Closed

Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2026

Tender ID: 580314


Tender Details

Tender #:
GO7575  
Status:
Closed
Publish Date:
6 March 2025
Closing Date:
16 April 2025

Tender Description

⁠⁠⁠The Discovery Projects scheme provides grant funding to support research projects that may be undertaken by individual researchers or research teams.

The Discovery Projects scheme objectives are to:

- support excellent pure basic, strategic basic and applied research, and research training, across all disciplines excluding clinical and other medical research, that addresses a significant problem or gap in knowledge and represents value for money;

- expand research capacity in Australia by supporting excellent researchers and teams;

- foster national and international research collaboration;

- create new knowledge with economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia; and

- enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

Eligibility:

An application may only be submitted through the Research Office of an Eligible Organisation listed in the Grant Guidelines. The application must nominate at least one Chief Investigator (CI); the first named CI will be the Project Leader. Additional CIs and Partner Investigators (PIs) may be nominated in the application.

To be eligible to apply as a CI or PI, the individual nominated must as at the grant opportunity closing date: have met their obligations regarding previously funded projects, including submission to the ARC of satisfactory final reports.

At the grant commencement date a CI must be an employee for at least 20 per cent of full time equivalent (0.2 FTE) at an Eligible Organisation; or be a holder of an honorary academic appointment at an Eligible Organisation and not employed at another organisation for more than 0.2 FTE.

A CI must reside for more than 50 per cent of their time in Australia for the project activity period and must not be undertaking a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) during the project activity period.

A CI can be concurrently funded through the Discovery Program for a maximum of: two projects as CI; or one ARC Fellowship and one project as a CI; or one ARC Fellowship or project if the individual is also a Director on active ARC Centre of Excellence or a Special Research Initiative project. Limits will be calculated at the closing time for submission of applications and may be re-calculated as other grant opportunity announcements are made.

To be eligible to apply as a PI the individual nominated must not meet the eligibility criteria for a CI as at the grant commencement date or during the project activity period.

For other eligibility requirements refer to the relevant Grant Guidelines.