ARC Frequently Asked Questions 2012 Linkage Project Sample Application Form Melbourne Research Resources Brochures ARC Budgets and ARC Budget Items Info Sheet Budget Tool for preparing your budget offline Salary Scales Spreadsheet Casual Salary Calculator ATO Travel Allowances Partner Investigator Info Sheet Research Environment Guide Matching Contributions in ARC Linkage Projects View a previous successful application via our Linkage Project microsite (University log-in required). This site includes Ten Top Tips for Writing ARC Linkage Project Applications Sample Letter of Support from Partner Organisation Part C - template Part E1 - template Part E2 - template Part F12.2 - template Part F12.3 - template Part H1 - template Part I1 - template
Contacts	Anita Vecchies (8344 2054) Ana Brown (8344 2044)
Template Linkage Agreements	Successful Linkage Projects – Linkage Agreements The ARC Funding Agreement requires partner organisations to enter into a legal agreement with the University for successful projects. Many of the terms and conditions in these agreements are present because of the obligations placed on the university by the ARC Funding Agreement and University Statutes. The terms also enable good project governance and ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of expectations and obligations. The University of Melbourne with other leading research universities has developed a standard Linkage Project template agreement which can be downloaded here: Public Good Linkage Agreement Commercial Linkage Agreement Please note that these are draft templates based on the 2011 ARC Funding Agreement and may be varied in 2012.

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