Collaboration on research projects involving external parties and
sharing of grant funds
Dear Academic Staff Member,
The following notice has been approved by Professor Thomas Martin, Pro-ViceChancellor (Research):
Introduction
This paper has been prepared to assist ACU staff seeking collaborative funding with
other universities and organizations.
Background
There have been a number of cases where ACU academic staff have agreed to participate
on research projects – including projects funded by the ARC and NHMRC - to be
administered by another university (the “administering institution”) but where no written
agreement was entered into prior to the award of the grant. Subsequently, after the grant is
awarded, the administering institution controls the funds and in some cases little, if any,
funds are remitted to ACU. In most cases the ACU staff member is second or third chief
investigator on the grant and with no or little funds being passed to the ACU staff member,
the ACU is doubly disadvantaged – first because the responsibility for the research
contribution has to be honoured even if the funds are insufficient; and second, because ACU
loses the lack of secondary gains through federal government block grant funding
mechanisms which are awarded on the basis of primary (direct) research funds.
With limited or no financial resources, it also means that ACU investigators involved on
grants administered by other universities are reliant upon their colleagues at the university
administering the grant to pay for any costs associated with their involvement (e.g. travel
costs, maintenance and at times, research assistance are processed at the administering
institution). It can mean that the true cost of an ACU staff member’s involvement is not fully
reflected in the distribution of funds.
ACU researchers need to engage with their colleagues at other universities at the time of
preparing/submission of grant applications and clearly in writing detail the funds required by
ACU to perform the research. This funding should be reflected in the grant, should be
included in any written correspondence (including emails).and ideally should be reflected in
correspondence from the administering institution. When these rules are followed, it
facilitates the negotiation for transfer of funds when a collaborative or multi-institutional
agreement is sent to ACU for endorsement.
It is also important for staff to be in a position to quantify their involvement in research
projects administered by other universities when completing the annual performance
planning document. The most effective way of demonstrating one’s involvement in research
projects is by way of a formal agreement, receipt of funds and recording of a research
account for the use by the ACU staff member.
For this reason, the following principles should be followed by staff when participating in
research projects to be administered by another organisation.
General Principles for Collaboration
1. External collaboration on research projects is encouraged by the University and can
lead to very productive and enduring academic relationships. It is recognised that
research collaboration is multi-faceted and the receipt of grant funds is only one
component of collaborating with one’s peers.
2. At the time of agreeing to participate on a research project to be administered
through another university/organisation, the ACU researcher must ensure that their
intellectual input and time commitment is recognised in the application or in email or
hard copy correspondence with the lead investigator;
3. In addition to recognition of time and intellectual input, the ACU researcher must
ensure that they have costed fully their budget needs and ensured that any costs
related to their involvement (maintenance, equipment, travel, salaries for research
assistance) are attributed to ACU by remittance of funds to the University. To avoid
any uncertainty and disagreement once the project is awarded, the most effective
method is to obtain agreement from the lead investigator at the administering
university on the amount to be remitted to ACU prior to submission of the grant
proposal;
4. Collaborative or multi-institutional agreements are the most common form of
agreement governing the transfer of funds to one or more partner
universities/organisations involved on a project. For grants awarded by the Australian
Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council, most
universities use pro-forma agreements that have a number of common elements
familiar to most grant administration offices/contract solicitors. If an ACU researcher
is sent an agreement to sign, it must first be sent to the Grants Unit (OPVCR) for
checking. These agreements can only be executed by an authorised officer of the
University and for research agreements, this is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research).
5. Staff should consult with their Head, Dean or Associate Dean of Research when
considering involvement on research projects administered by another university to
discuss resource implications and the impact on workload. The research grant
coversheet has been developed for all research applications and funds to be
administered by ACU but can also be used for involvement on research projects
where ACU is not the primary administering institution (URL:
http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/research/for_researchers/applying_for_research_g
rants/)
Enquiries:
Dr Lihong Kong
Lihong.Kong@acu.edu.au
Extension: 2105 Faculties of Arts and Sciences, Health Sciences, Business (from January 2010) and
Theology and Philosophy. Excluding the Faculty of Education and academic organisational units at
Brisbane campus.
Rowena Olding
Rowena.Olding@acu.edu.au
Extension: 7349 Faculty of Education (all ACU locations) and all Brisbane campus Faculties.
(Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Jim Holt James.Holt@acu.edu.au
Extension: 7591 Review of grant proposals, policy, oversight of grants unit.
(Monday to Thursday)