GRDC Early/Mid-career Research Fellow Call 2024/25
GRDC Early/Mid-career Research Fellow Call 2024/25
- Release date:
- Friday 06 September 2024
- Closing time:
- Thursday 31 October 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
- Enquiry deadline:
- Thursday 24 October 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
Summary
The GRDC is focused on delivering value to Australian grain growers. To achieve this, the GRDC seeks to establish a GRDC Research Fellowship Program to build excellence in research capacity by supporting Early and Mid-career researchers in greater innovation and over-the-horizon approaches to creating enduring grower profitability.
Offer period
Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the Closing Time.
Document contact and enquiries
Attention: K'trie Coster
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Email: tenders@grdc.com.au
Make all requests for further information or clarification in relation to this procurement in writing (email) prior to 24 October 2024.
GRDC will publish all requests and responses to requests on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.
Consortia response
GRDC will not accept Tenders from Consortia.
Lodgement of Tender
Submit your Tender response electronically through the Grains Investment Portal.
AusTender
https://www.tenders.gov.au/Advert/Show?Id=dbbd4d8a-1d95-4d0d-95bc-e8702a54d70f
Description
The GRDC is focused on delivering value and enduring profitability to Australian grain growers. To achieve this, the GRDC seeks to establish a GRDC Fellowship Program to build excellence in research capacity in Australia by supporting Early and Mid-career researchers in greater innovation and over-the-horizon approaches for the benefit of Australian grain growers.
The GRDC Research Fellowship Program aims to;
- support outstanding early and mid-career researchers, with demonstrated capacity for high-quality research, leadership and mentoring;
- support research fellows that facilitate the engagement of current RD&E co-investment partners with new and emerging research fields;
- support greater person-to-person interaction focussed on an important grains industry constraint to profitability and/or a new value creation opportunity;
- support excellent and innovative research that addresses a significant problem or gap in knowledge for the Australian Grain Industry and represents value for money.
The 3-year GRDC Research Fellowships, worth up to $200,000 per year for Early-career researchers and up to $250,000 per year for Mid-career researchers are available to undertake research in areas of priority for the GRDC and the Australian grains industry. Fellowships would comprise full salary and institutional oncosts (currently approximately 30%), operating (field and laboratory consumables and bench fees) and travel costs. This year, we invite applications addressing the selection criteria that are aligned with the following focus areas/outcomes of our RD&E Plan 2023-28:
- FA1 Right Crop & Cultivar
Growers are choosing the best crops and varieties suited to their situation and need.
- FA2 Biosecurity, weed, pest & disease control
Current and future biotic threats continue to be cost-effectively managed or avoided.
- FA3 Optimise crop nutrition & improve soils
Growers have the confidence & ability to implement informed nutrient & soil management decisions.
- FA4 Systems integration for reliable profit
Growers and their advisors understand how to integrate different practices and technologies to improve profit and manage financial risk.
- FA5 Step-changes in water & soil productivity
New discoveries are made or methods developed with potential to deliver step-change improvement in soil function for enhanced crop productivity.
- FA6 Unlock plant potential
New discoveries are made with potential to deliver step changes in crop yield and resource use-efficiency under changing climate and systems.
- FA7 Transform efficiency of input use
New discoveries are made that better match production inputs to profit and land potential.
- FA8 Enduring access to a diversity of markets
Growers have access to a greater diversity of domestic and international grain markets.
- FA9 Add value to the crop to increase margins
Growers are positioned to capture additional value through supply to high margin markets or grades.
- FA10 Lower post-farm gate costs
Opportunities to reduce costs on and off-farm at or post-harvest are identified, and value captured by growers.
- FA11 Sustainable, responsible production systems
Growers and industry can accurately measure and manage the sustainability and environmental performance of Australian grain farms.
- FA12 Support communities & social licence
The people-related challenges and impacts of the Australian grains industry are better understood, helping to build community trust, and supporting activities that drive safe, prosperous communities.
