Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO5936

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 two assessment rounds for Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2023, 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 internationally competitive research projects and teams on challenges or opportunities of relevance to research end-users;
• foster the establishment and strengthening of research alliances between higher education organisations and research end-users;
• enhance the scale and focus of research, including in Australian Government priority areas.

The intended outcomes of the Linkage Projects scheme are:

• new or strengthened collaborations and research alliances between universities and research end-users;
• new knowledge that is of benefit to Australian research end-users, including in Australian Government priority areas; 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. 

At the grant commencement date a CI must 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 and not employed at another organisation for more than 0.2 FTE.

A CI must reside for more than 50 per cent of their time 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 will be calculated at the closing time for submission of applications and may be re-calculated as other grant opportunity announcements are made.

To be eligible to apply as a PI the individual nominated must not meet the eligibility criteria for a CI as at the grant commencement date or during the project activity period.

For other eligibility requirements refer to the relevant Grant Guidelines.

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

From $100,000.00 to $1,500,000.00

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 2023.

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.