1. ARC LINKAGE PROJECTS 2015 FUNDING RULES & CHANGES KEY DATES
RSO RESOURCES
Christine Maher
Senior Grants Officer,
Research Services Office

3. ARC LINKAGE PROGRAM FUNDING RULES 2014- 2016
New ARC Funding Rule format sets out the Funding Rules for all Schemes under the Linkage Program:
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs
Industrial Transformation Training Centres
Linkage Projects (Part D)
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
FOR SCHEME-SPECIFIC (ADDITIONAL) RULES FOR LINKAGE PROJECTS FOR FUNDING COMMENCING IN 2015 – See PART D – From page 39

4. ARC LINKAGE FUNDING RULES
Part A – General Program Rules for all Linkage Schemes ( )
Part D –Scheme-specific rules for Linkage Projects
Minimum request $50,000 per year; maximum request $300,000 per year [section D8.2.2]
Period of funding: 2 – 5 years [section D6.1.2]

5. Selection Criteria (D5)
Investigators (20%)
b) Proposed Project (50%)
i. Significance and Innovation (25%)
ii. Approach and Training (15%)
iii. Research Environment (10%)*
c) Commitment from Partner Organisation(s) (30%)
(*Research environment means the laboratory, department, school, centre or institute within the Administering Organisation or Partner Organisation where research will be undertaken, and which provides opportunities for knowledge growth, innovation, collaboration, mentoring and student training.)

6. Key Funding Rule changes for LP15
Partner Investigator from each Partner Organisation no longer required
Now Seven types of Partner Organisations which are exempt from the Cash Contribution requirements - added Exempt Archive and Public Record Office
A Linkage Project may now be applied for a minimum of two to a maximum of five consecutive years
Workshops, focus groups and conference costs that are necessary for the conduct of the proposed research may now be supported.
Travel costs essential to the Project are permitted up to a maximum average of $20,000 per year of the Project.

7. Medical Research
A5.1.3 The Linkage Program does not support Medical and Dental Research, as defined in section A3 of Funding Rules.
The ARC has updated its ARC Medical Research Policy version (effective 25/8/14).
Research ineligible for ARC support:
research with human health and/or medical goals, including research on the understanding, aetiology, diagnosis, monitoring, management or treatment of physical or mental disease or other health conditions in humans;
research involving the use or development of animal models of human health conditions, or the use of animals for the development or testing of therapeutic goods (including devices) or procedures, for the purpose of better understanding human health or developing treatments for human health conditions;
interventional research in humans, particularly clinical or pre-clinical trials of therapeutic goods (including devices), or research aiming to modify the health of the human participants;
the use or development of equipment, facilities, tools, games, devices, smart phone applications or other items to understand, diagnose, monitor, manage or treat human health conditions.

8. Linkage Program Budget (A7)
A7. Budget Items Supported
a. access to national and international research and infrastructure facilities including specialist archives, collections and databases;
b. access to Technical Workshop Services for the Project
c. expenditure on Field Research essential to the Project, including technical and logistical support, and travel and accommodation costs, for CIs, PIs, HDR candidates, postdoc fellows and research support personnel;
d. expert services of a third party …necessary for the proposed Project. Such services include, but are not limited to:
i. language translation services, transcribing services;
ii. purchase of bibliographical or archival material (electronic or hard copy); and
iii. data collection and analysis services;
e. equipment (and its maintenance) and consumables required for the Project.
f. specialised computer equipment and software essential to the Project;
g. travel costs essential to the Project, including economy travel costs for domestic and/or international travel and accommodation, not exceeding an average of $20,000 per year of the project... permitted for CIs, PIs, HDR candidates, postdoc fellows and research support personnel. Travel costs for Field Research are supported separately under A7.1.1.c and are not counted towards the average of $20,000 per year limit under subsection A7.1.1.g; and
h. workshops, focus groups and conferences that are necessary for the conduct of the proposed research (including reasonable hospitality costs such as morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea).

9. Linkage Project Budget (D7.1)
D7.1 Linkage Project - can also request from the ARC:
a. personnel:
i. salary support for research associates and assistants, technicians and laboratory attendants at an appropriate salary level, including 28 per cent on-costs, for the Administering Organisation; and
ii. stipends for Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students, in whole or in part, at an appropriate level for the Administering Organisation or the relevant industry sector;
b. publication and dissemination of Project outputs and outreach activity costs;
c. teaching relief for CIs up to a total value for the Project of $40,000 per year; and
d. web hosting and web development specific to the project.
All Funding requests to the ARC must be fully justified in the Application

10. Partner Organisations (D8)
D8.1.1 A Linkage Project Proposal must include at least one (1) Partner Organisation.
Partner Organisation does not have to be an Australian company or Organisation
A9.2.2 For each Partner Organisation, three (3) conditions must be met:
a. evidence of new or on-going collaboration between the Partner Organisation and the Administering Organisation;
b. no duplication of Commonwealth funding for the research and/or activities funded for the Project; and
c. a contribution of cash and/or in-kind or other material resources from each Partner Organisation, having regard to the total cost of the Project and the relative contribution of each PI.