Albeit not essential, candidates would be encouraged to nominate an existing GRDC-supported investment that they would work with and describe and substantiate the additional research activities that they would deliver against the existing investment Outcomes.
GRDC aim to facilitate interaction between new GRDC Research Fellows and Australian grain growers by requiring GRDC Research Fellows attendance and presentation at grains updates and other GRDC-supported fora.
Outcome
From 2024/25, increased engagement and collaboration between established Australian grains industry researchers, emerging researchers from new research fields or research disciplines not historically engaged in grains research leading to delivery of novel solutions to long-standing production constraints and new value creation opportunities.
Proposed Budget
The budget range for this investment is capped at $600,000 for Early-career Researchers and $750,000 for Mid-career Researchers across the proposed 3 year term.
Proposed Contract & Term
The contracting mechanism for this engagement will either be a Variation contract to an existing GRDC Research Project or a new GRDC Standard Two-Party Research Contract.
The schedule(s) attached to the contract will detail the project details: the outcomes, outputs, milestones, budget, participating personnel and required intellectual property.
The template Contract containing the proposed terms and conditions is available on the Application resources page on the GRDC website.
It is anticipated that any resultant contract in relation to this procurement will commence with a proposed term of three (3) years (Financial years 2024-25 through to 2027-28).
Conditions for Participation
The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:
- The Tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners.
- The Tenderer and any proposed subcontractor must be compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any other applicable labour laws and standards in the jurisdiction in which they operate.
- The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not have a judicial decision against it (not including decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and who have not paid the claim.
- The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not be named on the Consolidated List, being the list of persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions or travel bans under Australian sanction laws, as maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- In accordance with the Black Economy Procurement Connected Policy, a Tenderer must include a satisfactory and valid Statement of Tax Records (STR). If the total value of all work under any proposed subcontract is expected to be equal to or above $4 million (inclusive of GST), also include a separate satisfactory and valid STR of that proposed subcontractor.
- To be eligible, the GRDC Early-career Research Fellowship candidate must, as at the procurement closing date:
- have an award of PhD date on, or between, 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2024; or
- have a PhD award date together with an allowable period of research career interruptions that would be commensurate with an award of PhD date on, or between, 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2024.
- To be eligible, the GRDC Mid-career Research Fellowship candidate must, as at the procurement closing date:
- have an award of PhD date on, or between, 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2019; or
- have a PhD award date together with an allowable period of research career interruptions that would be commensurate with an award of PhD date on, or between, 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2019.
- The tenderer must be a research institution and the candidate’s application content must be done in consultation with their research institution
- The application must identify the research topic Focus Area alignment from GRDC’s RD&E Plan 2023-28.
Minimum Form and Content Requirements
The following are the mandatory content and format requirements that the Tenderer must complete and provide to participate in this procurement process:
- Applications must be submitted using the Grains Investment Portal (GIP). (Can be uploaded as attachments in the online application using the GIP).
- Applications must be written in English and express any measurements in Australian legal units of measurement.
- Budget details must be submitted on the ‘GRDC Budget Template’ provided in the Grains Investment Portal.
- The candidate must submit at least two referee reports.
Evaluation Criteria
In the table below are the Evaluation Criteria that the Tender Evaluation Team will use to assess the value for money of all Tenders.
