LINKAGE–

INTERNATIONAL

Guidelines for applicants

for funding commencing in

2003

Australian Research Council

Linkage–International

Guidelines for Funding Commencing in 2003

Table of contents

1 Introduction....................................................4

2 Objectives......................................................4

3 Description.....................................................4

4 Eligibility......................................................5

4.1 Eligibility of applicant

4.1.1            Linkage‑International Fellowships

4.1.2 Linkage‑International Awards

4.2 Eligibility of institution

4.3 Eligibility of project

5               Funding…………………………………………………………………………..7

5.1              Areas of investigation not supported

5.2              Budget items not supported

6 Application.....................................................7

6.1 Application form

6.2  Application content, Linkage‑International Fellowships

6.2.1            Application form

6.2.2            Additional text

6.2.3            Curriculum vitae and supporting documentation

6.3              Application content, Linkage‑International Awards

6.3.1            Application form

6.3.2            Additional text

6.3.3            Curriculum vitae and supporting documentation

7 Submission of applications (Fellowships and Awards)..................10

8 Selection and approval process....................................11

8.1 Selection criteria

8.1.1 Linkage‑International Awards

8.1.2 Linkage‑International Fellowships

8.1.3 All applications

8.2 Selection procedure

8.3 Offer of grant

8.4 Conditions of Grant

9 Appeals process................................................13

10 Grant administration............................................13

10.1     Reporting requirements

10.1.1 Failure to provide reports

10.2     Financial management - payments

10.3     Privacy of individuals

10.4     Confidentiality

10.6     Intellectual property

10.7     Incomplete or misleading information

10.8     Contact points

Appendices

1 Eligible higher education institutions................................16

2 Salary Scales for Fellowships in 2003...............................17

3 Anglo-Australian Observatory Fellowship...........................18

4 French Fellowships.............................................19

5 German Fellowships............................................20

6 The Republic of Korea (South Korea) Fellowships.....................21

7 United Kingdom Fellowships.....................................23

8 Linkage–International Awards.....................................25

Acronyms

The following acronyms are used through these guidelines.

AAO Anglo-Australian Observatory

ARC Australian Research Council

IAS The Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at the Australian National University

IREX International Researcher Exchange Scheme

IRF International Research Fellowships Scheme

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

Australian Research Council

Linkage–International

Guidelines for Funding Commencing in 2003

1 Introduction

These guidelines set out the funding rules under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 for Linkage—International which is part of the Australian Research Council’s National Competitive Grants Programme (NCGP). The NCGP comprises two elements, Discovery and Linkage.

These Guidelines are written on the basis that it is the researcher who is the applicant. However, grants from the ARC are made to institutions, not the individual researchers.

The Commonwealth provides funding under Linkage–International for movement of researchers between Australian research institutions and centres of research excellence overseas.  It supports two types of awards—

• Fellowships under international agreements for the reciprocal exchange of postdoctoral researchers (previously funded under the International Research Fellowships Scheme (IRF) and the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) Fellowship Agreement)
• Awards to build links between research centres of excellence in Australia and overseas by funding extended collaborations.

2 Objectives

Linkage–International will provide funds to—

• build strong ongoing collaborations between research groupings or centres of excellence in Australia and overseas, involving the exchange of researchers at both senior and junior levels
• strengthen international research experience for junior researchers at both postdoctoral and postgraduate levels
• enhance existing, and develop new, collaborations among senior researchers.

3 Description

Linkage–International supports Fellowships and Awards—

Linkage–International Fellowships

Linkage–International Fellowships meet obligations under reciprocal agreements with France, Germany, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the United Kingdom for early career postdoctoral and senior researchers. A Fellowship is a grant for up to one year for the selected Fellow to work in Australia. It includes support for salary and salary on-costs, travel to a major conference in Australia, and return international travel and consumables. Refer to Appendixes 4,

5, 6 and 7 for details. The Australian-based Chief Investigator submits the application for a collaborative project with the proposed Fellow.

Linkage–International Awards

Linkage–International Awards provide funds to Australian-based researchers towards the direct costs of the collaboration (travel, subsistence and consumables) for a period of up to three years.

Applications for support under Linkage–International Awards may be for collaboration with any appropriate researchers in any country or countries. Preference may be given to applications involving countries with which the ARC has a Memorandum of Understanding (see Appendix 8), and countries with which the ARC has traditional research links (the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and India).

