International Relations Grants Program: Australia-Korea Foundation 2017Grant Guidelines

International Relations Grants Program

Australia-Korea Foundation 2017

Guidelines

Opening date: / 9am (AEDT) on 6/2/2017
Closing date and time: / 2pm (AEST) on 3/4/2017
Commonwealthpolicy entity: / Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Co-Sponsoring Entities / Not Applicable
Enquiries: / If you have any questions, please contact theAustralia-Korea Foundation Secretariat, (02) 62613869,
Questions should be sent no later than 27/3/2017
Date guidelines released: / 6February 2017
Type of grant opportunity: / Open competitive
Contents
1.International Relations Grants Program: Australia-Korea Foundation 2017 Process Flowchart
2.About the grant program
2.1About the Australia-Korea Foundation 2017
2.2Australia-Korea Foundation outcomes
3.Grant amount
4.Grant eligibility criteria
4.1Who is eligible to apply for a grant?
4.2Who is not eligible to apply for a grant?
5.Eligible grant activities
5.1What can the grant money be used for?
5.2What the grant money cannot be used for?
6.The grant selection process
7.The assessment criteria
8.The grant application process
8.1Overview of application process
8.2Application process timing
8.3Table 1: Expected timing for this grant opportunity
8.4Completing the grant application
8.5Attachments to the application
8.6Applications from consortium
8.7Questions during the application process
8.8Further grant opportunities
9.Assessment of grant applications
9.1Who will assess applications?
9.2Who will approve grants?
10.Notification of application outcomes
10.1Feedback on your application
11.Successful grant applications
11.1The grant agreement
11.2How the grant will be paid
11.3Grant agreement variations
12.Announcement of grants
13.Delivery of grant activities
13.1Your responsibilities
13.2Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s responsibilities
13.3Grant payments and GST
13.4Evaluation
13.5Publicity and acknowledgement
14.Probity
14.1Complaints process
14.2Conflict of interest
14.3Privacy: confidentiality and protection of personal information
14.4Freedom of information
15.Glossary

1.International Relations Grants Program: Australia-Korea Foundation 2017 Process Flowchart

The International Relations Grants Program is designed to achieve Australian Government objectives

This grant opportunity is part of the above Grant Program which contributes to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Outcome 1[1] in the Portfolio Budget Statements. The Australia-Korea Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade(DFAT) works with stakeholders to plan and design the grant programaccording to the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines.

The grant opportunity opens

We publish the grant guidelines and advertiseon GrantConnect, the DFAT website and social media.

You complete and submit a grant application

We assess all grant applications

We assess the applications against eligibility criteria and notify you if you are not eligible. The Board of the Australia-Korea Foundationthen assesses your application against the assessment criteria including an overall consideration of value for money and compares it to other applications.

We make grant recommendations

The Board provides advice to the DFAT decision maker on the merits of each application.

Grant Decisions are made

TheDFAT decision maker decides which grant applications are successful.

We notify you of the outcome

We advise you of the outcome of your application. We may not notify unsuccessful applicants until grant agreements have been executed with successful applicants.

We enter into grant agreements

We will enter into a grant agreement with each successful applicant. The type of grant agreement is based on the nature of the grant and proportional to the risks involved.

Delivery of grant

You undertake the grant activity as set out inyour grant agreement. We manage the grant by working with you, monitoring your progress and making grant payments.

Evaluation of the International Relations Grants Program/Australia-Korea Foundation 2017

We evaluate the specific grant activity and the International Relations Grants Program/Australia-Korea Foundation 2017 as a whole. We base this on information you provide to us and that we collect from various sources.

2.About the grant program

The International Relations Grants Program(the Program) is an ongoing program, subject to annual budget appropriation.

The objectives of the Program are to promote people-to-people links and a contemporary and positive image of Australia and support for the Australian Government’s international policy goals.

The expected outcomes of the Program are:

-strengthened bilateral relationships in areas of mutual interest withparticular countries and regions,

-international networks, collaboration and connections between institutions and communities to build understanding, trust and influence,

-enhanced Australian international reputation and reach through the promotion of our economic, creative and cultural, sporting, innovation and science, and education assets, and

-increased understanding of Australians of the cultures and opportunities in each of these countries.

Further information on the International Relations Grants Program, including descriptions of previous grant-funded projects, is available at

The Program will be undertaken according to the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines (CGRGs)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reserves the right to cease selection processes for Grant Opportunities under the International Relations Grants Program.

2.1About the Australia-Korea Foundation 2017

These guidelines contain information for the Australia-Korea Foundation 2017 grants. This grant opportunity is part of theInternational Relations Grants Program.

This document sets out:

  • the purpose of the grant opportunity
  • the eligibility and assessment criteria
  • how grant applications are monitoredand evaluated
  • responsibilities and expectations in relation to the opportunity.

You must read this document before filling out an application.

