Managing ARC Projects
Liz Visher
Belinda Graham
Penny Bambrick
Program Partnerships team
Post-award contacts – all schemes
Director, Program Partnerships
Liz Visher
Assistant Director, Post-award
Belinda Graham
Senior Project Officer
Project Officer – LP
Project Officer –FT, FL, ITRP
Project Officer – LE, IN, DE
Project Officer – DP
Project Officer – Final Reports
Elspeth Langford
Liz McCallum
Ema Falez
Joshua Hatch
Chloe Wei
Claire Walters
All queries and VFA requests:
ARC-Postaward@arc.gov.au
EOY / Progress Report queries: (to be merged)
ARC-EndofYearReports@arc.gov.au
Final Report queries:
Final.Reports@arc.gov.au
Web page for Post-award: http://www.arc.gov.au/applicants/reported_requirements.htm
Centre contacts
Director, Program Partnerships
Assistant Director, Centres and SRI Schemes
Liz Visher
Penny Bambrick
Senior Project Officer – SRI and Co-Funded Centres
Millennia Pullen
Project Officer – SRI and Co-Funded Centres
Jessica Fredin
Project Officer – SRI and Co-Funded Centres
Lisa Webster
Project Officer – SRI and Co-Funded Centres
Kristy Sullivan
Senior Project Officer – Centres of Excellence
Christine Joannides
Project Officer – Centres of Excellence
Centres of Excellence
http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/ce/ce_default.htm
Co-Funded Centres
http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/centres/co-funded_centres.htm
Special Research Initiatives
http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/sri/sri_default.htm
Vishal Pandey
centres@arc.gov.au
Managing ARC Projects
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Policy overview
Postaward – business streamlining
Postaward – ICT developments
Statistics and key project management issues for ROs
Centres and ITRP
– 2017 ARC Centres of Excellence round
– 2011 Centres mid term reviews - observations
– ITRP – some postaward matters
Policy overview
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The Government innovation agenda…
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Less Red Tape
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Improving collaboration – industry and
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Grant issues and misconduct – a new policy soon
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The legislative framework for financial accountability
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Sharing lessons with other agencies
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Research Impact update
universities
Contracts
Management
of Grants
Payments
Reviews,
Evaluation &
Audits
Reporting
Variations
Monitoring
Postaward – business streamlining
• Combined Funding Agreements
• Update on combining End of Year Reporting/Progress
Report by Exception
• Reducing paperwork with Variations to Funding
Agreements
• Final Reporting – discussions about one form for all
schemes
• Helping you – find solutions with difficult matters
Postaward – ICT developments
Statuses for projects – helping with questions from
researchers on what ARC “active grants” mean for
Discovery Projects for 2016
Status
Description
Active
Project has funding paid this year or has an approved carryover
Complete
Project has no active funding, the Final Report is being prepared
Closed
Project has no active funding, the Final Report has been approved or waived
Postaward – ICT developments
• End of Year Reporting in RMS with enhancements and
includes dropdown list for progress report by exception
• What’s next for consideration?
– Payments
* Dashboard of project info
– Electronic VFAs * Reporting for ROs & ARC
– Final Reporting
* Re-using data & metrics
– Centres reporting
A word of thanks
The working group on postaward
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Daniel Owens, UNSW
Dimity Phillips, ANU
Alice Percy, UTAS
Michelle Armstrong, Monash Uni
Cameron van den Heuvel, UAdel
Nadia Hamilton, Griffith Uni
Robert Roche, UWA
Hemali Seneviratne, CDU
More volunteers to help?
Statistics for thought
Statistics for thought
In 2013 we completed 1,444 Variation requests.
The most frequently requested VFA types were:
– Change of Personnel (i.e. add/remove) (283),
– Change of Organisation (i.e. add/remove) (229)
– Transfer (135) and
– Budget Variation (126).
In 2014 (YTD as of 28/11/14), we have completed 1,606 Variation requests.
