Assistance Grants - Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals Grants programme guidelines 24 July 2015 For more information Telephone Email Website Postal address Street address 02 6272 3265 agvetaccessgrants@agriculture.gov.au agriculture.gov.au/agvet-assistance-grants GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601 18 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra City ACT 2601 Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals Release 24 July 2015 1 Contents Grants programme guidelines .................................................................................................................. 1 Grants programme process flowchart ................................................................................................... 3 Assistance Grants - Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals ............................... 4 1. Background ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Objectives of the grants programme ......................................................................................... 5 3. Grants Programme Evaluation .................................................................................................... 5 4. How the grants programme will operate ................................................................................ 6 5. Key programme dates ..................................................................................................................... 7 6. Who is eligible to apply for funding ........................................................................................... 7 7. What qualifies for funding ............................................................................................................. 8 8. How to apply ....................................................................................................................................... 9 9. Conflict of Interest .......................................................................................................................... 10 10. False and misleading information........................................................................................ 11 11. Confidential Information ......................................................................................................... 11 12. Freedom of Information........................................................................................................... 11 13. Privacy Statement ...................................................................................................................... 11 14. Corrections .................................................................................................................................... 12 15. How applications are assessed.............................................................................................. 12 16. Who selects suitable applicants ............................................................................................ 14 17. Notification of funding decisions.......................................................................................... 14 18. Funding conditions .................................................................................................................... 15 19. Publication of information about successful applicants ............................................. 15 20. Management of grant agreements and evaluation ........................................................ 16 21. Complaints handling process ................................................................................................. 16 22. Additional Information............................................................................................................. 16 Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 2 Grants programme process flowchart Applicant prepares an application using guidelines and information pack. Applicant submits application. The Department of Agriculture (the department) will examine the applications to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements. A panel will score and comment on eligible applications and make recommendations to the department. The department will then advise the approver (Minister) on the merits of applications. Approver decides whether application will be funded and advises applicant of the decision. The department and successful applicant negotiate a grant agreement which both parties sign. Applicant undertakes activities, completes milestones and provides reports as agreed in grant agreement. Department monitors progress on projects. Department evaluates programme outcomes using information provided by the applicant and others. Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 3 Assistance Grants - Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 1. Background Access to safe and effective agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals is important to Australian agricultural and livestock industries, the community and the environment. All agvet chemicals sold in Australia must first be registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). The APVMA must also approve the specific uses of every product, based on its assessment of information contained in a comprehensive data package provided by registrants. The costs of generating this information for emerging or speciality livestock and crop industries, or new pest species, will often exceed the potential returns for registrants. Larger industries may also face a similar problem when managing uncommon or emerging pests and diseases. These chemical access issues are often referred to collectively as the ‘minor use problem’. The Australian Government has committed $8 million over four years from 2014-15 to 2017-18 to fund the Improved Access to Agvet Chemicals initiative (the Initiative) as one way to address this problem. The aim of the Initiative is to increase the number of new agvet chemical products and legal uses of existing agvet chemicals available in the Australian market. This aligns with the Australian Government’s responsibilities to develop and implement policies and programmes to increase the competitiveness, profitability and sustainability of Australia's agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries. Further information on the government’s Initiative is available at agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-food/ag-vet-chemicals/improved-access-agvet-chemicals. The most sustainable solution to improve access to agvet chemicals is to review the existing administrative and legislative framework. This framework review will focus on reforms to remove barriers or streamline processes to provide incentives for chemical companies to register new agvet chemical uses. However, many elements of this work will take some time to develop and implement and will progress in parallel to the Initiative. Noting the parallel work on legislative and administrative reform, there are two elements to the Initiative. The first was the establishment of a cross industry collaborative forum to allow stakeholders to effectively share their priorities for agvet chemical use needs and identify opportunities to pool resources and inform chemical companies of potential market opportunities. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) was funded under the Initiative to facilitate the activities of the collaborative forum. RIRDC worked with the other Australian Research and Development Corporations (RDCs), producers, peak bodies and chemical companies to establish the collaborative forum, which is open to all stakeholders. Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 4 The collaborative forum has developed a cross-industry agreed list of priority uses of agvet chemicals that are currently not legally accessible or require additional data to maintain or broaden access. These uses include: uses of a chemistry not yet registered in Australia new uses of an existing registered product broader access to uses previously available only through a constrained APVMA permit maintaining access to uses where an existing APVMA permit can only be renewed if additional data is generated. The collaborative forum is expected to update this priority list annually. Further information on the collaborative forum, as well as its priority list, can be accessed from agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-food/ag-vet-chemicals/improved-access-agvetchemicals. The second element of the Initiative is the Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals Grants Programme (the grants programme) to assist with the generation of sufficient data to support applications to the APVMA seeking approval for agvet chemical uses identified as a priority by the collaborative forum. 2. Objectives of the grants programme The objective of the grants programme is to assist with the generation of sufficient data to support applications to the APVMA seeking approval for agvet chemical uses identified as a priority need by the collaborative forum. The grants programme will assist industry gain or maintain access to the identified priority uses of agvet chemicals. This will help provide short term relief to producers while longer term sustainable solutions to access are developed and implemented through the broader reform programme mentioned above. Preference will be given to proposals that seek to have uses added to product labels rather than only seeking to maintain, broaden or gain new access to uses of products through an APVMA permit. 3. Grants Programme Evaluation The department will undertake a short review at the end of the first funding round, before initiating further rounds, in order to confirm the appropriateness of the grant application process. First round applicants will be given the opportunity to provide feedback. The department will also undertake an evaluation of the grants programme’s achievements by 30 June 2018. It is expected that sufficient data will have become available by this stage to determine how successful the grants programme has been in kick starting RDC projects seeking to deliver industry priority uses in the short-term while Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 5 separate longer-term sustainable reforms are established. The evaluation will also consider how well the programme was implemented. The annual and final reporting requirements for individual projects, as at 2018, together with data from the APVMA, will be the primary source of information for the evaluation. Where necessary, follow up discussions with individual grantees will be undertaken. Projects may take up to five years to complete from execution of a grant agreement. Some projects may be provided grant funding as late as 2018 - the latest possible completion date for these final projects would be 2023. The department will continue to monitor the progress of all projects until their completion date and the submission of the final project reports. 4. How the grants programme will operate It is anticipated that funding of up to $1.72 million will be available in the 2015-16 funding round. It is expected that there will be further funding rounds before 30 June 2018. Applicants can apply for funding up to $50,000 (GST exclusive) per priority use identified by the collaborative forum, to assist them to generate data and submit an application to the APVMA seeking approval of the use. Applicants may submit multiple grant applications for different priority uses. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider, when designing projects to gain access to an identified priority use, the possibility of gaining additional uses such as through crop grouping considerations. This is already a routine consideration for many RDCs developing projects through their existing minor use programmes. The grant applications will be assessed through a competitive merit based process based on eligibility and the assessment criteria. There can only be one successful applicant for each of the identified priority uses. The grant funding will be paid to successful applicants in one upfront payment after execution of a grant agreement. Unsuccessful applicants will be able to seek feedback on their application. Unsuccessful applicants will still be able to re-apply in any additional funding rounds, although the eligible priority uses may change. Successful applicants will be required to provide an annual status report to the department and the collaborative forum, as agreed in the grant agreement. The first annual report will specifically report against the grants programme expectation that most required studies/trials have been commissioned and/or commenced within six months of execution of the grant agreement. A final report is to be provided to the department and to the collaborative forum to complete the project. Projects will end within: five years after execution of a grant agreement for projects seeking access to a chemistry not yet registered in Australia Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 6 three years after execution of a grant agreement for uses of an existing registered product. 5. Key programme dates Milestone Anticipated dates Grants programme guidelines released and applications open Mid July 2015 Application period closes Mid November 2015 Applications assessed by the department and assessment panel January 2016 Applications approved and successful projects announced February 2016 Grants agreements executed March 2016 Completion dates for any projects funded by March 2016: • projects for uses of an existing registered product • projects for a chemistry not yet registered in Australia March 2019 March 2021 Further funding rounds To be advised on the website Grants programme funding ends 30 June 2018 Latest possible completion date for any projects funded in 2018 Before 30 June 2023 Please refer to the department’s website for key updates to these milestones, the collaborative forum priority uses list, programme documents and details of further funding rounds at agriculture.gov.au/agvet-assistance-grants. 