Office of Research Services
RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT GRANT SCHEME (REGS) 2016
REGS aims to assist early to mid-career academics increase their competitiveness for external research funding (as
a sole applicant). Activities supported include building a competitive track record by publication, nurturing
collaborative relationships, and strengthening internal and/or external partnerships for future nationally
competitive grant proposals.
Final applications are due to your Research Hub by 9am on Friday 20 November 2015
Eligibility
 Open to Level A, B or C UTAS staff with research or research/teaching appointments, and who were awarded a PhD (or
equivalent academic qualification or industry experience) within the previous twelve years.
 One application per person is permitted.
 The maximum REGS funding for 2016 is $15,000 per project.
 REGS funding is only available to an individual researcher once every three years. Staff who received REGS funding in
2014 or 2015 (whether as an individual or group project) cannot apply for the 2016 funding round.
 Staff currently named as first CI on a current Australian Competitive Research Grant (Category 1) are ineligible for this
scheme (this does not apply to Fellowship grants).
2016 Submission Guidelines
 REGS funding is awarded to an individual who must take significant intellectual responsibility for the conception and
conduct of the project. The individual applicant may assemble a Project Team, including a mentor or advisor, to
contribute to the project. The Project Team members do not need to meet eligibility requirements.
 The formatting requirements for applications are: 10pt font and a maximum of one page per ‘Project Details’ section.
 Achievement of deliverables on previous internal grants will be taken into account when assessing 2016 funding round
requests.
Assessment Criteria
 Research Proposal: Quality and impact of the proposal (25%);
 Research Capacity: Capacity and commitment of the individual applicant to undertake the proposed research. Quality of
the support provided by other team members or members (25%);
 Research deliverables and potential for REGS funding to increase competitiveness (25%); and
 Research Environment: Alignment of the proposed research with the University’s Research Themes, alignment with the
Faculty or Institute’s research directions, and the individual or team’s career plan (25%).
Assessment Process
 Final applications must be submitted by email to the applicant’s Research Hub by 9.00 am, Friday 20 November 2015.
 Applications will be distributed to Associate Deans (Research) (ADRs) who assess, score and rank applications from their
Faculty/Institute with their Faculty/Institute research committee (or a similar committee formed by the Dean/ADR).
 Applications are then assessed in cross-disciplinary groups by ADRs to moderate and consolidate scores and rankings.
 Ranked applications will be considered at a meeting of ADRs, a consolidated score and ranking produced and a funding
recommendation will be made by the ADRs to the DVCR.
 Successful applicants will be informed in December 2015. Unsuccessful applicants can request feedback from their ADR.
Conditions of Grant
 The term of the grant is for one year; all projects must be completed by 31 December 2016.
 Research funding must be spent, as outlined in the application, by 1 December 2016. Unspent funds will be reclaimed.
 A Final Report, on the approved template, must be submitted by 31 March 2017.
 Grants are for internal purposes only.
 If the CI leaves the employment of UTAS prior to 31 December 2016, the project must be completed prior to departure
or the funds relinquished.
 Any equipment that is purchased with this funding remains the property of the University of Tasmania.
 The CI will submit an Ethics application for the project (if required) and may not commence until Ethics is approved.
Key Dates:
Event
Date
Final Application due to Research Hub
9am, Friday 20 November 2015
Faculty/Institute Review
November 2015
Central Review and Recommendations
Early December 2015
Funding Announcement
December 2015
Funding Available
January 2016
Key Contacts:
Please submit your application directly to your Research Hub. Please also contact your Research Hub for application eligibility,
process and condition of the grant enquiries.
Research Hub
Research Service Manager
Hub Phone
Hub Email
ABL Hub
Ian Cummings
6226 8558
Research.ABL@utas.edu.au
SET Hub
Catherine Dwyer
6226 2827
Research.SET@utas.edu.au
Northern Research
Hub
Poppy Fay
6324 4452
Research.North@utas.edu.au
Domain Hub
Simon Neil
6226 7784
Research.Domain@utas.edu.au
Please contact your Associate Dean or Director of Research for advice on how to access mentoring support and developing
your grant.
Faculty/Institute
Associate Deans and Directors of
Research
Phone
Email
AMC
A/Prof Jonathan Binns
6324 9847
Jonathan.Binns@utas.edu.au
Arts
Prof Hamish Maxwell-Stewart
6226 1983
Hamish.MaxwellStewart@utas.edu.au
Business
A/Prof Angela Martin
6226 2713
Angela.Martin@utas.edu.au
Education
A/Prof Rosemary Callingham (Acting)
6324 3051
Rosemary.Callingham@utas.edu.au
Health
Prof Gregory Peterson
6226 2645
G.Peterson@utas.edu.au
IMAS
Prof Mark Hindell
6226 2108
Mark.Hindell@utas.edu.au
Law
Prof Jan McDonald
6226 2070
Jan.Mcdonald@utas.edu.au
Menzies
Prof Alison Venn
6226 7706
Alison.Venn@utas.edu.au
SET
A/Prof Erik Wapstra
6226 2813
Erik.Wapstra@utas.edu.au
REGS 2016 – Guidelines and Application Form
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RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT GRANT SCHEME (REGS) 2016
Application Form
Chief Investigator (CI) Details:
Name (and title):
Academic Level (A, B, C):
School/Institute:
Contract end date (if applicable)*:
Email:
Years post PhD:
Phone:
Amount requested
(up to $15,000):
FTE Equivalent % on project:
$
Other UTAS Project Team Members (if applicable) (add rows if required):
Name (and title):
School/Institute:
FTE Equivalent % on project:
Name (and title):
School/Institute:
FTE Equivalent % on project:
Name (and title):
School/Institute:
FTE Equivalent % on project:
Research Codes and Strategic Research Priority areas
Fields of
Research
(FOR) code(s)
%
(max. 3 codes)
SocioEconomic
Objective
(SEO) codes(s)
(max. 3 codes)
%
For assistance, go to Classification Codes
Science and
Research Priorities
%
Type(s) of Research
%
Applied Research
Experimental Development
Strategic Basic
Total
100%
Total
100%
Total
100%
Pure Basic
Total
Ethics Information
100%
For assistance, go to Integrity and Ethics
Does your research involve:
Have you applied for ethics approval?
Human participants (medical)
No ☐ Yes ☐
No ☐ Yes ☐
Human participants (social science)
No ☐ Yes ☐
No ☐ Yes ☐
Animals (vertebrates and/or cephalopods)
No ☐ Yes ☐
No ☐ Yes ☐
Genetic manipulation
No ☐ Yes ☐
No ☐ Yes ☐
Carcinogenic/Teratogenic Substances
No ☐ Yes ☐
No ☐ Yes ☐
Ionising Radiation
No ☐ Yes ☐
No ☐ Yes ☐
Approval/ application no.
Project Details (one page maximum for each of the four sections. Please use 10pt font):
Research Proposal (25%)