Specifically, the ARC will consider providing the following support—

• for researchers travelling from Australia, international return economy class airfare(s) and, in some cases, a contribution to living expenses at reasonable local rates
• for researchers coming to Australia, a contribution to living expenses (up to $600 per week), internal travel and, in exceptional circumstances (that is, where the international collaborator is from an economically disadvantaged country), a contribution to the international economy class airfare
• in both cases, a limited contribution to consumables directly related to the collaborative work, up to a maximum of $5000 a year.

Usually, the ARC will fund international travel costs for Australian-based researchers and subsistence in Australia for visiting researchers from overseas.  In cases where the source of matching funds for the international collaborator(s) provides international travel and subsistence for them, the ARC will consider supporting Australian researchers on the same basis.  Visits by senior researchers (Chief Investigators) may be for short periods but visits by junior researchers should be for more substantial uninterrupted periods, typically three months or more.

The ARC expects that Australian Government funding will be augmented by cash and in-kind contributions from the international collaborating partners to meet the direct costs of their participation, in a reciprocal manner.  Contributions from the international source in the form of primary project costs and salary may not be included as matching contributions.  It is against the spirit of Linkage–International for this funding to be obtained from any Australian source.  Funds from the ARC may not be used for this purpose.  Linkage–International Fellowships may not be used to provide salary and travel support as the international matching component of an Award.

The application must be submitted by the Australian-based Chief Investigator through an eligible Australian institution, listed at Appendix 1.

4 Eligibility

4.1 Eligibility of applicant

An Australian-based Chief Investigator can make a maximum of one Linkage–International Fellowship application in a calendar year and one application for a Linkage–International Award in a 12 month period. Award applications are valid for consideration by the ARC for a period of one

year from date of submission. An Australian Chief Investigator may hold a maximum of two Linkage–International and/or IREX Awards and host only one Linkage–International and/or IREX Fellowship at any one time. For the purposes of this eligibility criterion, a Linkage–International grant carried over, or deferred, into the next calendar year is classified as a Linkage–International grant for the calendar year in which it was first awarded.

The Australian Chief Investigator must be an outstanding researcher of international standing in the relevant discipline or multi-disciplinary field. A team of Australian researchers can consist of staff from different organisations provided the Chief Investigator is a researcher employed by the administering institution.

Chief Investigators must have fulfilled all obligations from previous ARC grants (including final and progress reports).

4.1.1 Linkage–International Fellowships

Fellowships are available for early career postdoctoral and senior researchers from France, Germany, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Australian Observatory Fellowship is also supported under Linkage–International. Applications for Fellowships are to be made by Australian host researchers together with the nominated Fellow. The host researcher of a Fellowship is regarded as the Chief Investigator. Chief Investigators must be employed by eligible higher education institutions as listed at Appendix 1. In the case of Fellows from Germany and South Korea, these must be employed by those listed institutions, or the CSIRO.

The nominated Fellow must be able to demonstrate that he/she is covered by the relevant agreement as either a resident or a citizen of the country and that he/she has ongoing research connections with a university or research institute in that country. Refer to Appendices 3-7 for details of the relevant agreements.

4.1.2 Linkage–International Awards

Chief Investigators for Linkage–International Awards must be Australian-based researchers or academics employed by an eligible higher education institution as listed at Appendix 1.

At the time of application, the first named Chief Investigator must be a Chief Investigator on at least one current ARC grant under Discovery—Projects (or the earlier Large Research Grants or Fellowships Schemes), Linkage—Projects (or the earlier SPIRT Scheme), the Special Research Centres Scheme or the Key Centres of Teaching and Research Scheme.

4.2 Eligibility of institution

To be eligible for a Linkage–International grant, an Australian administering institution must undertake to provide appropriate facilities and equipment for the researcher, to meet the associated infrastructure support costs, and to continue collaboration with the international collaborator.

A list of eligible institutions is set out in Appendix 1. In addition, the CSIRO is eligible to submit applications for Fellows from Germany and South Korea

Researchers and staff at the CSIRO and other research bodies are not eligible to submit applications for Linkage–International Awards.

4.3 Eligibility of project

A Linkage–International project must be a collaborative venture of international standard in a relevant discipline or multi-disciplinary field as specified in Appendixes 3–8. The project can involve basic or applied research or a combination of both.

5 Funding

The minimum Linkage–International Award grant is $5 000.