6. Who is eligible to apply for funding To most efficiently leverage Australia’s existing arrangements for co-ordinating rural research, only the following 15 RDCs are eligible to apply for funding under this grants programme: Australian Egg Corporation Limited Australian Grape and Wine Authority Australian Livestock Export Corporation Limited Australian Meat Processor Corporation Limited Australian Pork Limited Australian Wool Innovation Limited Cotton Research and Development Corporation Dairy Australia Limited Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Forest and Wood Products Australia Limited Grains Research and Development Corporation Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 7 Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited Meat and Livestock Australia Limited Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Sugar Research Australia Limited It is recognised that a number of industries do not have a levy arrangement in place with an RDC – the funding will also assist the RDCs to work with these industries on access projects should they have a need identified as a priority by the collaborative forum. Stakeholders are encouraged to contact their relevant RDC should they wish to be involved or support the RDC in preparing a grant application. As there can only be one successful applicant for each of the identified priority uses, any collaborative projects between more than one RDC will still require an application to be submitted by a single lead RDC. 7. What qualifies for funding Eligible projects Projects must seek: to gain or maintain access for a priority use identified by the collaborative forum to submit an application to the APVMA within: three years for a use of a product that is already registered in Australia; or five years for use of a chemistry not yet registered in Australia Project applicants are also required to declare: that the holders of a product registration (or potential holders in the case of new chemistries) are not already planning to bring the use to Australia within the next five years that the project is in addition to the usual business activities of the RDC in relation to obtaining, broadening or maintaining access to the priority use. Eligible expenses for the detailed cost estimate Only costs that are directly incurred in carrying out or administering the project are eligible expenses. These include (but are not limited to): costs to commission studies and/or trials costs to develop and submit the final application to APVMA data analysis field work costs travel where it is directly related to carrying out the project Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 8 development of material as required to make project information available to the department and collaborative forum. Ineligible projects Projects will not be funded if they seek: to migrate current APVMA permits to product labels to retrospectively fund data already generated. Ineligible expenses for the detailed cost estimate Funding will not be provided for costs incurred that are not directly related to carrying out or administering the project. These include (but are not limited to): preparation of grant application materials protecting or patenting intellectual property core business expenses not directly related to carrying out the project, including overhead and infrastructure costs, staff salaries and relocation costs and living allowances hospitality or catering beyond reasonable costs for providing refreshments at project workshops or field days purchasing of infrastructure, company assets, IT equipment or activities that could be considered part of normal business or ongoing operations, unless integral to delivery of the project 8. How to apply Applications must be submitted by x. An application form can be obtained at agriculture.gov.au/agvet-assistance-grants, by emailing the department at agvetaccessgrants@agriculture.gov.au or by phone on 02 6272 3265. All applications will be registered and acknowledged by email. Applications will need to include: information addressing what data and/or studies need to be included in the application package to the APVMA a detailed estimate of the cost to undertake/obtain these studies/data and to submit an application package to the APVMA an explanation of how the RDC will resource the project and a commitment to provide these resources through to the completion of the project. Applicants must use the following process to apply for funding under this grants programme. If an applicant fails to follow the process or to submit all requested information correctly in the application form, it may affect the assessment. Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 9 1. Read these guidelines. 2. Complete the application form following the instructions in the application form. 3. Signed applications must be submitted, plus any attachments (if relevant) by email to agvetaccessgrants@agriculture.gov.au. Applications that do not meet the advertised closing date will not be accepted. However, the department may consider the submission of late applications under extenuating circumstances on a case by case basis, but only if an alternative timeframe has been agreed prior to the closing date or the delay is a result of an issue with the department’s email system. Requests for an extension of time to lodge an application should be made in writing to the grants programme manager by email to agvetaccessgrants@agriculture.gov.au. Any decision by the department to accept or not accept a late application will be final. 9. Conflict of Interest A conflict of interest arises where a person makes a decision or exercises a power in a way that may be, or may be perceived to be, influenced by either material personal interest (financial or non-financial) or material personal associations. Applicants are required to advise whether any actual or potential or perceived conflicts of interest exist in relation to their application. If a conflict of interest arises, or appears likely to arise, the applicant must: make full disclosure of all relevant information relating to the conflict in their application; or bring it to the attention of the Assessment Panel in writing if the conflict arises after the application has been received; and outline the steps the applicant intends to take to resolve or otherwise deal with the conflict. The department reserves the right to reject an application if it is not satisfied that there are arrangements in place to appropriately address or manage a perceived or actual conflict of interest. A register of notified conflicts of interest will be maintained by the department throughout the application and assessment process. The register will include applicant’s conflicts of interest as well as those of the Assessment Panel members and departmental officers. All persons involved in the assessment process are required to: sign and keep up to date conflict of interest declarations, which will ensure the appropriate identification and management of any conflicts of interest and Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 10 comply with the Public Service Act 1999 and the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct. The department will manage identified conflicts of interest in accordance with the programme’s tailored conflict of interest management plan. 10. False and misleading information Applicants should be aware that intentionally giving false or misleading information to the Commonwealth is an offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). 