Evaluation of the ARC Discovery Projects scheme

Published in the Research School of Physics Event Horizon
Vol45 Issue12 23–27 March 2020

REMINDER - ARC DISCOVERY PROJECTS (DPs) SURVEY – CIs Will Receive Email from ‘Kantar’

OFFICIAL

Good morning

Evaluation of the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects scheme

The Discovery Projects scheme provides funding for basic and applied research undertaken by individual researchers and teams. It is the largest Australian Research Council (ARC) funding scheme and plays a central role in the Australian Government’s overall investment in university research.

The ARC is conducting an evaluation of:

the effectiveness of the Discovery Projects scheme in supporting excellent basic and applied research and research training, enhancing research collaboration, expanding Australia’s research capability and supporting research that benefits Australia the appropriateness of the Discovery Projects scheme and its role within the Australian Government’s overall investment in research and innovation.

Stakeholder engagement to inform the evaluation

The views of stakeholders will be critically important to the evaluation of the Discovery Projects scheme. The more effectively we’re able to capture these perspectives, the better informed the evaluation’s findings will be. Therefore, the ARC has commissioned Kantar Public Division, an independent research company, to conduct stakeholder surveys and interviews as inputs into the evaluation.

Surveys

Kantar Public Division will directly contact researchers with a web link to a short online survey. The surveys will be distributed to Chief Investigators and Partner Investigators who have participated in at least one research project funded under the Discovery Projects scheme since 2002.

The surveys will be released in early February 2020 and remain open for approximately five weeks. To help maximise response rates, we would appreciate your assistance in circulating this email to current and former Chief Investigators and Partner Investigators from your institution who have participated in successfully funded research under the Discovery Projects scheme, and encouraging them to complete the survey.

Interviews

Kantar Public Division will also be in direct contact with a sample of Research Offices and peak bodies to request interviews with senior organisational representatives who have direct experience with the Discovery Projects scheme. These interviews will seek to understand a range of Administering Organisation and peak body perspectives.

If you are approached by Kantar Public Division, your participation in these interviews would be greatly valued and appreciated.

Confidentiality

Survey and interview participant contact details (name, organisation and email address) are being provided confidentially to Kantar Public Division by the ARC, drawing from Research Management System (RMS) records.

All contact details will be provided to Kantar Public Division for the sole purpose of conducting the surveys and interviews, and Kantar Public Division will destroy the details provided by the ARC once the services are completed.

All parties operate in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988. Participants will not be personally identified as part of the evaluation process, and any organisation or individual-specific data that is collected will be de-identified.

If you would like further information about this evaluation, please contact:

ARC Program Evaluation Section
Email: ARC-ProgramEvaluation@arc.gov.au

Nathan Rath, Senior Consultant, Kantar Public Division

Telephone: 02 9563 4272

Email: Nathan.Rath@kantar.com

Best wishes

Program Evaluation

Australian Research Council I Phone: +61 2 6287 6600

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