Government-related entities do not pay GST on the funding transaction with the ARC. However, non government-related entities which are liable to pay GST on the transaction with the ARC will receive base-funding plus GST.

If the organisation is able to claim input tax credits for the GST component in the cost of goods and services purchased in the course of carrying out the Project, then the GST component of these costs should not be included in Project cost. Therefore the ARC will make GST adjustments to payments depending on whether the funding has been provided to a government-related or non-government-related entity. 

Applicants are therefore requested to provide their budgets exclusive of GST.

5.1 Areas of investigation not supported

Research in the fields of clinical medicine and dentistry is not supported by the ARC as the National Health and Medical Research Council has responsibility for funding research in those fields.

5.2 Budget items not supported

The following items are not eligible for support under the Linkage–International—

• salaries of academic staff engaged in teaching and research, and in research only, (including the cost of ‘buying time’ to free such staff to do more research) except for the Linkage–International Fellowships element where a contribution to the salary of the Fellow is a component of the Fellowship.
• salaries of staff supporting research at the institutional level (for example, Deputy
  Vice-Chancellor Research, Research Grants Officer).
• costs of the primary research activity, including field trips, equipment and support staff salaries. These should be met from another funding source (for example, an ARC Large Grant or Discovery Grant).
• infrastructure support costs, which are the responsibility of an administering institution.
• costs of ongoing collaboration with international researchers and/or their home institutions incurred after completion of the Linkage–International project. These are the responsibility of an administering institution.
• conferences or seminars, or exchanges that are primarily organisational.

6 Application

As the application is the prime source of information available to the selection committee, applicants must submit their projects as mature research plans ready for implementation.  The application must contain all the information necessary for assessment of the project without the need for further written or oral explanation, or reference to additional documentation, including the World Wide Web, unless requested by the selection committee.  All details in the application, particularly concerning any successful grants, must be current.

6.1 Application format

Applications consist of two parts—

• application form
• additional text, including supporting documentation and curricula vitae

All documents must be written in English.

All pages should be in black type, use a single column and 12 point type-face on white A4 paper, printed on one side only, and unbound, with at least 2 cm margins on each side. As applications are scanned electronically, only legible typefaces should be used such as Arial, Courier, Palatino, Times New Roman, or Helvetica. Variants such as mathematical typesetting languages may also be used.

Colour graphs or colour photographs may be included but they will be reproduced in black and white.

A table of contents is not required.

The additional text, the curriculum vitae and supporting documentation must have the pages numbered consecutively, starting from page 1 of the additional text.

Pages in excess of the stipulated limits may be removed before assessment.

6.2 Application content: Linkage–International Fellowships

6.2.1 Application form

Application forms are available from research offices in institutions or may be downloaded from the Internet at http://www.arc.gov.au.

6.2.2 Additional text

Applicants should note that applications are considered by a selection advisory group whose membership includes people who are not specialists in the field of the application. Consequently, the collaboration and its expected outcomes should be described in a way that can be understood by all committee members, both specialist and non-specialist. Linkage–International Awards and Fellowships have different text requirements. Please read these instructions carefully.

In no more than six pages, applicants are required to consider the selection criteria and provide the following information—

1. a brief outline of the aims, research plan and methodology.
2. a brief description of the nature of the applicant Fellow’s ongoing research connections with a university or research institute in his/her country.
3. information on the research environment of the host institution including physical, and intellectual resources available to the Fellow.
4. justification of all budget items.
5. the track record of the proposed Fellow.

In the case of a proposal for a Fellow from Germany or Korea, to be administered by an eligible research body, the benefit expected to flow to programmes of research administered by higher education institutions as listed at Appendix 1.

6.2.3 Curriculum vitae and supporting documentation

All the documents listed below are not included in the quota of pages for the additional text. Both items must be provided. The third must be provided if the conditions apply.

1 The curriculum vitae are to be no more than one page in length for each Australian Chief Investigator and international Chief Investigator or proposed Fellow, and must include the following details—

 name

- qualifications and current appointment

-  relevant employment history

-  a list of the ten most significant relevant publications for the last five years and the total number of peer-reviewed research publications over the last five years

-  brief details of all competitive grant funding for the last five years.

2 A report on the outcome of any earlier ARC funded international collaborative grant (such as IREX) for each Australian Chief Investigator, including a list of joint publications, grants or similar evidence of successful ongoing collaboration.  This report should consist of one page per grant.

