COMPLIANCE TIPS AND TRAPS ARCNHMRC Major Grant Rounds

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COMPLIANCE TIPS AND TRAPSARC/NHMRC Major Grant
Rounds
GRANTS MANAGEMENT OFFICE

• Assisting you in managing your research career
  

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Grants Management Office

• Recently restructured Three teams and a
  coordination unit
• Provides full read and compliance checking
• Will process over 750 applications in a six week
  period
• Will aim to provide the best services possible in
  that context

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Major Round Deadlines

• Internal deadlines allow the minimum possible
  time for checking to occur so finalise your
  applications in January
• ARC Discovery
• Eligibility rulings Friday 11 January 2008
• Applications Friday 8 February 2008
• Requests not to assess Friday 29 February
• NHMRC Projects
• Friday 22 February 2008
• .

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Accessing administrative support

• Register on GAMs or request your NHMRC ID Number
  as soon as you know you are applying
• This alerts GMO to your application
• Note who your GMO contact will be for the
  application. Make contact with them and let them
  know your plans
• GMO will advise the name of the person looking
  after your application

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Why get administrative support?

• The following things can render your application
  ineligible for funding
• Wrong margins /Wrong font
• Exceeding page limits
• Bibliography not as specified (eg more than last
  5 years included)
• Attachments not provided
• Missing parts of application
• Missing fields in GAMs (!)
• Misunderstanding the eligibility requirements
• Not writing in the right way not making the most
  of the opportunity to promote your project to lay
  readers not presenting your application well
  and not expressing your ideas from a lay
  perspective can make your application less
  competitive

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Are you eligible for ARC Discovery?

• CIs must not be involved in more than 2 Discovery
  projects that have been funded for 2009
• Commonwealth funded Centre - ONE Discovery grant
  in 2009
• Sole CI on ONE Discovery grant in 2009
• Federation Fellows - up to two projects even if
  Centre personnel
• Centre-hosted Fellows - ONE project in addition
  to their Fellowship
• PIs can be named on not more than FOUR 2009
  grants
• Researchers can only be nominated for ONE
  Fellowship in the round
• Group E ranked applications from 2008 cannot be
  resubmitted to the round
• Researchers wishing to do medical or dental
  research must apply to the NHMRC not ARC
• Researchers must have met their reporting
  obligations for other funded projects

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Early Career Researchers

• Some funding is quarantined for early career
  researcher-only proposals
• A PhD awarded on or after 6 March 2003
• Or must present a case within the proposal that
  career interruptions or other exceptional
  circumstances mean they could be regarded as
  early career researchers

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Chief Investigators

• At least 50 of income from an eligible
  institution
• Adjunct Appointment or equivalent, and not derive
  more than 50 per cent of her/his Earnings from
  research organisations. (eg Commonwealth-funded
  Research Centres, AIMS, ANSTO, CSIRO, DSTO,
  State/Territory Research and Development
  organisations)
• Federation Fellows
• Must be resident in Australia for the full term
  of the project
• Must not be undertaking relevant postgraduate or
  undergraduate study

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Partner Investigators

• Must not be eligible to be a CI (!)
• Must secure significant cash, in-kind or other
  resources to the project from their organisation
• Must make a significant intellectual contribution

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Fellows

• Must have been awarded a PhD within the time
  limits specified for the Fellowship
• Eg APD PhD on or after 6 March 2005 (or imminent
  award) must not have received an ARC Fellowship
• Or, via an eligibility exemption request, have
  been recognised for a relevant degree or work
  experience, or have gained the ARCs agreement
  that the time elapsed since doctoral award is
  appropriate to the Fellowship (career
  interruptions working outside the sector, etc)
• Fellowships are normally awarded on a full-time
  basis only (though there are some exceptions and
  some flexibility within the term of the grant)
• Complex GMO can advise on particular Fellowship
  issues

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Submitting your application

• There may be a shortage of readers get in early
  
• Meet the internal deadline for submission of the
  final draft (8 February/15 February)
• Note that this year, researchers will be
  preparing their own final copies
• One original and two copies
• Page numbered, including attachments
• To be printed only after GAMs finalised

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What happens then?

• June 2008
• Eligibility issues may be drawn to GMOs
  attention.
• Mid June 2008
• Assessments available for written rejoinder.
  (Dates will be advised via the Research Network
  email and on the ARC Web Site).
• Late June 2008
• Due date for one-page rejoinders (Dates will be
  advised via the Research Network email and on the
  ARC Web Site).
• August 2008
• College of Experts to review assessments and
  rejoinders, and make recommendations for funding.
• October/November 2008
• Recommendations submitted to the Minister for
  approval of Discovery Projects Proposals and
  advice given to Applicants.
• 28 days after announcement
• Closing date for appeals

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How to contact GMO

• GAMS
• Silvia Pose extn 54269
• sd.pose_at_unsw.edu.au
• ARC
• arcapplications.gmo_at_unsw.edu.au
• NHMRC
• nhmrcapplications.gmo_at_unsw.edu.au
• General Enquiries
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Full staff contact list
• http//www.gmo.unsw.edu.au/About/ContactUs.html

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When you will hear from us

• When you enter your application on GAMs
• At least two weekly, on Monday mornings in
  clearly marked email Bulletins
• ALERT ARC DISCOVERY 2009
• ALERT NHMRC PROJECTS 2009
• Your reader will be in contact mainly by email,
  though you may wish to meet with them prior to
  February
• All emailed bulletins will also be posted on the
  web

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Web Toolkit

• Grant writing slideshow
• Links to funding body rules and instructions
• ARC Discovery checklist
• More detailed prompt sheet for research
  administrators what problems to look for when
  reading applications
• FAQs
• E-Bulletins

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(No Transcript)
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Useful Web Links

• A Guide for Proposal Writing (NSF)
• www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf9891/nsf9891.htm
• Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal
• www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/hintsone.htm
• NIH Grant Writing Tip Sheets
• grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm
• Grant Writing Tips for Writing your First Grant
• lone-eagles.com/granthelp.htm

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Useful Web Links

• Grant-writing tools for non-profit organizations
• www.npguides.org/guide/index.html
• Elements of Grant Writing
• US Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting.html
• Five Things to Know about Writing
• Better Grant Proposals
• www.hotwinds.com/Grant_Tips.html