The most frequently requested VFA types were:
– Change of Personnel (i.e. add/remove) (319),
– Transfer (212),
– Change of Organisation (i.e. add/remove) (205) and
– Budget Variation (119).
Grants Issues by Category
Key project management issues for ROs
• Partnerships with industry and other organisations
and managing expectations before/during and after
funding
• Teamwork issues between researchers
• A mobile workforce – competition is fierce
• Fellowship suspensions and employed staff
• Code of conduct matters and ethics
Key project management issues for ROs
• Appropriateness of requests and better timing
• Contacting the Postaward team to discuss more
difficult issues – we try to find solutions with you
• Sharing business knowledge and benefits of
streamlining
• Thanks for complying with the financial reporting of
cash fully in End of Year’s
Key tips on money
$ A word on Revoke Recoveries
$ Bringing funding forward from outyears
$ Varying grant budget and duration…
$ Financial compliance - non-allowable items
$ Special conditions
$ Submitting a final report then declaring left over funding…
Institutional Review Program
Presented By
Julija Deleva - CFO
The ARC’s Institutional Review Program
Objectives:
The objective of the reviews is to assess the effectiveness of the
management of research projects with the aims being to determine
whether:
• the research projects are operating in accordance with the terms of the
Funding Agreement and Funding Rules
• appropriate reporting, budgeting and project management systems are
in place; and
• activities correlate to those in the research proposal.
Web: arc.gov.au I Email: Communications@arc.gov.au
Actions following an Institutional Review
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Institutions are notified of the results of each review
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Findings deemed to be high or extreme should be
corrected within 1 to 3 months and the ARC will monitor
the implementation of corrective action until such
actions have been completed
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The ARC will follow-up on the actions taken by
institutions to address the findings of the review
Web: arc.gov.au I Email: Communications@arc.gov.au
Continued..
Institutions are reminded that ARC funding agreements contain provision for
termination if:
o the Administering Organisation commits a breach of the agreement
which the Commonwealth considers is not capable of remedy
o in the opinion of the ARC, progress on the project is not satisfactory
o the ARC reasonably considers that it has received inaccurate,
incomplete or misleading information in relation to the project, including
in the proposal or in any report provided under the agreement, or
provided to the ARC as part of the Institutional Review.
Web: arc.gov.au I Email: Communications@arc.gov.au
ARC Centres of Excellence
and
Industrial Transformation
Research Program
Centres and ITRP
• Matters for consultation for 2017 round
• 2011 mid-term reviews – a summary of our
observations
• A word on research leadership
• ITRP – training centres and hubs – key postaward
matters.
CE17 - consultation
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Objectives
Assessment and selection criteria
Marriages
FTE for investigators
Feedback on proposals
Funding
Institutional contributions
2011 Centres – Mid term reviews
Forward thinking – new strategic plans for second half of
research program
A culture of organisational excellence
Increasing collaboration as an entity, not just researcher
based
Multi-disciplinary research environment
Research training – professional development
Gender equity programs
Succession planning – a leadership team focus
Research leadership and mentoring, joint supervision
Integration of the nodes
Financial expenditure and leveraging
Integration of the research projects
Keeping the governance committees focused on the
future
Appearing as a unique national entity
Outward focused culture – translating the research
Research Leadership
Leading a team, versus a leading team
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Someone+Leading+a+Group&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&id=E870376B099353C2C4C359215DD0E5A1FBB27B9C&
selectedIndex=12
Industrial Transformation Research Program
Should appear as unique entities within universities
Challenges with student placements with industry –
placement plan, interstate costs, and truck drivers….
Allowing Directors discretion with recruitment, budget and
resourcing and directions
Leveraging new funds and collaborations.
Working hard with organisational collaborations –
managing expectations
Postaward – delays in recruitment and conversion of
funding
Setting up leadership networks
A word on international students
Commercial activities and IP
Securing industry agreements – 3 years or more
Questions?