6.3 Application content: Linkage–International Awards

6.3.1 Application form

Application forms are available from research offices in institutions or may be downloaded from ARC website (www.arc.gov.au).

6.3.2 Additional text

Applicants should note that applications are considered by a selection advisory group whose membership will include people who are not specialists in the field of the application. Consequently, the collaboration and its expected outcomes should be described in a way that can be understood by all committee members, both specialist and non-specialist. Linkage–International Awards and Fellowships have different text requirements. Please read these instructions carefully.

In no more than three pages, applicants are required to consider the selection criteria and provide the following information—

1. a brief outline of the aims, significance, research plan and methodology for the proposed program.
2. a brief description of the nature of the collaboration including the role of, and benefit to, the Australian and international partners.
    
3. justification of all budget items.
4. a management plan for the collaboration, including a proposed schedule of visits.

This schedule of visits is to be presented as a table with the following information for each visit—

-  dates

-  name and status of researcher(s) travelling

-  destination

-  activity to be performed

-  funding source

Below is a table showing a partial example of a schedule of visits.

6.3.3 Curriculum vitae and supporting documentation

The documents listed below are not included in the quota of pages for the additional text.  The first two items must be provided. 

1 A curriculum vitae for each Australian Chief Investigator and international Chief Investigator. Each CV is to be no more than one page in length for each investigator and must include the following details—

-  name

-  qualifications and current appointment

-  relevant employment history

-  a list of the ten most significant relevant publications for the last five years and the total number of peer-reviewed research publications over the last five years

-  brief details of all competitive grant funding for the last five years

2 A report on the outcome of any earlier ARC funded international collaborative grant (such as IREX) for each Australian Chief Investigator, including a list of joint publications, grants or similar evidence of successful ongoing collaboration. This report should consist of one page per grant.

3 Applicants for Linkage–International Awards may attach a letter of support from the international collaborating institution if that letter indicates financial commitment to the proposed collaboration.

7 Submission of application (Fellowships and Awards)

Fellowships  Applications must be submitted by close of business (AEST) 22 March 2002.

Awards Applications may be submitted to the ARC at any time. They will be batched for assessment several times during the year.

Two copies are required, an original and one identical copy. It is the copy that is reproduced and dispatched for assessment.

The application must be clipped, with NAL clips, not stapled, and submitted in the following order—

• application form
• additional text, curriculum vitae
• report on previous grant
• letter of support

All applications must—

• be signed by the appropriate persons on the certifications page of the application form
• be submitted through the research office of the administering institution

Applicants should submit their applications through the Research Office of the administering institution by the institution’s closing date. Applications should be completed and submitted electronically, by the Research Office, via the Grants Application Management System (GAMS), to the ARC. (Applicants who require an alternative means to submitting the form on-line should contact their university’s Research Office.)

Research offices should send applications–

Applicants should note that a separate document Linkage‑International Instructions to applicants for funding commencing in 2003 is available on www.arc.gov.au to assist in preparing applications.

8 Selection and approval process

8.1 Selection criteria

8.1.1 Linkage–International Awards

Selection will be based upon the following criteria and weightings—

8.1.2 Linkage–International Fellowships

Selection will be based upon the following criteria and weightings—

8.1.3 All applications

All assessments under Linkage–International will include the following additional considerations where appropriate—

• In the case of applicants who have previously received grants under the former International Researcher Exchange Scheme, the former International Research Fellowships Scheme or International Projects Scheme, the demonstrated outcomes of those collaborations, including joint publications, joint grants, contracts or similar awards, or other relevant evidence.
• In the case of an application for a Fellow from Germany or South Korea to be administered by an eligible research body (for example, the CSIRO), the benefit expected to flow to research administered by higher education institutions as listed at Appendix 1.
• Any other requirements mentioned in specific agreements or indicated in the attached appendices.

8.2 Selection procedure

Assessment of applications is undertaken by one or more members of each of the Expert Advisory Committees. The members of the Expert Advisory Committees—

 

• rank each application relative to the others on the basis of the application
• assess and recommend budgets
• prepare funding recommendations that are submitted to the ARC for endorsement and then to the Minister for approval.

The ARC has procedures for declaring conflicts of interest and for members to withdraw from considering particular applications.

