ARC Discovery Early Career Award 2012

1. ARC Discovery Early Career Award 2012 Rose Firkin – A/g Executive Officer, Grants & Dr Anne Brocklebank – Senior Grants Officer

2. Outline of ARC DECRA 2012 Presentation • Objectives of Scheme & Funding • Eligibility • Selection Criteria • Institutional Support & Strategic Statements • Budgets • Application Process • Roles – Applicant, Faculty/SRC, Grants Office • Assessment

3. ARC DECRA 2012 - Objectives • Support and advance promising ECRs • Promote enhanced opportunities for diverse career pathways • Focus research effort in the National Research Priorities (NRPs) • Enable research and research training in high quality and supportive environments NB: Up to 200 DECRAs to be awarded this round

4. ARC DECRA 2012 - Funding • Provides up to 3 years funding on a full-time basis • Some provision for conversion to part-time after commencement • DECRA must be applied for at $125,000 p.a. • Salary for the DECRA recipient fixed at $85,000 • Provides up to $40,000 p.a. project funding NB Project costs will need to be strongly justified

5. ARC DECRA 2012 – Candidate Eligibility • Must have been awarded a PhD on or after 18 May 2006 or • Have been awarded a PhD on or after 18 May 2003 IF have experienced significant career interruption NB: Awarded = date of conferral of a PhD, not the date of submission of the thesis nor the date the thesis was accepted by the exam board

6. ARC DECRA 2012 – Recipient Eligibility • For the duration of the award • Must hold an appointment at the Administering Organisation • Must legally, reside predominantly in Australia • Must take significant intellectual responsibility for the conduct of the project and any strategic decisions

7. ARC DECRA 2012 – Other Eligibility • At the time of submission: • All obligations regarding previously funded ARC projects involving the candidate must have been fulfilled • Candidates can be nominated on only one DECRA proposal in this round • A researcher can only apply for up to 2 DECRAs over the period in which they are eligible

8. ARC DECRA 2012 – Other Eligibility • A recipient may receive funding concurrently for a maximum of 1 Discovery Project (or COE) • Researchers holding ARC Fellowships may only apply in their final year of Fellowship funding • Proposals may be submitted only to the extent that, if successful, the DECRA candidate would not be involved in more than the maximum number of projects permitted in 2012 evaluated as at the closing time of submission of proposals

9. ARC DECRA 2012 – Other Eligibility • Proposals must list all current and requested funding for the DECRA candidate under any ARC scheme or any other Commonwealth funding scheme NB. The ARC Act precludes the Minister from approving proposals which fail to meet the eligibility criteria set out in the funding rules

10. Selection Criteria • DECRA Candidate = 30% • Project Quality = 50% • Institutional Support = 20%

11. Institutional Support – 20% • What should you cover? • Local school support • Access to academic expertise; mentors; technical staff; facilities; collaborative arrangements; any unique support specific to that School/area • Faculty / SRC support • Ditto dot point above + any financial support • External Connections – national & international • Centres of Excellence; Commonwealth Research Centres; partnerships; other

12. Institutional Support • DVC(R) will negotiate re the provision of a PhD stipend or critical part time assistance based on having • solid experience as PhD or Honours supervisors • a stellar performance record to date • strong Faculty/SRC support • a convincing case for the need for assistance of this nature NB: Case must be made via the Faculty/SRC

13. Strategic Statement • The Administering Organisation must provide a strategic statement for each proposal • Schools/Faculties/SRCs should draft these statements together with the applicant • No standard statements are to be used - these MUST be unique & specific to the candidate and the project • All statements must be approved by the DVC(R)

14. Budgets • Funding available for up to 3 years • Applicants must apply for $125,000 • $85,000 p.a salary for DECRA • Up to $40,000 project costs • Keep descriptions concise but clear • Ensure you only request items supported under the scheme • Justify any request strongly

15. Application Process • Notices of Intent to Submit (NOIS) lodged via the Grants Office • Faculty/SRC approval sought for each NOIS • Applicants with Faculty/SRC support to proceed with application • Applicants without Faculty/SRC approval to have NOIS withdrawn

16. Application Process • Grants Office will • Expect you have read all funding rules, instructions and any FAQs • Provide advice on budgets and rules • Check application for eligibility / compliance issues • Grants Office will NOT • Prepare your budget for you

17. Roles & Responsibilities - Applicants • Seek academic advice on the calibre of the proposed project • Read funding rules, guidelines and instructions • Clarify processes and timelines required by your Faculty / SRC / Institute • Plan in order to meet Faculty / SRC / Institute and/or GO internal timelines • Construct and complete the application

18. Roles & Responsibilities - Faculties / SRCs/ Institutes • Work with each applicant • Assess significance and innovation of the idea • Evaluate the strength of the application • Comment on the suitability of the methodology • Assign internal / external reviewers • Provide editorial support to applicants • Assist in drafting the Strategic Statement

19. Roles & Responsibilities – Grants Office • Provide resources to simplify the application process • Provide advice re eligibility, budgets & RMS • Interpret funding rules & guidelines • Undertake eligibility and compliance checks

20. Roles & Responsibilities – Grants Office IMPORTANT NOTE: • The GO will • Refer applications back to Faculties / SRCs / Institutes if • Aims are unclear • Application is poorly written or structured • GO has other concerns re an application’s readiness for submission

21. Assessment • Applications are assigned to assessors and panels based upon information in your application • Think strategically – which panel would be best to assess your application? • Target by using appropriate • FoR codes • Keywords

22. Note on Timelines • Applicants have until 9:00am on Wednesday 27 April 2011 to submit their complete and final application • No changes are allowed to the application after this date • Grants Office has limited time to compliance check - extensions are unlikely to be granted and will be scrutinised carefully

23. Note on ARC’s online system - RMS • If you decide to proceed with an application • You will need to create an account in RMS unless you have one • Visit https://rms.arc.gov.au/RMSExternal/pages/main.jsf • Once applications open, you must ensure that Deakin University is listed as the Administering Institution

24. Further Information? • Bookmark http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/grants/opportunities/arc-decra.php • Contact your assigned Case Manager or Georgie Kelly with any queries relating to the ARC DECRA NB. The ARC will not respond to individual questions or requests for clarification of funding rules or instructions. Such questions must be submitted via the Grants Office

25. Questions?