Grant opportunities available under the International Relations Grants Program are:

  • Australia-ASEAN Council 2017
  • Australia-China Council 2017
  • Australia-India Council 2017
  • Australia-Indonesia Institute 2017
  • Australia-Japan Foundation 2017
  • Australia-Korea Foundation 2017
  • Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program 2017
  • Council for Australian-Arab Relations 2017
  • Council on Australia Latin America Relations 2017

2.2Australia-Korea Foundationoutcomes

The Australia-Korea Foundation 2017 seeks to strengthen the Australia-Korea relationship in ways that enhance mutual understanding and people-to-people links.

The objectives of the Australian-Korea Foundation are to:

  • increase public awareness of Australia in Korea, and of Korea in Australia, and the importance of the bilateral relationship
  • develop partnerships in areas of shared interest in the bilateral, regional and global context
  • increase Australians’ capacity to effectively engage with Korea.

Key Priority Areas

  • Building cultural understanding
  • Reciprocal Australian and Korean studies
  • Technological and scientific innovation
  • Trade diplomacy and geopolitics

In order to enhance the relevance and diversity of AKF grant applications, achieving a better balance across the four priority areas, amongst all states and territories, project ideas are provided below as examples. These ideas are given as examples only and other innovative applications within these priority areas are encouraged.

Building Cultural Understanding

  1. to promotecreative sectorsincluding supporting tours to Korea by ballet groups, symphony orchestra, children's theatre etc.;
  2. to promote AustralianIndigenous cultureandcontemporary Australian literature, music and design; and

Reciprocal Australian and Korean Studies

  1. to enhancealumni engagementin Korea, especially through the Alumni Ambassadorin Korea;
  2. to promote collaboration inSTEAM educationbetween Australian and Korean schools;

Technological and Scientific Innovation

  1. to showcase development in theroboticsspace in Korea at both the 2017World Science Festivaland atRobotronica(a major Robotics festival) in Brisbane;
  2. to profile Korea's excellence inrecyclingande-waste processingin Australia;
  3. to share experiences and skills inregulatory quality and standards setting, with particular regard to new and developing technologies (mapping, driverless cars, big data and the internet of things).

Trade Diplomacy and Geopolitics

  1. to exchangetourism managementskills betweenTasmaniaand Jeju Island;
  2. to supportQueenslandimplementing theQueensland Asia Tourism Strategy 2016-2025;
  3. to promote a greater understanding in the ROK of the strategic role both countries are able to play in addressing thegeopoliticalissues in the Indo-Pacific, including in response to the ongoing provocations by the DPRK; and other tensions in the region in which both the ROK and Australia have a shared interest being resolved in a peaceful manner;
  4. to promote a reciprocal understanding in the ROK and Australia of inclusion and respect for individual rights, transparencyandright for citizens to assemble; supporting Australia's global work on abolishing the death penalty; and promotinggender equality.

3.Grant amount

Between $630,000 and $730,000in 2017-18 is available for this grant opportunity, subject to appropriation, starting in July 2017.

Grant applications for a minimum of $5000 or maximum of $40,000 per year up to three years will be considered.

Co-contributions from you,your Korean partnerand other parties strengthen your application.

It is anticipated that most grants will be between $15,000 and $30,000 per year, depending on the scope of the grant activity and its complexity.

4.Grant eligibilitycriteria

We cannot consider your applicationif it does notsatisfy all the eligibility criteria.

4.1Who is eligible to apply for a grant?

To be eligible you must:

  • be one of the following entity types:
  • an Australian entity with an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN)
  • a consortium with a lead organisation[2]
  • a registered charity or not-for-profit organisation
  • an Australian local government body
  • an Australian State/Territory government body
  • a corporate Commonwealth entity
  • an Australian statutory authority
  • be an Australian or permanent resident of Australia
  • or be a registered Korean organisation
  • and be willing to provide or develop child protection guidelines for your project if it involves people under the age of 18 years.

Applications from consortia are acceptable, provided you have a lead applicant who is the main driver of the project and is eligible as per the list above.

Individuals who intend the grant to be administered by a university should apply on behalf of the university, i.e. your university is the applicant.

4.2Who is not eligible to apply for a grant?

You are not eligible to apply if you are:

  • Not an Australian, a permanent resident of Australia or an Australian organisation and not a registered Korean organisation
  • A previous applicant who has failed to provide a full and proper acquittal of an earlier IRGP grant.
  • You may provide an interim report with the agreement of the relevantSecretariat where existing grant funding will be expended prior to the commencement of the new grant requested.

5.Eligible grant activities

5.1What can the grant money be used for?

You must use the grant for the following activities:

  • The project outlined within the application.

You can use the grant to pay for costs detailed in your budget and grant agreement, including:

  • Economy flights, modest accommodation costs, meals and travel allowances, other transport
  • Communication and translation
  • Venue hire and catering,
  • Advertising and promotion, graphic design, photography and printed material,
  • Production costs, including freight and artists’ wages
  • Only one participant per conference or meeting and only where the participant is a principal speaker and the subject of the conference is of direct relevance to the grant opportunity.

You can only spend grant funds on eligible grant activities as defined in the grant details in your grant agreement.

5.2What the grant money cannot be used for?

