Presentation by Wendy Launder General Manager CRC and Small Business Programs

Part 1:Presentation by General Manager, CRC program Part 2: Insights from the CRC committee Part 3: Presentation by CRCA Part 4:Presentation by State/Territory government Overview of the presentations

Overview of the CRC Program

Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program Established in Objective: to deliver significant economic, environmental and social benefits to Australia. Achieved by: supporting end- user industry driven research partnerships to address major challenges that require medium to long-term collaborative efforts. Open to all industry sectors and research disciplines.

Essential activities CRCs undertake: o collaborative research activities o education and training activities (including a PhD program) o strategies to build innovation and R&D capacity in SMEs o utilisation activities to deploy research outputs and encourage adoption by industry and end- users International engagement is encouraged

Structure of a CRC Governance: o Flexible o Chair must be independent o Majority of board independent of research participants o ASX principles Research programs Participants contribute resources to the CRC in order to achieve the major challenge Use of CRC indicia

Term sheet The term sheet is a planning tool which will help set the groundwork for engagement in your CRC Use it to agree on: the key challenge the rationale for the CRC the participants, what they will contribute and how they will work together the legacy of the CRC

Eligibility requirements Participants: Must have one Australian higher education institution and one Australian end-user Matched funding: Contributions equal to or greater than funding requested Up to 10 years duration: Medium to long-term PhD program

Participants Participants are classed as either essential or other All participants must contribute resources to the CRC Resources can be in the form of cash, staff in- kind or non-staff in-kind Cash and in-kind treated equally for matching purposes The number of participants in a CRC will vary (average of 19)

Roles and responsibilities Independent advisory committee, the CRC committee, manages the planning, monitoring and evaluation of CRCs and the program, and provides advice to the Minister on applications for funding Minister for Industry has overall responsibility for the CRC program The Department of Industry administers the CRC program and carries out functions authorised by the Minister

Funding No specific limit to funding available for each CRC under the CRC program The amount of funding awarded since the 2008 review has been on average $3.6 million per year of funding Extension funding Not exceeding 15 years total Supplementary funding Current CRCs only Public good funding Only current CRCs not eligible for extension funding and address public good criteria in CRC Program Guidelines

Selection Rounds

Selection rounds Critical dates for the 17 th selection round: 3 March 2014 CRC Online available for lodgement of stage one applications March-April 2014Information sessions held across Australia 28 April 2014 Submission of new or extension consideration form (optional) 3 July 2014 (5:00pm AEST)Stage one applications close September 2014Expected announcement of stage one outcomes Late September / October Commencement of stage two with the submission of 2014 Research Project Proposals November 2014Interviews held in Canberra December 2014Expected announcement of successful applications 1 July 2015CRCs successful in the 17th selection round commence operations

Selection round process Selection round conducted in two stages Government priority areas Independent probity advisor

Selection Criteria Applications are assessed in a competitive merit based process against the following criteria: Research Results Resources

Stage one process There are 3 components to the stage one application CRC Online Written application Impact tool Applications are shortlisted at the stage one process

CRC Online CRC Online is the department’s online application and contract management system Applicants need to: Register Provide basic information on the proposed CRC Include participant and key personnel details Outline the budget, including participant contributions Upload written application documentation System opened on 3 March 2014 Applicants are encouraged to start applications through CRC Online early

Written application - summary 100 word major challenge description 250 word government priorities alignment description 500 word executive summary Response to selection criteria CVs Participant declarations

Impact Tool The impact tool is a high level, strategic planning tool that supports applicants to identify and make a transparent, defensible assessment of the intended impacts and benefits of the CRC.

Determining impacts Five key questions to consider when forecasting impacts: What the impact will be? When it will occur? With what likelihood? At what cost? With what benefit?

Completing the Impact Tool Read the guidance material Know how many research programs and the number of associated activities/outputs/usages/impacts Understand the path from input of resources through to research activity, output, usage and impact Consider the associated risks and management strategies Justify claims

Stage two process Submission of Research Project Proposals: Similar level of detail to an NHMRC Project grant or ARC Linkage Project Peer reviewed by independent experts Interview is typically conducted by a panel comprising members of the CRC committee and independent experts

Compliance following submission of application All selection round application documents have specific compliance requirements including (but not limited to): Lodgment times and dates Formatting and page limits Participant declaration details matching CRC Online Eligibility against the CRC program requirements (i.e. at least one Australian higher education institution and one end-user) Applicants should also note that the Department may deem non-compliant responses ineligible for consideration in the selection process.

CRC program – Commonwealth Agreement Between Commonwealth and recipient Single party to sign within 6 months of letter of offer Participants agreement Contracts start 1 July 2015 CRC reviews

Further information CRC website (Including a subscription service for CRC news updates) CRC helpline (02) CRC CRC Association