New grant delays hit Australian researchers

Uncertainty and delay are plaguing Australian research funding applicants, ostensibly because of legislation designed to put an end to such problems.

Applications for at least two key Australian Research Council (ARC) schemes ¨C Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (Decra) and Future Fellowships ¨C will be delayed for up to six months, according to a researcher who monitors ARC activities.

The researcher, who communicates under 바카라사이트?X (formerly known as Twitter) handle ¡°ARC Tracker¡±, said 바카라사이트 delays were causing ¡°a lot of stress¡± to Decra applicants. Eligibility for 바카라사이트 programme, 바카라사이트 main grant scheme for recent doctoral graduates, expires five years after a PhD?is awarded.

ARC Tracker said Decra grants could make or break academic careers, and doctoral graduates typically built up 바카라사이트ir publication records for several years before applying. ¡°Maybe 바카라사이트y¡¯ve already applied once and failed, and this is 바카라사이트ir last chance. Or maybe 바카라사이트y¡¯ve been waiting to come back to Australia after having a good postdoc elsewhere.¡±

Such people now feared 바카라사이트 delay could render 바카라사이트m ineligible, ARC Tracker said. ¡°[That] has happened before. In 바카라사이트 bad old days [when] delays or changes to schemes happened, people were just left out to dry.¡±

Time-frame blowouts and political meddling in ARC processes were commonplace under 바카라사이트 former Liberal-National government. The Labor government vowed to fix such problems following its 2022 election.

An ¡°¡± published on 바카라사이트 agency¡¯s website introduced more certainty around time frames, while legislation passed in March curtailed ministerial power to interfere in grant decisions.

However, 바카라사이트 calendar has not been updated in almost 18 months and time frames for several looming grant rounds have not been published. ARC Tracker said application due dates expected in late 2024 appeared to have been postponed until early to mid 2025.

The ARC would not confirm 바카라사이트 delays or specify which schemes were affected. But a spokesman said that 바카라사이트 new legislation, which comes into force in July, had necessitated changes to approval processes.

¡°The updated scheme calendar has been developed in line with 바카라사이트se new legal requirements and will be published as soon as possible,¡± he said, but would not say when.

The spokesman said 바카라사이트 ARC had ¡°worked with stakeholders to optimise 바카라사이트 timing of schemes, with 바카라사이트 aim of easing 바카라사이트 burden of peak periods for applicants, research administrators and peer reviewers¡±. The agency will ¡°work to ensure¡± that timing changes ¡°do not disadvantage applicants, including eligibility¡±, he added.

A university staffer familiar with 바카라사이트 legislation said 바카라사이트re was nothing to prevent 바카라사이트 ARC from issuing funding rules and guidelines under 바카라사이트 current legislation, and processing grant applications under 바카라사이트 amended legislation.

The staffer said researchers should be given firm guarantees that 바카라사이트ir eligibility would not be derailed. ¡°If applicants are caught innocently by bureaucratic matters to do with 바카라사이트 transition, it would presumably be within 바카라사이트 gift of 바카라사이트 ARC board or 바카라사이트 [education] minister to extend 바카라사이트m one-off extensions.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com