11. Confidential Information All applicants must identify any information contained within their applications or in any documentation that they consider should be treated as confidential and provide reasons for the request. The department reserves the right to accept or refuse a request to treat information as confidential. Information provided to the department that has not been accepted as confidential by the department may be shared or published, as determined by the department. Confidential information may be released as required by law or Parliamentary privilege. 12. Freedom of Information All documents in the possession of the department, including those in relation to the Improved Access to Agvet Chemicals programme applications and project, are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). The FOI Act creates a general right of access to documents in the possession of the department. Unless a document falls under an exemption provision, it will be made available to the public if requested under the FOI Act. For more information about the FOI process, or to make a FOI request, please review the information at the following link at agriculture.gov.au/about/accessing-information. 13. Privacy Statement Personal information means any information or opinion about an identified, or reasonably identifiable, individual. The collection of personal information by the department in relation to this application form is for the purposes of assessing eligibility of your application for the Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals Assistance grants programme, evaluating the grants programme and related purposes. If the relevant personal information requested in this application is not provided by you, the department will be unable to assess your application’s eligibility for this grants programme. Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 11 Personal information may be disclosed to relevant parties engaged for the purposes of assessment of applications and programme evaluation, the Minister and the Minister’s office, on the department’s website and to other Australia government agencies, persons or organisations where necessary for the above purposes, provided the disclosure is consistent with relevant laws, in particular the Privacy Act 1988. Personal information will be used and stored in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. See the department’s Privacy Policy web page (http://www.daff.gov.au/about/privacy) to learn more about accessing or correcting personal information or making a complaint. Alternatively, telephone the department on +61 2 6272 3933. 14. Corrections The department will not accept responsibility for any misunderstanding arising from the failure by an applicant to comply with the guidelines, or arising from any discrepancies, ambiguities, inconsistencies or errors in an application. If an applicant discovers any material discrepancy, ambiguity, inconsistency or errors in their application, they must immediately bring it to the attention of the department by emailing the programme manager at agvetpolicy@agriculture.gov.au. The department may request clarification information from an applicant and allow an applicant to remedy any discrepancy, ambiguity, inconsistency or errors in an application. The department may consider information submitted by an applicant after the closing date for the purpose of resolving any material discrepancy, ambiguity, inconsistency or errors in an application provided that no new information has been added, which has not been referred to in the original application. The department’s decision will be final and will be made at its absolute discretion. 15. How applications are assessed Each eligible application will be assessed and scored by an Assessment Panel on the individual elements of the four assessment criteria, as outlined below. All four assessment criteria will be weighted equally and the application is required to achieve a minimum score of 50 per cent against each criteria. Applications that do not meet the minimum score requirement for any element will not be progressed further. Final scores for applications will determine the rank of each application in order of merit against all other applications received. Applications will be recommended for funding based on this ranking. The Assessment Panel will make recommendations to the department on projects which: could be funded without change could be funded subject to certain conditions being met Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 12 should not be pursued further. Assessors will consider the following assessment criteria when assessing and scoring applications: (A) Alignment to grants programme objective Alignment of the use being sought with a priority use identified by the collaborative forum. This will include assessment against information on any tiering or ranking that the collaborative forum may have applied to the use – higher priority uses will score higher. Alignment with the preference for proposals that seek to gain access to new uses of a chemical through permanent access by inclusion on an APVMA approved label rather than only seeking to maintain, broaden or gain new access to uses of products (temporary access) through an APVMA minor use permit. Proposals that establish a commitment to pursue an on-label outcome for a use not previously available in Australia will score higher than those that only intend to seek access through a new APVMA permit or to maintain or improve an existing permit. To demonstrate such a commitment, the application will need to also detail the approach (or intended approach) to confirm whether holders of registration (or potential holders for new chemistries) will commit to supporting the applicant’s efforts to add the use to a label. (B) Identification of required data/studies Robustness of identification of necessary data/studies and consultation with relevant chemical companies about these data/studies. Applications must also clearly identify whether all data needs to be generated by the applicant or if chemical companies may already have data that they could be/are willing to provide to the applicant or APVMA. (C) Timely delivery Establish that the project can reasonably expect to deliver the submission of an application package to APVMA within: three years for a use of a registered product five years for use of a chemistry not yet registered in Australia. Demonstrate how many (or all) of the identified required studies/trials can be commissioned/commenced within six months of execution of the grant agreement. (D) Value for money Establish the applicant’s capability to develop and submit a suitable APVMA application package by robustly estimating the resources and eligible costs to Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 13 undertake/obtain the identified studies/data and to submit an application package to APVMA. In most cases funding from the grant will only be a contribution towards these costs. Applicants must demonstrate that they (and any co-investor partners) have the capacity and commitment to resource the project through to completion. 