8.3 Offer of grant

Following the Minister’s approval, the ARC will inform the successful administering institution in a letter of offer, that will indicate the funding to be provided and will include the Conditions of Grant. The Minister’s decision is final.

8.4 Conditions of Grant

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the Conditions of Grant, which will be available on the world wide web at http://www.arc.gov.au.  The administering institution must accept the Conditions of Grant, in writing, on behalf of the cooperating institutions, before grant payments can be made.  If the institution is administering more than one grant under Linkage–International, only one Conditions of Grant document needs to be completed.

9 Appeals process

Appeals will be considered only against process issues and not against panel decisions or assessor ratings and comments.  Appeals must be made on the appeals form available on the Internet.  The form must be lodged through the institutions research office and be received within 28 days of the date on the letter notifying the outcome of applications, by—

The Appeals Officer

Australian Research Council

GPO Box 2702

CANBERRA  ACT  2601

10 Grant administration

10.1 Reporting requirements

Institutions are required to submit the following documents to the ARC —

• Exceptions Report on grants that have financial exceptions by 1 November in the calendar year for which they were granted.
• Annual Report on the expenditure of grant funds and the project by 31 March in the year following the calendar year for which funds were granted.
• Final Report on the project, within six months of the completion of the project and expenditure of all ARC funds.
• Audited Financial Statement, pursuant to the appropriate Act, by 30 June of the year following the grant.

The ARC reserves the right to suspend payment of further instalments of any current grant until the appropriate reports have been received and assessed as satisfactory.

Reporting should be made in sufficient detail to show that funds have been applied in the fields for which they were awarded. The Final Report should also highlight significant aspects of the research and the collaboration, and should provide an outline of how Linkage–International funding has contributed to developments in collaborations in the research field supported and the outlook for the future.

10.1.1 Failure to provide reports

Where an institution fails to submit satisfactory reports, as required, the Minister may determine that funds have not been used in accordance with conditions applicable to the grant, and that all or part of the grant must be repaid. In this case, the ARC may withhold the remainder of the institution’s payments under the scheme for the current year or initiate recovery of grant moneys.

10.2 Financial management–payments

Linkage–International operates on a calendar-year basis. Subject to appropriations, payment of funds will be made to institutions in regular instalments, in accordance with approved payment arrangements made under the Australian Research Council Act 2001. Funds must be used only for the purposes approved under Linkage–International, otherwise they must be returned.

10.3 Privacy of individuals

Documents containing personal information are handled and protected in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988, which sets standards for the collection, storage, use and disclosure of, and access to, personal information. Personal information is disclosed only with permission of the individual to whom it relates or where the Act allows.

10.4 Confidentiality

Information contained in applications is regarded as confidential unless otherwise stated and will be received and treated as confidential by the ARC, institutions and assessors.

10.5 Intellectual property

Applicants must agree to comply with the intellectual property statute of the administering organisation and the National Principles of Intellectual Property Management for Publicly Funded Research (available at www.arc.gov.au)).

10.6 Incomplete or misleading information

It is a serious offence to provide false or misleading information. If an application is incomplete or contains information that is considered misleading, it will be excluded from any further consideration for funding.

If the ARC believes that the omission of information or the inclusion of misleading information is intentional, or if there is evidence of malpractice, the ARC will refer the matter for appropriate legal advice.  The Commonwealth Government is committed to protecting its revenue, expenditure and property from any attempt, either by members of the public, contractors, sub-contractors, agents, intermediaries or its own employees to gain financial or other benefits by deceit.

Examples of malpractice include, but are not restricted to—

      providing fictitious track records

      falsifying claims in publications records (for example, describing a paper as accepted for publication when it has only been submitted).

10.7 Contact points

For further information, the institution’s Research Office should be contacted in the first instance.

Enquiries about Linkage—International may be address to:

Programme Coordinator

Programme Coordination Section

Australian Research Council

GPO Box 2702

CANBERRA  ACT  2601

Email: arc@arc.gov.au

Phone: 02 6284 6600

Fax +61 2 6284 6638

Web site http://www.arc.gov.au

APPENDIX 1

Eligible higher education institutions

Higher education institutions receiving Commonwealth funding on a triennial basis