No | Type | Weighting |
---|---|---|
1 | Technical – Qualitative evaluation criteria related to non-price factors such as methodology, project plan, track record, experience. | |
1.1 | Candidate Capability Demonstrated track record of the candidate, including: a) relevant achievements of the candidate in providing leadership, co-ordination, management, monitoring and evaluation and the timely delivery of high-quality outputs b) relevant technical knowledge and experience of the candidate in the research area c) relevant achievements in the delivery of commercial IP (if relevant) d) ability of the candidate to collaborate with the relevant research organisations and industry personnel to build on the research (national and international) already undertaken in this area e) please provide 2 referee reports including full referee contact details and signature. | 40% |
1.2 | Research Quality and Innovation A detailed plan to demonstrate the project quality and innovation, specifying the: a) contribution to an important gap in knowledge or significant problem b) clarity of the major research questions c) key tasks/milestones, budget and indicative timeframes d) specific information, products and/or services to be delivered e) project structure and management arrangements, including collaborations with organisations, commercial companies and/or other projects with relevant data. | 40% |
1.3 | Impact and Benefit A detailed plan to deliver impact and benefit to target audience/s, specifying: a) the significance of the grains industry challenge being addressed in the research project b) information, products and/or services resulting from the research project c) the potential for short-, medium- or long-term outcomes. translation, adoption and/or commercialisation beyond fellowship completion d) the target audiences for each output - e.g. growers, advisors, plant breeders, pathologists, GRDC e) the methods and structures for delivering of the outputs, which may include commercialisation, communication, and/or additional R&D. | 20% |
1.4 | Focus Area and GRDC Investment Alignment The application must identify the research topic's Focus Area alignment from GRDC’s RD&E Plan 2023-28. If the proposed research will be aligning with an existing GRDC-supported investment that they would work with, the candidate will need to demonstrate the support of the investment lead for that investment and that there is Freedom to Operate (FTO) with the tools that they will be applying. | N/A |
2 | Price - The tendered budget. | N/A |
3 | Risk - The risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the Draft Contract and any modern slavery risks identified during the procurement process, application process and evaluation process, including as a consequence of the review of the GRDC Supplier Questionnaire (if required) and any actual or perceived conflict of interest. | N/A |
4 | Australian economy - The economic benefit of the procurement to the Australian economy. | N/A |
Lodging a Tender
Submit your Tender through the Grains Investment Portal by 5pm Canberra local time on 31 October 2024.
Documents
Questions & Answers
Part 1
Q1. I am interested in applying for the GRDC Early/Mid-career Research Fellow Call 2024/25. I am a Mid-Career Researcher who is currently employed by a university in an ongoing/permanent position. Am I still eligible? Or these fellowships are only for researchers who are on fixed term positions.
A1. You are still eligible to apply for the fellowship. The fellowship funding will cover your salary, oncosts, operating and travel. It will be up to you to negotiate with your organisation regarding what happens to the salary for your ongoing role.
Q2. If a researcher in an on-going role is eligible, can they request salary to recruit a research associate instead of requesting their own salary recovery?
A2. The fellowship will only cover your salary and not another staff members, however, you may be able to negotiate with your organisation to use your salary to recruit a Research Associate for the term of the fellowship.
Q3. Can a researcher apply through an organisation that is different from their current employer?
A3. Yes, as long as you have approval from the host organisation and the application is submitted through the new host.
Q4. Can someone who is currently unemployed, apply for this fellowship? If yes, which organisation will enter into a contract with the GRDC in case the applicant is successful?
A4. Yes, however, as per item 8 of Conditions of Participation, the tenderer must be a research institution therefore you will need to work with a host organisation. This arrangement is up to you to initiate as the application is submitted through the new host organisation.
Q5. Should a senior researcher/line manager be named in the application?
A5. If you are aligning with an existing GRDC investment or collaborating directly with the researcher, then yes the senior researcher should be named. The strength of the research candidate themselves will be evaluated separately and will not be influenced by the senior researcher’s track record.
Q6. Is there any specified minimum level of appointment/salary cap?
A6. It is expected that the research fellowship would be 1.0 FTE for the 3 years and the salary will be in line with similar early-career or mid-career research appointments at a University - Level A, B and C (A6 being the minimum level for someone with a PhD).
Q7. Can the fellow request funding for a PhD student scholarship as part of their budget?
A7. No.
Q8. Is co-funding from the host institute desirable?
A8. Co-contribution from the host institute or industry partners is desirable but not essential. Ensure the co-contribution is well detailed in the GRDC Budget template that must accompany the submission.
Q9. I am seeking clarification regarding the GRDC Early/Mid-Career Research Fellow Call for 2024/25. I hold two PhD degrees: the first was awarded in 2017 from an institution outside Australia, and the second was awarded in 2022 from an Australian institution. Given this background, would I be classified as an early-career researcher or a mid-career researcher for the purposes of this call?