Include the project title, aim, significance and methodology/approach.

Include at least one paragraph on the intended research impact of the project
Research Capacity (25%)

Demonstrate the researcher’s capacity to deliver the project.

Where there is an academic mentor/advisor, or other team members are involved, set out their role/contribution.

How will the research plan increase the applicant’s competitiveness for national/international funding and in what
areas?
REGS 2016 – Guidelines and Application Form
3
Research Deliverables (25%)

List specific key deliverables (e.g. publications or other academic outputs) for the funded year and the subsequent year
(24 month period).

Which related national competitive grant(s) will you apply for and when?

Provide a project budget (maximum $15,000).
Research Environment and Mentoring Support (25%)

How does the project align with the University’s Research Themes?

How does the project align with individual career plans, potential collaborations and the research directions of the
Faculty or Institute?

Include a statement regarding the researcher’s/researchers’ performance against their UTAS Research Performance
Expectations (RPE).
Attachments:
Please attach the Chief Investigator’s CV and WARP record.
Authorisation:
By signing below, the CI and HoS/Director confirms that this application will achieve the proposed outputs and that the
grant can be accommodated in the School/Faculty/Institute.
*Where the applicant’s current employment contract ends before 31 December 2016, prior to approving this application the HoS/Director
should consider the likelihood or otherwise of the applicant’s contract being extended. A separate of letter of support is not required.
CI :
Date:
HoS/Director:
Date:
Faculty Assessment:
Criteria:
Score (A-E):
1. Proposal (25%)
A: Outstanding – Of the highest quality
2. Capacity (25%)
B: Excellent – High quality research and a strongly competitive proposal
3. Deliverables (25%)
C: Very good – A sound and compelling Proposal
4. Support (25%)
Overall
D: Good – A sound research Proposal, but lacks a compelling element
E: Uncompetitive
REGS 2016 – Guidelines and Application Form
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