APPENDIX 2

Salary scales for Fellowships in 2003

 Salary $ Salary + 26%

  On-costs $

Level A1 39 868 50 234

 A2 41 333 52 080

 A3 42 796 53 922

Level B1 45 049 56 762

 B2 46 739 58 891

 B3 48 427 61 018

 B4 50 118 63 149

 B5 51 806 65 276

 B6 53 497 67 406

Level C1 55 186 69 534

 C2 56 877 71 665

 C3 58 565 73 791

 C4 60 255 75 921

 C5 61 942 78 047

 C6 63 633 80 178

Level D1 66 448 83 725

 D2 68 700 86 562

 D3 70 952 89 400

 D4 73 205 92 238

Level E1 85 593 107 848

APPENDIX 3

Anglo-Australian Observatory Fellowships

An International Research Fellowship Agreement between the United Kingdom Particle Physics

and Astronomy Research Council and the ARC. This Fellowship is managed by the Anglo-
Australian Telescope Board.

Number and eligibility

• One Fellowship will be awarded alternately to early-career British and Australian researchers to undertake postdoctoral work at the Anglo-Australian Observatory.
• The Fellowship is funded on a 50/50 share basis between the parties to the Agreement.

Duration

• Two years with an extension of up to twelve months in exceptional circumstances.

Application

• Any Australian or British postdoctoral researcher is eligible to apply for the Fellowship when applications are called for by advertisement.
• Selection is managed by the Anglo-Australian Observatory.

Possible entitlements

• Salaries will be recommended by the administering institution from the appropriate point (dependent upon experience) in the range A1 to A3 on the ARC salary scales for Fellowships in 2000 set out in Appendix 2.  Salaries are subject to approval by the Minister and will be paid through the administering institution.
• Reimbursement of travel costs at the cheapest direct airfare rate for an international resident and his/her dependants is provided, with similar return airfare provisions, provided that the Fellow has not obtained subsequent employment in Australia for a period exceeding twelve months.
• Transfer expenses for an Australian resident Fellow and his/her dependants are reimbursed on a basis comparable to those provided for international Fellows, including a private vehicle allowance up to the maximum equivalent of the cheapest direct airfare.
• Removal expenses of up to $A12 000 are payable for a Fellow relocating from the United Kingdom and comparable expenses are payable for an Australian resident Fellow, subject to full refund of the amount if the Fellowship is relinquished within twelve months.
• Leave (recreation, sick and maternity) may be granted during the period of the Fellowship.
• An additional Research Support Grant of $6 000 a year is available.

APPENDIX 4

French Fellowships

An International Research Fellowship Agreement between the French Ministry of National Education, Research and Technology and the ARC.

Number and eligibility

• Up to five research Fellowships may be awarded by the ARC in 2002 to postdoctoral or senior researchers from France to work in Australia in the fields of social sciences, mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Australian researchers may seek Fellowships through their French host researcher.
• Applicant Fellows must be of at least postdoctoral status at the time of application. This means that the applicant Fellow’s PhD must have been conferred before submitting the application to the ARC. Early career researchers from France are strongly encouraged.
• Applicant Fellows must be French citizens and must demonstrate ongoing research connections with a university or research institute in France.
• Fellowships cannot be extended or granted a second time.

Duration

• Four to twelve months.
• Successful applicants must take up Fellowships before 30 June 2003.

Application

• Any Australian academic institution  may nominate French candidates to the ARC.
• Any French academic institution may nominate Australian candidates to the Ministry.
• Nominating institutions must guarantee to provide appropriate facilities and equipment and to meet associated research costs.

Possible entitlements

• Salaries will be recommended by the administering institution from the appropriate point on the ARC Salary Scales for Fellowships in 2003 at Appendix 2. Salaries are subject to agreement by the ARC and approval by the Minister, and will be paid through the administering institution.
• An amount of 26 per cent of salary is payable to administering institutions for on-costs together with a contribution to consumable items for the research project.
• One return economy class airfare and associated travel expenses for the Fellow is provided.
• The cost of attendance at a major conference in Australia, during the Fellowship, including registration and travel, is covered.
• Medical and accident insurance is provided by the administering institution.

No responsibility will be taken for any costs associated with visits by family members.

APPENDIX 5

German Fellowships

An International Research Fellowship Agreement between the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH) and the ARC.

Number and eligibility

• Up to five Fellowships annually to German citizens or residents, three to outstanding researchers of international standing, and two to brilliant young (or early career) researchers, in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences or engineering.
• Applicant Fellows must be of at least postdoctoral status at the time of application.  This means that the applicant Fellow’s PhD must have been conferred before submitting the application to the ARC.
• Applicant Fellows must be able to demonstrate ongoing research connections with a university or research institute in Germany.
• Fellowships cannot be extended or granted a second time.

