Australian Research Council (ARC)

Substantial support for major bids is provided on a case by case basis. If you wish to develop such a bid, please discuss with your College Dean (Research) and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).

The Near-Miss funding scheme provides funding to applicants whose grant application was ranked highly in the annual ARC Discovery Projects assessment process but was not funded. 

University Research Budget funding is provided at the discretion of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), who may seek matching funding on a co-investment basis from the relevant Vice-President and Executive Dean/Dean (Research).

Funding will be awarded to the first named Chief Investigator on the unsuccessful ARC application. The Chief Investigator must submit a new application for an ARC grant within 18 months or will not be eligible for any subsequent Near-Miss funding.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) provides the following support from the University Research Budget to successful ARC Fellowship applicants:

• Future Fellows – up to $50K pa towards project costs (maximum support $200K)
• DECRA – up to $25K pa towards project costs (maximum support $75K)

University Research Budget support is only made available if equivalent support is sought from the ARC.  It is a requirement that applicants detail the resources being provided by Flinders University, the Administering Organisation, to support the applicant.

Subject to submission by specific internal deadlines, University Research Budget and College co-funding, to a maximum of $20K pa for a maximum of three years will be committed to support the project if the application is successful, a contribution that should be included in the application.  Overall, the Flinders contribution should be a maximum of 20% of external funding (combined ARC request and industry commitment) that comes specifically to Flinders University.

Applicants need to provide a submission-ready application to Research Development and Support by the internal deadline together with a signed and completed co-investment form. Extension requests will not be considered.

• ARC LP assessment Round 1 RDS Deadline - 30 March 2021,
• ARC LP assessment Round 2 RDS Deadline  - 2 August 2021, or
• ARC LP assessment Round 1 RDS Deadline - 2 December 2021

This scheme support activities which will enable applicants to develop a proposal for submission to ARC Linkage Projects, CRC-Projects, Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), NHMRC Partnership Projects or Development Grants schemes in 2019.

Amount of funding support

Up to a maximum of $5,000

Closing date

No deadline

Use of funds

Funds can be used for:

• workshops and meetings between researchers and partners to develop proposals e.g. travel costs to meet with partners
• support for the development of a funding proposal e.g. external review of an application

Selection process

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) will decide on whether to support the application based on advice from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Impact) and the (Dean) Research from the College of the lead Flinders Chief Investigator.

How to apply

Send summary details of the application (project title, project summary, proposed participants, proposed partners and their expected contributions, proposed budget for both the proposed application and use of the funding support of up to $5K) to Research Development and Support via research.grants@flinders.edu.au.

Substantial support for major bids led by Flinders University researchers is provided on a case-by-case basis proportional to the strength of the bid and the expected return of research funding to Flinders.

If you wish to develop such a bid, please first discuss with the relevant Dean (Research).  The Dean (Research) should then discuss with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at least four months in advance of the closing date (excluding short turnaround MRFF opportunities).

Researchers intending to apply for an ARC Laureate Fellowship should discuss their application with their relevant Dean (Research) who will then approach the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) for support for the application at least three months in advance of the closing date.

Funding outcomes are published on the ARC website on the same day they are announced by the Minister for Education. RDS will provide awardees with acceptance paper work as soon as possible, following the publication of funding round outcomes.

The lead investigator will receive a grant acceptance form, which will need to be completed and returned to Research Development and Support.

The Funding Agreement outlines the responsibilities of all parties (the administering organisation, the chief investigators and partner investigators), including payment of funding, use of funding, specified personnel, transfers, audit and monitoring, reporting requirements and termination of the agreement. As Chief Investigator you are responsible for ensuring that the research funds are expended in accordance with the terms and conditions of your grant, and that all reporting requirements are met.

There are different funding agreements for each ARC program and grant round. You can view or download a copy of your funding agreement on the ARC website or from GrantConnect.

An agreement with collaborators, if required, and all necessary ethics and other approvals must be in place prior to the commencement of a project. RDS is the only source of authorisation for the release of research funds and this will be given once all internal and external requirements have been met.

The Grants Finance Office is responsible for the financial administration of all research grants, special purpose funds and consulting funds, including:

• Establishing accounts
• Loading budgets where applicable
• Raising invoices for grant income
• Authorising funding for staff appointments
• Preparing financial statements
• Assisting with policy/ procedure queries
• Monitoring overdrawn accounts
• Liaison with external funding bodies

For further information on any of the above or to obtain contact details please visit the Grants Finance Office website.

Flinders Budget Estimator Tool can be used as a means to help manage your awarded budget. For further information contact your College Research Support staff.

The ARC reporting requirements for your individual project are outlined in the relevant Funding Agreement. As Chief Investigator, you are responsible for ensuring that the reporting requirements for your project are met. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements may result in payment of further instalments of any funded project being withheld by the ARC until the appropriate reports have been received and assessed as satisfactory.

Reporting requirements for your project may include:

• Final reports
• End of year and progress reports
• Audited financial statements
• Annual reports
• Partner Organisation agreed contribution report

Detailed information on how to prepare and submit these reports can be found on the ARC website. Please note that any financial reports must be submitted via the Grants Finance Office website.

Variations to grants administered by the University must be submitted to the ARC through Research Development and Support (RDS).

Over the duration of the project circumstances may change and a Variation of the Funding Agreement (VFA) may become necessary. In this event, the Chief Investigator should seek advice from RDS who will:

• Provide advice regarding compliance with the Funding Agreement
• Liaise with the ARC regarding post award queries
• Provide a letter of support for the variation from Flinders University
• Certify the variation form
• Send the variation request to the ARC
• Notify the researcher of the outcome
• Notify relevant University department staff / Finance and Planning

Please note that while RDS can assist with the administration of variations of the funding agreement, approval is at the discretion of the ARC.

Transfers of grants administered by the University must submitted to ARC through Research Development and Support (RDS).

Over the duration of the project, circumstances may change which necessitate the transfer of the research grant to a different Administering Organisation, such as in the event that a researcher:

• ceases to work at the University and seeks to transfer a research grant to a new institution; or
• starts work at the University and wishes to transfer grant funds administered by another institution to the University.

The chief investigators should seek advice from RDS in the above instances.