A9. In this case we would accept the date of award from the latest PhD.
Q10. Current PhD students who submit their theses in December 2024 would have a PhD award date in January or February 2025, and they would be ready to start a GRDC post-doc in February 2025. However, their PhD award date would be outside the eligible range specified in this tender, 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2024. Are PhD students in this situation encouraged to apply? If yes, 1) what information would be required to support their eligibility?, and 2) would their application be at a disadvantage to candidates with award dates by December 31st 2024?
A10. The PhD must be awarded for the Fellowship to be accepted.
Q11. I would like to inquire whether the GRDC considers career interruptions when assessing eligibility for the early or mid-career categories?
A11. Yes, GRDC will consider career interruptions when assessing eligibility. Please provide a statement clearly detailing the career interruptions and the period of time. Eligible career interruptions could include:
- Disruption due to international relocation
- Caring responsibilities
- Disability
- Disaster management and recovery
- Medical conditions
- Parental leave.
Q12. Can the fellowships be taken on a part-time, pro-rate basis? For example, if a fellowship was to be chosen to be taken on a part-time (0.5FTE) basis, could the length of the fellowship be extended commensurate with that? Of course, the project funding component would need to match the expectations built into the fellowship funding arrangements (i.e. matching a total of $250k per year for mid-career fellows). This is an approach widely used in Australian Research Council grants programs that allows for extending research over longer periods (an approach that allows for greater impact and integration focus)
A12. No, it is expected that the research fellowship would be 1.0 FTE for the 3 years.
Q13. Is there any guidance on: The target split between salary and project costs? And allowed expenditures
A13. The 3-year GRDC Research Fellowships, worth up to $200,000 per year for Early-career researchers and up to $250,000 per year for Mid-career researchers. Funding will comprise of full salary and institutional oncosts (currently approximately 30%), operating (field and laboratory consumables and bench fees) and travel costs. GRDC will not prescribe a target split, however, the applicant’s Budget template in their submission must include specific detail on the budget items requested. The GRDC Budget template includes a Glossary to assist with allowable expenditure items.
Q14. What are the expectations regarding time commitment? Are applicants able to participate in other research projects (including GRDC or non-GRDC) as team members or leaders alongside the Fellowship program?
A14. It is expected that the full-time focus of the Fellow would be on their research project given the 1.0 FTE nature of the funding. Collaboration without FTE commitment with other research projects is accepted.
Q15. Are individuals currently appointed on GRDC projects as team members eligible to apply?
A15. Yes, however, the expectation is that their time commitments in the GRDC projects are to be reduced commensurate with the 1 FTE of the Fellowship.
Q16. We understand that the GRDC ECR/MCR fellowships are intended to be for 3 years. Given the 1.0 FTE commitment required of the fellows, we wondered if fellowships of less than 3 years would be eligible, if requested.
A16. Whilst the target for the fellowships is to be a 3-year term, anyone who meets the Conditions for Participation may submit an application.
If you wish to propose a pro-rated term than you are free to do so in your submission, ensure your reasoning is articulated and proposed budget aligns with the term.
Part 2
Q17. Would the selection panel be following the ARC guidelines in calculating career disruptions?
A17. The evaluation panel will follow similar guidelines, as stated before in previous Q&A, include a clear statement of interruptions detailing nature and duration, the panel will consider each case.
Q18. Does GRDC intend that the application come from a (putative) principal investigator, or from a/the postdoctoral fellow whom this PI would supervise?
A18. The application should not be coming from the principal investigator/supervisor and should be written by the fellowship candidate addressing the Evaluation Criteria. The PI supervisor can provide a Referee Report and the Research organisation’s contract team should be addressing the Contract Compliance, ensure that proposed Budget and any IP considerations are addressed and authorised in the response. It is important for GRDC to be assess the capability of the Candidate.
Q19. How many grants are awarded in a given round?
