The Ukraine-Australia Research Fund: Facility access (Activity 2)

Status

The Ukraine-Australia Research Fund has closed and is not accepting applications.

Details

This activity provides funding to allow Ukrainian researchers to send their samples to Australian facilities for analysis, with the results returned to Ukrainian research institutes. This activity will keep researchers productive and publishing at their research institutes in Ukraine, while engaging in international collaborations.

The Australian National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) facilities continue to support the Ukraine-Australia Research Fund by assisting with identifying the appropriate facility and contacts for interested Ukrainian researchers. Applications to any eligible Australian facility will be accepted, however, the Academy is unable to assist in identifying the facility or confirming correct contacts at non-NCRIS facilities.

See an overview of the Ukraine-Australia Research Fund.

Eligibility

At the time of submission, the researcher must:

• be employed as a scientist/researcher, or be undertaking a higher degree by research*, at a research institute in Ukraine
• be undertaking, or have received, a higher degree by research* 
• have liaised with an Australian sample testing facility and have an agreed proposal for the services required (see ‘finding a facility’ below for assistance with NCRIS facility contact)
• confirm, and be able to demonstrate upon request, that their mission, scope, and research serves civilian purposes. Military research is not eligible for funding
• conduct research in one of the below fields.

*Master of Science/Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Fields of research

Researchers in the following fields are eligible to apply.

• Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
• Biological sciences
• Biomedical and clinical sciences
• Chemical sciences
• Earth sciences
• Engineering
• Environmental sciences
• Health sciences
• Information and computing sciences
• Mathematical sciences
• Physical sciences

Facilities

Eligible Australian facilities must be one of the below organisations:

• Australian tertiary education institutions (as per the Higher Education Support Act 2003)
• Publicly funded research organisations
• Australian not-for-profit research organisations
• Facilities listed on the NCRIS funded research infrastructure project list

Finding a facility

The 24 NCRIS facilities represent the best in cutting edge national research infrastructure in Australia. Information about the facilities can be found at:

• the full list of NCRIS funded facilities (with links to facility websites)
• NCRIS case studies illustrating research outcomes
• the #60sec4science twitter campaign, which contains short videos detailing the capabilities of NCRIS facilities.

To contact a facility, applicants should email grants@science.org.au with their facility of interest and a brief description of the analysis they wish the facility to undertake on their behalf. The applicant will be put in direct contact with the facility to arrange a quote.

Special reduced rates may be available for researchers through this activity, depending on the facility. All facilities have indicated their willingness to support the activity. The Academy would like to thank the NCRIS directors for their support of this program.

Terms of award

Successful applications may receive approval of funding from the Academy towards the cost of:

• postage or courier expenses specifically for shipping samples to Australia
• testing and analysis costs from the Australian facility.

The Australian testing facility will invoice the Academy directly for expenses incurred to undertake sample shipping, testing and analysis up to the maximum amount of approved funding. Funds are not able to be paid directly to applicants or their home institutes.

The grant does not provide funds for bench fees, managerial and administrative costs or institute overheads. Funding can only be used for the eligible expenses as outlined in the funding agreement.

How to apply

Researchers can submit an online application on the Academy’s grant portal.

The following documents must be attached to the application:

1. CV of the Ukrainian researcher, including a publication list
2. Letter of support from the applicant’s home institute, confirming their affiliation with the institute and the institute’s support of the research. See template
3. Letter from the Australian testing facility advising what testing will be undertaken and outlining the costs associated (including shipping the samples to and from Australia where relevant).

Applicants should provide a proposal describing the research project and the purpose of the requested testing, and if relevant, analysis of the samples. All application materials must be in English.

Assessment criteria

Proposals will be assessed on the:

• Scientific merit of the research requiring sample testing.
• Value of conducting the sample testing and analysis to the researcher.
• Suitability of the Australian facility for the proposed analysis.
• supporting letter that outlines expected outcome(s) and costings of the sample testing and analysis.

Applications will be assessed by a panel of scientists with diverse expertise, convened by the Academy.

The final decision on application approvals and funding allocations is with the Ukraine-Australia Research Fund Working Group, Chaired by the Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FREng FTSE.

Reporting requirements

Successful applicants will be required to submit a report detailing the outcomes of their research within three months of receiving the testing/analysis results.

It is a requirement that any publication resulting from the activities funded by this program mentions the support granted to the project by the Australian Academy of Science and the Breakthrough Foundation.

Notification of outcome 

Applications close 11pm (AEST) Tuesday 12 September 2023. Application outcomes are expected in late October.

Applications are considered carefully against the selection criteria by a committee of scientists with expertise in the relevant fields. The decisions of the committees are based on the assessed merit and impact of the proposal. The Academy is not able to enter into discussion or correspondence regarding the reasons why an application is successful or not.

Frequently asked questions 

Find out the answers to frequently asked questions (PDF 100KB). 

Further information 

For further information, contact:

International Programs
Australian Academy of Science
GPO Box 783
Canberra ACT 2601

Phone: 02 6201 9412
Email: grants@science.org.au