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ARC Centres of Excellence 2011
The Australian Research Council has announced the opening of applications under its Centres of Excellence (COE) program for funding in 2011.
The ARC Centres of Excellence scheme aims to fund highly innovative and transformational research potentially leading to international standing and a significant advancement of capabilities and knowledge. The Centres will link existing Australian research strengths and build critical mass with new capacity for interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches to address the most challenging and significant research problems. Moreover, the Centres of Excellence will build Australia’s human capacity in a range of research areas by attracting and retaining, from within Australia and abroad, researchers of high international standing as well as the most promising research students.
The number of 2011 ARC Centres of Excellence to be established is likely to depend on the level of funding approved for each Centre. Successful Centres should expect to receive ARC funding of approximately $1M-4M per annum. The ARC strongly encourages applicants to maximise the impact of its funding by obtaining commitments of additional financial contributions from a variety of sources including host and collaborating institutions. Funding will be offered for periods up to seven years, nominally commencing in January 2011.
UQ APPLICATION PROCESS
The Office of the DVC(Research), in conjunction with the Research and Research Training Division (RRTD), will oversee applications for 2011 ARC COEs.
UQ researchers are invited to submit expressions of interest (EOIs) for COE applications where the University would be the administering (lead) institution. For UQ researchers involved in COE applications led by another university, a brief outline of the developing bid and the nature of UQ’s involvement should also be provided.
Internal Expressions of Interest should use the ARC proforma available at http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/ce/ce_eoi.htm, without the required institutional certifications (Part E) at this stage. Given the need for institutional counterpart cash under the Centres of Excellence scheme, UQ will put forward a targeted field of EOIs to the ARC.
Internal Expressions of Interest must be forwarded electronically to Nicole Thompson in RRTD no later than midday Wednesday 4 November 2009. A review committee including members of the Senior Executive will then examine the University’s EOIs, provide high-level strategic feedback, and invite selected teams to go forward to the ARC EOI process.
UQ timetable for ARC COE Expressions of Interest and full applications
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4 November 2009 (midday) to Nicole Thompson in RRTD
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Internal due date for completed Expression of Interest forms. Strategic feedback will be provided to UQ EOI teams at the earliest opportunity, with selected UQ teams being invited to proceed to the ARC EOI process. ODVC(R) and RRTD will work with UQ proponents to ensure the submission of high quality EOIs by the ARC (external) closing date of 25 November 2009.
A targeted bid development workshop is also planned for the coming weeks to provide additional support for the University’s COE applicant teams. Further information will be provided shortly.
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February 2010
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Outcomes of the ARC’s Expression of Interest phase are expected to be known in February 2010, with the submission of full proposals due externally on 19 April 2010. The University’s internal due dates for full submissions will be advised in due course.
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Any enquires on the application process or development of proposals can be directed to Nicole Thompson in the first instance (n.thompson@research.uq.edu.au).
The ARC Centres of Excellence Funding Rules for funding commencing in 2011 provide further, detailed information on making an application in the current round. The Funding Rules are available from the ARC website (http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/ce/ce_default.htm). We urge prospective applicants to familiarise themselves with the ARC Rules as soon as possible. In addition, UQ has produced an introductory briefing document on the key features of the scheme and the EOI process.