11. Partner Organisation Contributions
D8.2.1 …combined Partner Organisation(s) eligible contributions for a Proposal (i.e. the total of the cash and/or in-kind eligible contributions of the Partner Organisations) must at least match the total funding requested from the ARC.
D8.2.3 … combined Partner Organisation(s) eligible Cash Contribution must be at least 25 per cent of the total funding requested from the ARC.
D8.2.7 Proposals in which all Partner Organisations are exempt from the Cash Contribution requirements do not have to meet the overall Cash Contribution requirement specified at D8.2.3.
Example:
If ARC request is $100,000
Combined Partner Cash must be at least $25,000
Total of the combined Partner Cash and In-kind contributions must be at least $100,000

12. Partner Support Letters (A9.2.4)
Each Partner Organisation’s letter of support must: (pro forma available) a. include the official letterhead; b. be no more than two A4 pages; c. include a brief profile of the organisation; d. provide details of the Cash and/or In-kind Contributions; e. demonstrate the source of its Cash Contribution (if a Cash Contribution is being made); f. certify that no part of its Cash Contribution is drawn from funds previously appropriated or awarded from Commonwealth or Australian State or Territory sources for the purposes of research; … h. provide details regarding how the Project aligns with the Partner Organisation’s objectives; i. certify that it will meet the requirements outlined in a standard Funding Agreement, including the requirement to enter into arrangements regarding intellectual property; and j. be signed by the Chief Executive Officer, or delegate.

13. Other Organisations
In addition to Partner Organisations, Other Organisations can be involved in Linkage Projects
An Other Organisation is one which is listed in a Linkage Projects Proposal and is not an Eligible Organisation or a Partner Organisation.
Other Organisations can provide cash and/or in-kind, but this is not counted towards the minimum matching requirements.

14. Chief Investigators
A A researcher nominated on a Proposal as a CI must meet at least one of the following criteria at the scheme-specific Commencement Date and for the duration of the Project: a. be an employee for at least half-time (50 per cent of Full Time Equivalent) at one Eligible Organisation; or b. be a holder of an Emeritus, Adjunct or equivalent appointment at an Eligible Organisation listed at section A17 and not have a substantive (50 per cent of Full Time Equivalent or more) paid position elsewhere.

15. Partner Investigators (PI)
D9.1.3 The Proposal may nominate a PI from each Partner Organisation. A PI who is representing a Partner Organisation on the Proposal is required to have a role within that Partner Organisation.
A A PI must have the capacity to make a serious commitment to carrying out the Project and cannot assume the role of a supplier of resources for work that will largely be placed in the hands of others.
A …a PI must:
a. take significant intellectual responsibility for the planning and conduct of the Project and for any strategic decisions called for in its pursuit and the communication of results; and/or
b. have the experience and capacity to provide effective supervision, support and mentoring of research personnel associated with the Project in their areas of expertise; and/or
c. have the relevant skills and experience to effectively manage a similar scale research Project.

16. ARC Application Management System (RMS2.0)
Each CI and Partner Investigator (PI) must obtain access to RMS 2.0 and update their profile information.
Personal Profile information must be up to date and complete as significant data is auto-populated to the application.
Note: RMS has been updated. The current version is RMS2.0 – a guide to using RMS2.0 can be found here.
Applicants now use their address to login etc. (not RMS ID as previously)
RSO cannot edit Applicants’ RMS Profile / details. It is researchers’ responsibility to maintain their own RMS records. .

17. IMPORTANT DATES Key Activities LP15 Dates
Flinders RSO Expressions of Interest Due
22 August 2014
EOI face-to-face feedback meetings
Early-mid September 2014
Flinders ARC Grant Writing Workshop
12 September 2014
ARC Linkage Scheme LP14 Opens in RMS
Mid-September 2014
Eligibility Exemption Requests
N/A
Request not to Assess
Late October 2014 TBC
Faculty Quality Review Process & Feedback to Researchers: Draft Application (full; RMS generated)
15 October 2014 TBC
RSO Compliance Review:
Draft Application (full; RMS generated)
(4 weeks prior to closing date)
Application Submission to RSO in RMS 2.0
3 working days prior to the external due date
ARC Linkage Scheme LP15 Closes in RMS 2.0
Mid-November 2014 TBC

18. RSO Resources for Linkage Projects
Application Process for ARC Linkage Projects 2015 (PDF 40KB) Proforma Partner Support Letter (DOCX 32KB) LP15 Written Evidence form - CI PI (DOCX 34KB) LP15 Written Evidence form - Orgs (DOCX 34KB) Flinders University Certification Form Flinders University salary scales Past ARC Grant Writing Workshop Presentations (password protected) Instructions for using RMS 2.0. are available here. RSO Contact Christine Maher (ph: 12045) For detailed information on RSO resources, go to Flinders webpage Linkage Projects (LP) .