16. Who selects suitable applicants Departmental officers will undertake an initial assessment of applications to determine whether applicants meet all eligibility requirements as described in these guidelines. An Assessment Panel will be established comprising a minimum of three and a maximum of five Assessment Panel members. If a five member panel (expected), membership will consist of three industry or regulatory experts and two departmental staff. If a three or four member panel (such as may occur because of loss of a member during the assessment phase) the panel will consist of at least two industry or regulatory experts and one departmental officer. The Assessment Panel Members will have expertise in gaining access to uses of agvet chemicals and/or relevant experience in agvet chemicals and rural industries. Assessment Panel members will assess eligible applications and then make recommendations to the department. The department will advise the Minister for Agriculture on the merits of eligible applications. The Minister will make the final decisions on which applications are approved to be offered funding. All decisions by the Minister are final and there is no right of appeal. Feedback will be provided to those applicants who request it. All persons involved in assessing applications will be required to protect the confidentiality of the assessment process and take steps to ensure that any actual or perceived conflict of interest is declared and addressed in a way that does not adversely affect the impartial selection of the strongest applications against the assessment criteria. 17. Notification of funding decisions The department reserves the right to negotiate with successful applicants on any aspect of the grant prior to the execution of the grant agreement, including supporting fewer projects/activities, offering less funding than the amount for which applicants applied, or seeking further outcomes. Successful applicants will receive a letter of offer outlining the approved grant amount and any conditions of the approval. The letter of offer does not constitute a grant agreement and successful applicants must not begin a project until a grant agreement has been negotiated and executed between the Commonwealth and the successful applicant. Where an application is unsuccessful, applicants will be notified in writing by the department. Unsuccessful applications will not be reviewed. See section 21 for Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 14 information about lodging a complaint. Feedback on unsuccessful applications will be available on request by contacting the programme manager at agvetaccessgrants@agriculture.gov.au. 18. Funding conditions Successful applicants will be required to execute a grant agreement with the Commonwealth. A copy of the draft grant agreement can be viewed at agriculture.gov.au/agvet-assistance-grants, or can be made available by contacting the department by email at agvetaccessgrants@agriculture.gov.au. The draft grant agreement contains the terms and conditions of the grant. Applicants should read the draft grant agreement before submitting their application and should seek independent legal advice before executing a grant agreement. No legally binding relationship exists until a grant agreement is executed by all parties. Reporting will consist of regular progress reports and a final report to cover all activities, expenditure and objectives of the grants programme and all other necessary information required to verify evidence of achievement. Where possible, grantees will be encouraged to use existing reporting mechanisms (such as information prepared for annual reporting processes) to avoid undue compliance costs and to provide comparable information across and within projects. While the reporting arrangements and performance indicators may differ for each project according to individual grant agreements, each project will produce annual milestone reports and a final report which would include information on: (for first report) - progress against grant application claims under criteria C i.e. how many of the identified required studies/trials have been commissioned/commenced within six months of execution of the grant agreement. Discussion on progress or delays during the reporting period and whether the project is on-track to reasonably deliver a submission to the APVMA within the timeframe. Details of any changes or proposed changes to activities or budget and statement of project expenditure. The outcomes of the project, including information on if/how the outcomes differ from the outcomes anticipated in the project application. If a successful applicant fails to comply with any requirements in the grant agreement, the applicant may be required to repay some or all of the grant money received. 19. Publication of information about successful applicants Applicants should note that basic information for awarded grants will be published on the department’s website in accordance with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines. This includes: name of the person or entity receiving the grant Assistance Grants – Access to Industry Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals 15 project title and purpose amount of funding received term of the grant funding location. By submitting an application for funding under this grants programme, the applicant consents to publication of the above information by the department should they be awarded funding under this grants programme. 20. Management of grant agreements and evaluation The department will manage grant agreements and department delegates will make decisions about variations during the life of the agreement. Department officials and others may contact grantees during or after the grant as part of programme evaluation. 21. Complaints handling process There is no appeal mechanism for unsuccessful applicants and applications will not be reviewed. However, if an applicant is dissatisfied with the way an application has been handled by the department, they can email the programme manager at agvetpolicy@agriculture.gov.au and lodge a complaint. The complaint will then be reviewed by one or more independent areas of the department. If no resolution is achieved, the applicant may contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will usually not investigate a complaint unless the matter has first been raised with the department and the department has been provided with a reasonable opportunity to respond. 22. Additional Information Applicants are advised that funding may have taxation implications and that they should seek independent taxation and financial advice from a suitably qualified professional before submitting their application. GST is payable on grants and the grant agreement will include GST where applicable. Applicants should seek advice on the legal implications of their acceptance of a grant. 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