A19. The overall number of fellowships awarded is limited by the total budget allocated to this research call by GRDC and will depend on the budgets proposed in each fellowship.
Q20. I note that 'consortia' are not permitted to apply for these GRDC fellowships. I have identified an industry partner interested in participating with my institution in a project to address a GRDC focus area. Their contribution would be in-kind only but would likely greatly improve the project's applicability to real-world issues. Would such a (potential) project contribution disqualify or prejudice our application on the grounds of coming from a consortium?
A20. GRDC has stated that the contracting mechanism will be a Two-Party Research Contract, however, GRDC encourages collaboration and therefore GRDC will consider proposed co-contribution and collaboration from an industry partner where their participation can be recognised in the relevant Items of the Schedule 1 of the Two-Party Research Contract itself. A direct contractual arrangement between the Research Organisation and the industry partner can exist between those parties. Please ensure that the Contract Compliance Statement is adequately addressed to articulate any partial or full departures to the Two-Party Research Contract terms and conditions that are being proposed in the application.
Q21. Will GRDC allow for no-cost contract extensions if a fellow takes parental leave for a period of six months as part of eligible university leave?
A21. Yes, GRDC will accept no-cost contract extensions for parental leave if required.
Q22. Will the ‘proposed contract and term’ of 2025-2028 allow for commencement dates in any month within 2025 of is there a cut off for acceptable start dates?
A22. GRDC is targeting commencement of the project to be in Q3 (or Q4 at the latest) of the financial year 2024-25.
Q23. Under a 1.0 FTE during the contract term, would a fellow then be prevented from teaching, or student supervision which may be unrelated to the GRDC early/mid-career research fellowship?
A23. It is expected that the full-time focus of the Fellow would be on their research project given the 1.0 FTE nature of the funding. Only duties without FTE commitment may be accepted. Supervision of honours or postgraduate students is acceptable.
Q24. My PHD was awarded in 2018 and I have gap of 4 years because I hold a refugee visa, and I did not get my permeant resident. From 2022 I was working as a researcher. In this case, would I be classified as an early-career researcher or a mid-career researcher for the purposes of this call?
A24. To be eligible, the candidate must, have an award of PhD date together with an allowable period of career interruption that would be commensurate with an award of PhD date on or between the grant opportunity eligibility dates listed. Your eligibility for either the ECR or MCR would depend on whether the 4-year period is classified a research career interruption.
Q25. Can you please clarify whether the fellowship project needs to be aligned with a current GRDC project, or if there is flexibility to propose independent research.
A25. It is not essential to be aligned with a current GRDC project but it is encouraged.
Q26. Regarding the referee reports – is there a specified format which needs to be followed for the reports? Also, do the reports need to be attached with the ‘Candidate capability’ section, or as separate documents?
A26. No specified format for the referee report, however, you can use the format as attached. They need to be separate documents.
Q27. When answering the criteria section 'Focus Area and GRDC Investment Alignment' can multiple focus areas that the application can target be identified or does it need to be restricted to one?
A27. Identify the main focus area. If your topic aligns with more than one, choose the most appropriate fit. You are free to explain in your application how the application can impact multiple focus areas if required.
Q28. We are working with academics interested in the GRDC Early/Mid-career Research Fellow Call 2024/25. We would appreciate if you could clarify if there is a requirement related to the applicant being an Australian Citizen or resident, or if non-citizens/residents are eligible to apply.
A28. GRDC will accept Tenders from any applicant who meets the ‘Conditions for Participation’. International applicants and non-citizens/residents are welcome, keeping in mind the GRDC ECR/MCR Fellowship call is aiming to build excellence in research capacity in Australia for the benefit of Australian grain growers. The criteria require the applicant to be hosted by an Australian research institution.
Part 3
Q29. I am seeking clarification regarding the eligibility criteria for the GRDC Early-career Research Fellowship.
According to the guidelines, candidates must have been awarded their PhD on or between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2024 or have a PhD award date with an allowable period of research career interruptions that align with this timeframe. I would like to inquire about a specific situation related to this criterion.
