ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities Commencing in 2017

ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities commencing in 2017

Notable changes for the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LE17) for funding commencing in 2017. This document should not be considered to be exhaustive. Please consult the Funding Rules for Schemes under the Linkage Programme (2015 edition) or contact your research office for further clarification.

General Linkage Programme changes

• Addition of definitions for ‘Bench fees,’ ‘Emeritus Appointment,’ and ‘ORCID identifier’ (A3).
• The term ‘Research Environment’ has been replaced with ‘Project Research Environment’ (A3 and throughout document).
• ‘Strategic Research Priorities’ references have been replaced with ‘Science and Research Priorities’ (A3 and throughout document).
• Clarification of Partner Organisation conditions (A9.2.2). For each Partner Organisation, three conditions must be met. There must be:
• evidence of new or on-going collaboration between the Partner Organisation either directly with the Administering Organisation, and /or with an Other Eligible Organisation on the Proposal;
• no duplication of Commonwealth funding for the research and/or activities funded for the Project; and
• 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 specific scheme requirements.
• Simplification of eligibility criteria for participants (A10.2.1). 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:
• be an employee for at least 0.2 FTE (20 per cent of Full Time Equivalent) at an Eligible Organisation; or
• be a holder of an Emeritus Appointment (as defined at section A3) at an Eligible Organisation.
• Clarification of sections regarding Requests Not to Assess (A13.3.1), Appeals (A14.1.2), Intellectual Property (A16.4.2) and ARC Project IDs (A16.5.1).
• Requirement for all proposals to comply with the Australia Council for the Arts Indigenous Cultural Protocols for Producing Indigenous Music; Writing; Visual Arts; Media Arts; and Performing Arts (2007) (A16.1.1).
• Addition of references to the new ARC Research Integrity and Research Misconduct Policy (A16.3.1 and A16.6).
• Addition of clause regarding ORCID identifier (A16.5.3).
• Addition of Torrens University Australia as an Eligible Organisation (A17.1).

LE17 scheme specific changes

• LIEF Proposals may now request up to five years funding if the Proposal is for construction of research infrastructure (E6.1.4 and E7.1.b). A Project may be applied for up to five years only for:
• construction of research infrastructure, as described at E7.1.b; or
• subscription or coordinated access to international facilities and major national facilities, as described at E7.1.d.
• On-costs amounts to be requested in respect to salaries have been raised from 28% to 30% (E7.1.a and E7.1.b).

Text in Blue is additions to the Funding Rules, text in Red (and line through) is deleted items from the Funding Rules.

GENERAL - PART A

Clause / Item / Risk/Things To Note
A3 /

• Bench fees means the fees that an organisation charges for an individual to use infrastructure which would normally be provided by the organisation for their employees. This infrastructure may vary and could include, for example, an office or a laboratory space with appropriate equipment, or access to non-specialised equipment owned by the organisation.

• Emeritus Appointment means any Honorary position that gives full academic status, as certified by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) in a Proposal. These positions are typically held by former academic staff members that continue to have an ongoing relationship with the institution. For ARC purposes this relationship should include access to research support comparable to employees, and would also normally include participation in postgraduate supervision. A person will not be considered to hold an Emeritus Appointment if they are in paid employment elsewhere.

• ORCID identifier means a persistent digital identifier for an individual researcher, available via the ORCID website at

/ Added clause
Addition of Bench fees and definition of Emeritus appointment. In line with the ARC Discovery and Linkage Programme scheme rules.
Note the RSD memo on definition of Honorary status (document can be found in pre-application pack).
The ORCID identifier is not mandatory although the ARC strongly recommend that you provide one to facilitate/link academic profile outputs.
A5.1.4 / Notwithstanding A5.1.3, if the Industrial Transformation Priorities include a medical research-related priority, Industrial Transformation Research Hubs and Industrial Transformation Training Centres proposals addressing the priority may be submitted, having regard to the objectives of the relevant scheme. / Added clause
No other Linkage schemes but ITRH and ITTCs may be exempt from the A3.
A7.1.1 / Budget items supported
(f) publication and dissemination of Project outputs and outreach activity costs;
(i) web hosting and web development specific to the Project; and / Amended clause
Under the ITTC, ITRH and LP schemes, item (f) and (i) has been added as to things that may be funded.
A9.2.4 / Partner Organisations
(c) include a brief profile of the organisation; (for Industrial Transformation Research Hubs, this must include the number of employees within the organisation);
(g) state its expectations about industry outcomes/products and market value (including, where appropriate, for the Linkage Projects scheme);
this subsection A9.2.4g is not a requirement for letters under
(i) certify that it will meet the requirements outlined in a standard Funding Agreement, including the requirement to enter into arrangements regarding intellectual property which do not unreasonably delay academic outputs; and / Amended clause
Intellectual Property Arrangements: Consideredduring application development (if successful) in start-up meeting between CIs, POs and TTO.
A9.2.6 / Cash and in-kind contributions from Partner Organisation(s), must be specific to the Project and must not be part of a broader contribution to an Administering Organisation and should be listed in the ensuing contractual agreement. / Amended clause

