Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO3426

The Linkage Projects scheme supports projects which initiate or develop long term strategic research alliances to apply advanced knowledge to problems, acquire new knowledge and as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research.

To facilitate successful collaboration between higher education institutions and other parts of the innovation system, there will be three assessment rounds for Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2020, and funding outcomes will be recommended to the Minister within six months of the application closing date for each round. Please refer to the Important Dates document for detailed information about the assessment round dates.

The Linkage Projects scheme objectives are to:

• support the development of long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and industry and other research end-users, in order to apply advanced knowledge to problems;
• provide opportunities for internationally competitive research projects to be conducted in collaboration with organisations outside the higher education sector; and
• enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

The intended outcomes of the Linkage Projects scheme are:

• the growth of a national pool of world-class researchers to meet the needs of the broader Australian innovation system; and
• economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia.

An application may only be submitted through the Research Office of an Eligible Organisation listed in the Grant Guidelines. The application must nominate at least one Chief Investigator (CI); the first named CI will be the Project Leader. Additional CIs and Partner Investigators (PIs) may be nominated in the application.

To be eligible to apply as a CI or PI the individual nominated must as at application submission have met their obligations regarding previously funded projects, including submission to the ARC of satisfactory final reports. 

A CI must meet at least one of the following criteria at the grant commencement date and for the project activity period:  be an employee for at least 20 per cent of full time equivalent (0.2 FTE) at an Eligible Organisation; or be a holder of an honorary academic appointment at an Eligible Organisation.

A CI must reside predominantly in Australia for the project activity period; and must not be undertaking a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) during the project activity period.

A named participant can apply for and be concurrently funded through the Linkage Program for a maximum of four Linkage Program projects (not including the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme) as a CI or Director. Please refer to the Grant Guidelines for further details regarding this eligibility requirement.

Limits may be re-calculated as other grant opportunity announcements are made.

To be eligible to apply as a PI, the individual nominated must at the grant commencement date: not be eligible to be a CI.

To be eligible to hold, a PI: must not meet the eligibility criteria for a CI during the project activity period. An employee of an Eligible Organisation who does not reside predominantly in Australia may be a PI.

An application may be applied for and awarded funding for a minimum of two to a maximum of five consecutive years.

From $50,000.00 to $300,000.00

The application must be submitted as a mature research plan presenting the proposed project ready for implementation and must contain all the information necessary for its assessment without the need for further written or oral explanation, or reference to additional documentation, unless requested by the ARC.
Applicants should note the eligibility criteria for access to other funding schemes, as expressed in the Grant Guidelines for those schemes. The ARC reserves the right to change these criteria in future funding rounds. Grant Guidelines for all ARC schemes may be found attached to the relevant Grant Opportunity.
Administering Organisations must submit applications through the Research Management system (RMS) unless otherwise advised by the ARC.
All applications must meet the format and content requirements, including certification, as set out in the RMS online form and the Instructions to Applicants for Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2020.

The RMS is a web-based system used to prepare and submit research applications, assessments and rejoinders for the ARC National Competitive Grants Program. Registered users can login using your email address and password at https://rms.arc.gov.au. To request a new account, please go to https://rms.arc.gov.au and click on the Request New Account link.

All queries by researchers should be directed to the Administering Organisation of the application.