Now Open in RMS - ARC Discovery Projects (DP21)

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has opened the 2021 Discovery Projects (DP21) round in RMS.

The Discovery Projects scheme objectives are to support excellent basic and applied research and research training by individuals and teams, support national and international research collaboration, and enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

The intended outcomes of the Discovery Projects scheme are expanded knowledge base and research capacity in Australia and foster economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia.

Key changes summary
Please note the following key changes to the DP21 Application in RMS, relative to last year:

• D1 - Project description section (previously C1) has been re-ordered.
• Teaching Relief budget limit is changed and is now considered per Chief Investigator (CI)  for up to $50,000 per CI per year (rather than set previously by Project).
• Removed budget item- Discovery International Award (DIA). 
• G1- This section from previous years has been removed, and the information from the former G1 table is included at F5 and F9 (ROPE Section).
• G2- previously “Statements on Progress” section has been removed.
• Project limits:  Chief Investigators (CIs) on ARC Centres of Excellence and Special Research Initiatives will no longer count towards Discovery Program project limits. The diagram below -- from the ARC -- shows the maximum number of active projects that can be held concurrently across the schemes and programs of the NCGP. Note: a researcher may only hold one Director role. When thinking about applying, a researcher must consider how many active projects they will be named on at the active project assessment date, and whether their other applications will also count towards the project limits.

• Pure Record Creation: The MRO will create Pure records for all Monash led DP21 proposals

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of all changes.

Key dates

• Submission to MRO for Eligibility & Compliance Checking  (Via Pure Pre-Approval) - Wednesday, 29 January 2020
• RNTA due to MRO - Wednesday, 5 February 2020
• ARC closing date - Wednesday, 26 February 2020

Links to further information

• Discovery Program grant guidelines
• Discovery Program Key changes 2019 V1.1
• DP21 ITAs
• RNTA form
• MRO DP21 Template Pack (Containing templates for: D1, E2, E3, F5 and F17)
• Certification form

All these are are also available via the MRO intranet, including our Guide to entering Research Outputs into RMS and the MRO Submission Process for ARC Proposals.

Additional links to important info from the ARC:

• Important Dates for ARC Grant Application Process
• ARC Eligibility matters overview

Further information about the DP21, including sample application forms, can be found at Grant Connect (GO3193)

Pleas contact us at mro-applications@monash.edu if you have any queries about this funding opportunity.