• Research Accounting only permits allowable budget items to be claimed against the Partner Organisation funds;
• Revised project budgets should contain separate budget lines for PO and ARC funds, for RA to reference;
• Current Go8 MIA templates contain a table listing the cash and in-kind contributions from each Partner Organisation.

A10.2.1 / Eligibility Criteria for Chief Investigators (CIs)

1. be an employee for at least 0.2 FTE (20 per cent of Full Time Equivalent) at an Eligible Organisation; or
2. be a holder of an Emeritus Appointment (as defined at section A3) at an Eligible Organisation.

Is on successful Projects will be required to retain their eligibility for the duration of the Project in order to retain their CI status. Any changes to personnel and/or roles must be approved by the ARC via a Variation of Funding Agreement.
substantive (50 per cent of Full Time or more) paid position elsewhere / Amended clause
Simplification of eligibility criteria. Change from being an employee of 0.5 FTE to 0.2 FTE. And removed at ONE eligible organisation to AN eligible organisation.
A10.3.4 / (c) have demonstrated the relevant skills and experience to effectively manage a similar scale research Project. / Amended clause
Eligibility for Partner Investigators for the ITRH, ITTC and LP schemes
A10.3.6 / Eligibility Criteria for Partner Investigators (PIs)
PIs on successful Projects will be required to retain their eligibility for the duration of the Project in order to retain their PI status. Any changes to personnel and/or roles must be approved by the ARC via a Variation of Funding Agreement. / New Clause
The VFA needs to be submitted to the ARC as soon as possible.
A12.1.7 / Submission of Proposals
Applicants who are applying for another ARC funding scheme (not covered by these Funding Rules) should consult the funding rules for the other scheme to determine if applying for or holding a Project under these Funding Rules will affect their eligibility for the other ARC funding scheme. / New Clause
Note cross-scheme eligibility with other ARC funding schemes as to eligibility to apply and/or hold a project/award.
A13.3.1 / Request Not To Assess
While the ARC may accommodate such requests, only one request may be submitted per Proposal and any request containing more than three individual assessors to be excluded for a Proposal must be directly supported in writing by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) or equivalent of the Administering Organisation with evidence justifying the exclusion of all assessors requested. / Amended Clause
A14.1.2 / Appeals Process
Appeals will be considered only against administrative process issues and not against committee decisions, assessor ratings and comments or the assessment outcome. Appellants must identify the specific Funding Rule clause, policy or procedure which they believe has been incorrectly applied. / Amended Clause
A16.1.1 / Ethics and Research Practises
(e) as applicable, Australia Council for the Arts Indigenous Cultural Protocols for Producing Indigenous Music; Writing; Visual Arts; Media Arts; and Performing Arts (2007); and / Amended Clause
All proposals and ARC-funded research projects must conform to the principles outlined in the Funding Rules, now also including (e)
A16.3.1 / Confidentiality
The ARC will treat information contained in a Proposal as confidential. However, the ARC may disclose information contained in a Proposal, or otherwise provided to the ARC, to the extent that the information is:
(b) disclosed by the ARC to its advisors (including assessors), officers, employees or other third parties solely to comply with obligations or exercise rights under the ARC Research Integrity and Research Misconduct Policy; / Amended Clause
A16.4.2 / Intellectual Property
The Administering Organisation should ensure that applicants for ARC funding are familiar with the current intellectual property landscape for the proposal. / Amended Clause
CROs also need to make sure that the applicant consider the relevant intellectual property policies (e.g. together with the TTO) where appropriate for the Project.
A16.5.1 / Publication and Dissemination of Research Output
When depositing publications in an institutional repository the ARC Project ID should be included in the metadata. / Amended Clause
A16.5.2 / Researchers and institutions have an obligation to care for and maintain research data in accordance with the NHMRC/ARC/UA Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2007). / Amended Clause
No change of meaning
A16.5.3 / The ARC encourages all researchers applying for funding to have an ORCID identifier. / New Clause
Not mandatory but strongly encouraged.
A16.6.1 / Misconduct, Incomplete or Misleading Information
All ARC-funded research projects must comply with the ARC Research Integrity and Research Misconduct Policy, which is available at / Amended Clause
Addition of reference.
A17.1 / Torrens University Australia / Amended Clause
Addition of Torrens University Australia as Eligible Organisation.