You cannot normally use the grant for the following:

  • capital expenditure, including purchase of real estate and vehicles
  • purchase of equipment (for example, musical instruments, computers, videos, photographic or printing equipment)
  • the covering of retrospective costs or recurrent funding of activities
  • activities which are already commercially viable in their own right
  • activities which will provide commercial advantage to the applicant (e.g. promotion of the applicant’s own business)
  • costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
  • subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation such aselectricity, phone, rent, salaries (including for research assistants or administrative staff),honorariums or administrative charges levied by the applicant's organisation,
  • activities for which other Commonwealth, State, Territory or Local Government bodies have primary responsibility (e.g. academic research, assistance to business, development assistance projects),
  • study tours or activities undertaken by schools where travel by a significant number of students is the principal element of the proposal
  • scholarships to individual students, and
  • completed projects.

We do not generally fund travel and accommodation for attendance at conferences or meetings, participation in fieldwork or sporting or other events, unless such activities are considered by the Board to be of direct relevance to its objectives. To be considered, a substantial program should exist in the sidelines or around the conference and there should also be a strong argument for the selection of applicant(s).

6.The grant selection process

First we will assess your application against the eligibility criteria. Only eligible applications will move to the next stage. Eligible applications will be considered through anopencompetitive grant process.

We will then assess your application against the criteria set out below and against other applications. Your application will be considered on its merits, based on:

  • how well it meets the criteria
  • how it compares to other applications
  • whether it provides value for money and
  • whether it will ensure a reasonable spread of projects across priority sectors and across the targeted country or regions.

7.The assessmentcriteria

You will need to address all of the following assessment criteria in your application. We will judge your application based on the weighting given to each criterion. The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide in your application should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested. The application form includes word limits.

Criterion 1: How will the grant activity contribute to the objectives of the Australia-Korea Foundation

In providing a response to this criterion you must include, but are not limited to:

  • a description of the activity and provision of information which demonstrates alignment to the Australia-Korea Foundation’s objectives and at least one of the Australia-Korea Foundation’s current strategic priority areas.

Criterion 2: What is the grant activities’ potential for raising awareness of Australia in Korea/Korea in Australia and does it promote a contemporary and positive image of Australia?

In providing a response to this criterion, you should demonstrate how your grant activities would reach out to a broader audience (eg the public and/or decision-makers) and also how you would create or strengthen formal or other relationships. You should include, but are not limited to:

  • any proposed quantitative or qualitative performance measures to indicate the expected reach of your project such as anticipated:
  • events such as public seminars, promotional events, performances, exhibition days, or community events.
  • number of participants/audience spectators (and a description of your target audience) and why you expect this level of engagement;
  • media engagement plans (including social media), the type of media interest you seek to generate (eg articles, radio and television broadcasts); and
  • distribution plans (eg of a publication).
  • indicating any follow-up activities that could arise from the grant activity and that could ensure networks created between individuals and institutions through the project are sustained (eg through creation of alumni groups).

Criterion 3: What is the need for the particular grant activity in the particular location/demographic or how does the proposed grant activity address a specific need?

In providing a response to this criterion you should include, but are not limited to:

  • demonstrating links to Korea.
  • demonstrating the gap that your grant activity would address.
  • demonstrating how your grant activity would address a new area of interest and cooperation between Australia and Korea.
  • demonstrating how your grant activity would address an area of interest and cooperation between Australia and Korea in a new, innovative and improved way.

Criterion 4: What is the capability and capacity of the applicant to undertake the grant activity?

In providing a response to this criterion you should demonstrate you and/or your organisation’s capability and capacity to successfully undertake your grant activity. You should include, but are not limited to:

  • a one-page capability statement of the organisation and/or CV of the project leader(s)
  • two signed references from referees with no direct financial interest in your project
  • referees should comment on the project’s objectives and the strategies to achieve them.
  • references that provide different perspectives on the proposal; and
  • referees who work for different organisations.
  • a letter of support from your organisation’s research office or equivalent If you are from a large organisation that confirms alignment of your grant activity to the organisation’s international strategies.

Criterion 5: What is the capability and commitment of your Korean partner?

In providing a response to this criterion you should demonstrate your Korean partner organisation’s capability and capacity and commitment to successfully undertake your grant activity. You should include, but are not limited to:

  • a letter of support from your Korean partner;
  • Track record of successful partnerships?

Criterion 6: Will you spend Commonwealth of Australia funds in a way that represents value for money?

In providing a response to this criterion you should demonstrate how well you have considered to provide value for money. You should include, but are not limited to:

  • inclusion of other sources of income and an indication of whether each source of income is confirmed, conditional or pending approval
  • other sources of income can include other grants from Australian Federal Government, State Government, Local Government, etc, and in-kind contributions from your organisation and your Korean partner.
  • appropriate, reasonable and realistic economy travel costings.

When preparing the application, applicants should bear in mind that the assessment committee may not be familiar with the applicant, the organisation or the field of activity. As the committee’s recommendation will be primarily based on the information provided in the application form, this document should be clear, accurate, comprehensive and focused.

8.The grant application process

8.1Overview of application process

Youmust read these grant guidelines, the application form,the Australia-Korea Foundation Strategic Plan, the draft grant agreementand the sample final report before you submit an application.