Due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the PhD candidate's award date has been delayed. While the official award date is now expected to be in January 2025, the delay is directly attributable to interruptions caused by the pandemic. If the period of these interruptions is taken into account, the adjusted award date would fall within the eligible timeframe (1st January 2020 to 31st December 2024).
A29. Refer Question 10.
The PhD must be awarded for the Fellowship to be accepted.
Q30. In addition to the career interruptions listed in the FAQ section, do periods of unemployment or part-time employment and non-research roles such as teaching or technical assistant considered as career interruptions for this grant?
Refer to Question 17.
The evaluation panel will follow similar ARC guidelines, as stated before in previous Q&A, include a clear statement of interruptions detailing nature and duration, the panel will consider each case.
Q31. On the website, it is written as a service provider. Should I write the university name in that section?
Yes if that is the name of the provider.
Q32. I want to be sure of nothing to miss. I need to submit two referee reports as well as the proposed research.
But should the industry impact and academic record research proposal be combined in the evaluation criteria?
Is there anything else required that I need to submit?
A32. Applications should address the evaluation criteria, including the ‘candidate capability’, the ‘research quality and innovation’ and the ‘impact and benefit’. All other submission requirements are listed in the ‘Conditions for Participation’ and ‘Minimum Form and Content Requirements’.
Q33. Could you please confirm whether the fund allocated for the grant cover both salary and superannuation, or if it is only for the recipient's salary?
A33. Fellowships would comprise full salary and institutional oncosts (currently approximately 30%), operating (field and laboratory consumables and bench fees) and travel costs.
Q34. I am seeking clarification regarding this Q&A:
'Q10. Current PhD students who submit their theses in December 2024 would have a PhD award date in January or February 2025, and they would be ready to start a GRDC post-doc in February 2025. However, their PhD award date would be outside the eligible range specified in this tender, 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2024. Are PhD students in this situation encouraged to apply? If yes, 1) what information would be required to support their eligibility?, and 2) would their application be at a disadvantage to candidates with award dates by December 31st 2024?'
A34. The PhD must be awarded for the Fellowship to be accepted.
Q35. May I please know if the PhD must have been awarded “at the time of submission”? If not, is a PhD student eligible if he is to receive his PhD in December 2024?
A35. The candidate is eligible if their PhD award date is before 31st December 2024.
Q36a. We had a query regarding applicants who hold existing Awards with the GRDC.
Are these applicants allowed to apply for the fellowship as well as hold their current award with GRDC?
A36a. Anyone who meets the Conditions for Participation may apply for this call.
Q36b. If yes, do these current awards support the following requirement:
“Albeit not essential, candidates would be encouraged to nominate an existing GRDC-supported investment that they would work with and describe and substantiate the additional research activities that they would deliver against the existing investment Outcomes.”
A36b. It is up to the tenderer to substantiate how they will legally and operationally comply with the duality of the contracted terms and conditions of any existing awards and meet the expectations of 1.0 FTE Fellowship commitment.
Q37. I am technically an early career scientist (PhD conferred in 2023) with 5-10 years of experience in research. As a result, I am employed to equivalent of mid-career scientist at the university academic level. For this grant, can I be considered mid-career to allow for sufficient salary recovery?
A37. As per Conditions for Participation #6, given the award date of your PhD was in 2023, you are eligible for GRDC Early-career Research Fellowship. Conditions for Participation are mandatory participation conditions. You are free to negotiate with your university to determine if they are willing to top-up your salary to maintain the current level.
Q38. Within the section ‘Focus Area and GRDC Investment Alignment’ you specify that:
“If the proposed research will be aligning with an existing GRDC-supported investment that they would work with, the candidate will need to demonstrate the support of the investment lead for that investment and that there is Freedom to Operate (FTO) with the tools that they will be applying.”
In this context, what degree of formality is needed to demonstrate the FTO?