LINKAGE INFRASTRUCTURE, EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES – PART E

E6.1.2 / Level and Period of Funding
The maximum level of funding provided by the ARC for a Project under LIEFis up to 75 per cent of the total direct cost of the eligible budget items. / Amended Clause
Used to say research infrastructure, now inclusive of subscription or coordinated access to international and major national facilities (E7.1 d)
E6.1.3 / All LIEF Proposals must have a duration of one year, except as described in E6.1.4. / New Clause
E6.1.4 / A Project may be applied for up to five years only for:
a. construction of research infrastructure, as described at E7.1.b; or
b. subscription or coordinated access to international facilities and major national facilities, as described at E7.1.d.
A Proposal must request ARC funding in all years of the Project and each year must be fully justified. / Amended Clause
E7.1 / Budget Items Supported
Budget items which directly support provision of research infrastructure for use in research projects may be funded, including:
a.purchase, upgrade, transportation of, installation of, maintenance of and/or management of access to the research infrastructure, including costs such as import taxes (and other similar expenses) for purchasing equipment, and salaries, including 30 per cent on-costs, directly associated with these activities;
b.construction of research infrastructure, for up to five years. This includes salaries, including 30 per cent on-costs, directly associated with this activity;
d. subscription or coordinated access to international facilities and major national facilities (enabled under a written agreement between the Administering Organisation and the relevant international or national facility), for up to five years;
(animal houses, herbaria, experimental farms) / Amended Clause
On-cost increase from 28% to 30%
Animal houses, herbaria, experimental farms replaced with ‘research infrastructure’.
E7.3 / Any salary costs requested under E7.1.a or E7.1.b need to be very carefully justified. / New Clause
E8.1 / Budget Items Not Supported
In addition to the budget items not supported under section A8, budget items which will not be supported by ARC funding and should not be requested in the budget include:
c. maintenance and/or operational costs of the proposed research infrastructure after the first year of the Project, including for multi-year Projects permitted under E6.1.4; / New Clause

• Multi-year projects need to include a business management plan for future years, addressing maintenance and/or operational costs;

E9.2.2 / Contributions
Organisational cash contributions for direct costs must make up a minimum of 25 per cent of the total direct cost of the research infrastructure. Cash contributions from the Administering Organisation, Other Eligible Organisation(s), Partner Organisation(s) and Other Organisation(s) are all eligible to make up this minimum of 25 per cent, and should be a demonstration of significant commitment to the project. / Amended Clause
No change of meaning
Should be included in E4 “Details of non-ARC contributions”.
E10.1.4 / Participants Roles and General Eligibility
Every CI and PI (and/or their research group) must be a significant and regular user of the research infrastructure, for a minimum of 10% of the available time of the research infrastructure. Where there are more than ten named participants on a Proposal, the minimum usage is the pro ratedpercentage of the available time. Where the research infrastructure comprises a database or a data acquisition facility, a case should be made for significant usage by each CI or PI. / Amended Clause
E10.2.1 / Eligibility Criteria for Chief Investigators (CIs)
Each Eligible Organisation must identify one CI who has a demonstrated record relative to opportunity in managing the proposed research infrastructure to be CI Manager for the Eligible Organisation. If an Eligible Organisation only has one CI on the Proposal, that CI will be the CI Manager for the Eligible Organisation. / Amended clause
A Proposal may nominate no more than a total of fifteen CIs and PIs (no more than five CIs from each E.O. or five PIs from each P.O. may be nominated).