Duration

• Four to twelve months.
• Successful applicants must take up Fellowships before 30 June 2003.

Application

• Any Australian higher education institution and the CSIRO can nominate German candidates to the ARC.
• Any German researcher, university or research institution can nominate Australian candidates to the AvH.
• Nominating institutions must guarantee to provide appropriate facilities and equipment and to meet associated research costs.

Possible entitlements

• Salaries will be recommended by the administering institution from the appropriate point on the ARC Salary Scales for Fellowships in 2003 at Appendix 2. Salaries are subject to agreement by the ARC and approval by the Minister, and will be paid through the administering institution.
• An amount of 26 percent of salary is payable to administering institutions for on-costs together with a contribution to consumable items for the research project.
• One return business class airfare and associated travel expenses for the Fellow is provided.  Air fares and associated travel expenses, at the economy rate, for a partner and dependent children can be provided if they accompany the Fellow and stay in the host country for at least six months.  If the Fellow is accompanied by his/her family, he/she will be entitled to economy class travel.
• The cost of attendance at a major conference in Australia, during the Fellowship, including registration and travel, is covered.
• The administering institution will provide health and accident insurance cover during the stay in the host country for the researcher (and partner and dependent children provided they are in continuous residence in the host country for the stay of the researcher).

APPENDIX 6

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) Fellowships

An International Research Fellowship Agreement among the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF), the ARC, the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATS).

Number and eligibility

• At least three Fellowships to researchers from South Korea. Up to ten each year may be available, depending on funds.
• Applicant Fellows must be of at least postdoctoral status at the time of application. This means that the applicant Fellow’s PhD must have been conferred before submitting the application to the ARC.
• No restriction is placed on nationality or age.
• Applicant Fellows must demonstrate ongoing research connections with a university or
  research institute in South Korea.
• Fellowships cannot be extended or granted a second time.

Duration

• Four to twelve months.
• Successful applicants must take up Fellowships before 30 June 2003.

Application

• Any Australian higher education institution, including the CSIRO, can nominate candidates from South Korea to the ARC.
• Any researcher, university or research institution in South Korea can nominate Australian candidates to KOSEF.
• Nominating institutions must guarantee to provide appropriate facilities and equipment and to meet associated research costs.

Possible entitlements

• Salaries will be recommended by the administering institution from the appropriate point on the ARC Salary Scales for Fellowships in 2003 at Appendix 2. Salaries are subject to agreement by the ARC and approval by the Minister, and will be paid through the administering institution.
• An amount of 26 percent of salary is payable to administering institutions for on-costs together with a contribution to consumable items for the research project.
• One return economy class airfare and associated travel expenses for the Fellow is provided.  Air fares and associated travel expenses, at the economy rate, for a partner and dependent children can be provided if they accompany the Fellow and stay in the host country for at least six months.
• The cost of attendance at a major conference in Australia, during the Fellowship including registration and travel, is covered.

• The administering institution will provide health and accident insurance cover during the stay
  in the host country for the researcher (and partner and dependent children provided they are in continuous residence in the host country for the stay of the researcher).

APPENDIX 7

United Kingdom Fellowships

An International Research Fellowship Agreement between the United Kingdom Office of Science and Technology, administered by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the ARC.

Number and eligibility

• Up to five research Fellowships may be awarded annually by the ARC in 2003 to postdoctoral researchers from the UK to work in Australia in the fields of social sciences, mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.
• Australian researchers may seek Fellowships, through their UK host researcher, for research in any branch of science or engineering that comes within the ambit of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society, and in the social sciences.
• Eligible researchers are those who have completed their doctorate within three years.  Eligibility for Fellowships in 2003 is limited to researchers who have had doctorates conferred at any time during 1999, 2000, 2001 or by 30 March 2002. Applicants may seek an exemption from this requirement if the nominating institution includes a statement justifying special consideration, for example, candidates who interrupted their careers to care for children. Non-research careers do not normally qualify for exemption.
• No restriction is placed on nationality or age, subject to the normal immigration and visa requirements of the UK and Australia.
• Fellowships cannot be extended or granted a second time.
• Applicant Fellows demonstrate ongoing research connections with a university or research institute in the UK.

