ARC Discovery Program Funding Rules Changes to Note ARC Funding Rules Research Management round table Monday 20 January 2014 Dimity Phillips

General Changes across all Schemes: Cross-Scheme Restrictions Only two projects as CI, Fellow or Awardee may be held or applied for under the Discovery Program – this includes FLs, FTs, DPs, DECRAs and DIs) There are no cross-scheme restrictions on DP CI roles and ARC Centres of Excellence roles, NHMRC grants or proposals under the ARC Linkage program. There may be no duplication of Commonwealth funding. 2

General Changes across all Schemes: Stipends/salaries HDR stipends are set at a rate of $25,406 per year and only funding up to this level may be requested from the ARC. The Admin Org may, however, provide additional funding to increase the stipend. Annual pay rises associated with the EBA or other similar agreements should not be included for personnel funded with project costs (e.g. Research Assistants/Research Associates) 3

General Changes across all Schemes Budget items Publication and dissemination costs should be included as a budget item in the application, as the provision for ARC funding equal to 2% of the overall budget has been removed (please be aware that all proposals and projects must comply with the ARC Open Access Policy on the dissemination of research findings). Web hosting and web development specific to the project may be requested. Workshops and conferences that are necessary for the conduct of the proposed research may be requested. 4

General Changes across all Schemes Other requirements All participants and organisations names in the proposal must declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest to the Admin Org at the time of submission. If more than 3 RNTA are submitted for a single proposal, DVC-R’s signature is required. Reporting by Exception is for all years of the project (except the final year) 5

Discovery Projects Important changes to note Projects may be applied for and awarded for up to five years. DORAs are no longer offered. A limit of one sole-CI Discovery Project per researcher no longer applies. ICAs may now be requested for 12 months per ICA, with a total limit of $20,000 per ICA. Researchers who are undertaking undergraduate studies are eligible to be a CI, though they must meet other eligibility criteria. 6

Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards Important changes to note Must have been awarded a PhD on or after 1 March 2009 (or 1 March 2005 with allowable career interruptions) There is an extension of the total period available for career interruptions to 4years (previously 3 years). However, career interruptions of less than 1 month will not be considered. The ARC has clarified that Field Research travel and accommodation costs may be funded for the both the DECRA candidate and support personnel 7

Discovery Indigenous Important changes to note The maximum level of funding for a Discovery Indigenous has increased from $300,000 per year to $500,000 per year A Discovery Indigenous Award candidate must now demonstrate how the Project quality would be enhanced by a DIA and detail the ways in which the additional research time would be utilised A person may be eligible as CI if they are an employee for at least 20 per cent of Full Time Equivalent at one Eligible Organisation, and hold a paid position at a museum or herbarium Researchers who are undertaking undergraduate studies are now eligible to be a CI, though they must meet other eligibility criteria 8