Monash Peninsula Seminar September 2005

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Monash Peninsula Seminar September 2005

• 10 Lessons Learned
• from the ARC
• College of Experts
• Graeme Shanks

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1. Track Records

• Crucial for discovery grants (40)
• Consider forming a team
• Go for quality not quantity

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2. Early Career Researchers

• Are strongly supported within ARC (15 quota)
• Focus on ECRs and review and iterate their grant
  applications

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3. Write for the panel members

• Eg. MICS panel -Mathematicians, computer
  scientists, engineers one IS person
• Each grant assessed by 2 panel members at least
  one will be non-IS

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4. Tight research approach

• Assume very little
• Focus on rigour
• Link to aims
• Carefully explain qualitative research

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5. Australian Post Docs.

• Apply for APD or RA?
• Many ECRs apply for APDs.
• Sometimes better to apply for RAs
• Can apply for both

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6. Budgets

• Be meticulous with budget justification
• Ask for everything you need
• padded and poorly justified budgets are obvious

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7. Linkage grants

• Higher success rate than discovery (but
  decreasing!!)
• APAI only have slightly higher success rate
• Industry partner cash contribution is an
  important indicator of their level of support

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8. Reviewers

• Become an ARC reviewer especially in IS
• Review at least 10
• Rank order counts not scores

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8. Reviewers (cont)

• Reviewing Process
• Reviews by 2 panel members, and up to 2 Oz
  readers and 4 International readers
• Ranked scores established
• Panel members check their assessments
• Weighted average percentage rank established
• Decisions made

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9. Assessment Process

• Carefully designed
• Successful grants are of high quality
• Success rates for discipline areas and panel
  members are compared

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10. Grant Applications

• Only submit high quality applications
• Get feedback and iterate

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Conclusion

• Learn to play the ARC grant game!
• Strong track records
• collaborations
• Quality applications
• Support for ECRs
• Strong support mechanisms