A38. The brief letter of support from the investment lead of an ongoing GRDC project should cover the depth of the collaboration in terms of the FTO, i.e. will the collaboration allow the free exchange of data, access to trial sites or the publication of extension materials. Most importantly, the support letter should address if any IP issues that will need to be managed.
Q39. Regarding the early/mid-career categories, do you have a separate quota (allocations) for early- and mid-career? Or simply select people based on merits?
A39. All applications will be assessed and rated against the evaluation criteria. ECR and MCR applications will be ranked separately.
Q40. It is noted that your Assessment Panels will follow ARC guides on assessing Career Disruptions.
Could you please confirm if you will take into consideration unemployment and limited or no access to facilities and resources, which were omitted from your list in the Q&As, when considering career disruptions?
A40. GRDC will also consider unemployment and limited or no access to facilities and resources as career interruptions
Part 4
Q41. Is the provision of a project supervision role by an established senior researcher deemed a necessary in-kind contribution to an Early Career Research Fellowship application?
A41. A formal allocation of in-kind contribution of an established senior researcher is not mandated but would be welcomed. The host/administering organisation is expected to appropriately support the activities of the fellow, this can involve project supervision.
Q42. Please clarify whether the indicated budgets of $200,000 per annum for Early Career Research Fellow and $250,000 per annum for Mid-Career Fellow are exclusive of GST and GRDC in-kind contribution.
A42. Yes the GRDC Research Funds budget values as stated for this call are exclusive of GST and of GRDC’s in-kind contribution.
Q43. Would GRDC support the Fellowship working with AAGI to advance analytical capabilities?
A43. Yes, Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI) is a strategic partnership and is considered an existing GRDC-supported investment.
Q44. When is the expected date for the results announcement.
A44. GRDC is targeting to advise outcomes to all applicants in early January. This is an estimate and will depend on the volume of submissions.
Q45. On the research fellowship application, if I’m going to be engaging staff at the lead research organisation to provide some of the data and training as services, do I name them in the personnel section as team members? Or do I not name them at all under personnel? And also if my research project links in with a larger research program at the lead research institution, do I name the CI of that program under personnel too?
A45. In-kind contributions in the form of Lead Research Organisation personnel and services contributing time to the proposed project can be detailed in relevant budget categories of the GRDC Budget template and those personnel can be named in the non-GRDC funded Specified Personnel listing of the application.
Q46. I am currently completing the budget portion of my application and note that there is an automatic calculation of 12% in-kind contribution from GRDC.
Are you able to provide more clarification on this?
A46. The GRDC in-kind contribution is a percentage of our cash contribution (GRDC Research Funds) to the project which reflects the costed value (non-cash) of our own organisational overheads deployed on our side to manage the investment, currently calculated as 12% for all Research investments. The GRDC in-kind is not relevant to your budget entry.
The Research Organisation is the recipient of GRDC Research Funds only. As per definition in the GRDC Budget template and Research Contract, GRDC Research Funds means all monies payable to the Research Organisation by GRDC specified in Item 8 of Schedule 1 of the GRDC Research Contract.
Q47. I am an early career researcher working at a university in a project that closely aligns to one of the focus areas of the RD&E Plan, but not existing GRDC-supported investment. Would I be eligible to continue this work under this fellowship program?
The project has already generated some IP and will likely generate more. If I were successful in my application, what are the implications for future IP generated by the project?
A47. Anyone who meets the Conditions for Participation can apply. Applicants need to inform themselves in their decision on whether to apply. Applicants must address the evaluation criteria, which includes the Freedom to Operate component of Evaluation Criterion #1.4. The terms and conditions of the proposed contracting mechanism, being the GRDC Research Contract clearly states the GRDC position on GRDC funded project outputs.
Q48. Is this fellowship going to be advertised annually?
A48. No decision has been made yet as to whether GRDC will do an annual or other recurring period as yet.
Q49. Also are the applicants required to end one contract before taking up this fellowship?
A49. It is expected that the full-time focus of the Fellow would be on their research project given the 1.0 FTE nature of the funding.
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