Duration

• Four to twelve months.
• Successful applicants must take up Fellowships before 30 June 2003.

Application

• Any Australian higher education institution  may nominate UK candidates to the ARC.
• Any UK academic institution may nominate Australian candidates to the Royal Academy of Engineering.
• Nominating institutions must guarantee to provide appropriate facilities and equipment and to meet associated research costs.

Possible entitlements

• Salaries will be recommended by the administering institution from the appropriate point, in the range A1 to A3, on the ARC Salary Scales for Fellowships in 2003 at Appendix 2. Salaries are subject to agreement by the ARC and approval by the Minister, and will be paid through the administering institution.
• An amount of 26 percent of salary is payable to administering institutions for on-costs together with a contribution to consumable items for the research project.
• One return economy class airfare and associated travel expenses for the Fellow is provided by the administering institution.
• Cost of attendance at a major conference in Australia, during the Fellowship, including registration and travel, is covered.
   
• A contribution is made towards subsistence.
• Fellows are responsible for their own medical and dental treatment.

No responsibility will be taken for any costs associated with visits by family members.

APPENDIX 8

Linkage–International Awards

The Linkage–International Awards are intended to foster stronger research links between centres of excellence in Australia and any other country. Researchers are encouraged to develop collaboration and to initiate or continue the movement of key people, at senior and junior levels, between those centres. Awards are intended to support planned collaborative activity with specific research goals. Funding will be provided to enable travel and collaboration. Salaries will not be provided.

Applications for Linkage–International Awards may be submitted to the ARC at any time. They will be batched for assessment several times during the year.

Eligibility

• Eligible Australian Chief Investigators are researchers or academics employed by the institutions listed in Appendix 1
• The Australian Chief Investigators must be outstanding researchers of international standing in the relevant discipline or multi-disciplinary field. The Australian Chief Investigator must hold a current ARC grant (Large, SPIRT, Fellowship, or Centre) at the time of application. The collaborating international Chief Investigators must also be outstanding. Publications and track records in attracting research grants will be considered in the selection process (see section 7 of these guidelines).
• Applications for support under Linkage–International Awards may be made for collaboration with any appropriate researchers in any country or countries. Preference may be given to applications involving countries with which the ARC has a Memorandum of Understanding, and countries with which the ARC has traditional research links (the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and India).
• The minimum grant under Linkage–International is $5 000.

Duration

• Up to three years of collaboration, including visits by senior researchers, postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate students.
• Visits by senior researchers (Chief Investigators) may be for short periods but visits by junior researchers should be for more substantial uninterrupted periods, typically three months or more.
• Applications for Linkage‑International Awards of one or two years’ duration are also welcome.

Application

• Australian researchers apply through an Australian institution (listed at Appendix 1).

Possible entitlements

• International travel costs at the economy rate, usually for Australian researchers, are paid.
• Local travel necessary to the collaborative research, usually for international researchers in Australia, is also paid.
• A contribution is made to subsistence based upon reasonable costs in the destination cities, usually for researchers visiting Australia.  In Australia, the maximum is $600 per week.
• A contribution to consumables essential to the collaborative work, up to a maximum of $5 000 a year, is provided.
• Items not supported include salaries, equipment and fieldwork fundamental to the research, which should be funded by other research grants.
• Matching funding should be found by the partner researchers to cover the other costs of collaboration (i.e. their airfares to Australia and subsistence for Australians overseas).  Matching funds from the international collaborator can be from any source in the collaborating country, not necessarily the MoU partner organisation.  There is no obligation for MoU organisations (listed below) to jointly fund the costs of the collaboration.  Each country has its own independent application and selection processes.

Countries with which the ARC has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

Austria Austrian Science Foundation (FWF)

China National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

Czech Republic Grant Agency of the Czech Republic

France Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Germany Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Indonesia Indonesian University Research Council (IURC)

Italy National Research Council of Italy (CNR)

Japan Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

The Republic of Korea Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) and
Korea Research Foundation (KRF)

Sweden Swedish Natural Science Research Council (NFR)

Switzerland Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

The Netherlands Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

Traditional research partner nations are afforded the same status as MoU countries. Traditional partners are—

• Canada
• India
• New Zealand
• The United Kingdom
• The United States of America

Grants may also be awarded for projects supported under the European Union’s Fifth Framework.

5.2.4             Linkage–International Fellowships timetable