anu college of engineering and computer science. setting the scene professor david hill federation...

ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science

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Setting the Scene

Professor David HillFederation Fellow, RSISE


Current Grants Situation

& Grants Schemes

Professor David HillFederation Fellow, RSISE

Outline

• Research support

• Grant schemes

• Why apply?

• College data

• Observations


CECS Research Support• Research Committee

– Chair 2007, pending– Alistair Rendell, Assoc Dean (Research) FEIT– +Dept reps, Dir, Assoc Dir, etc

• Administration– Michelle Searle (College EO)– Eva Lerable (Grants Officer)– Heather McEwen (Marketing Manager)– Ben Patricks (Finance Manager)– +HDR


http://cecs.anu.edu.au/support/grants• Grants• Latest News

• ARC Discovery Project Documentation 2008 (posted 22 November 2006)• Important Dates for 2008 Discovery Projects (posted 21 November 2006)• Workshops and Forums (posted 21 November 2006)

• The Business Office at the ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science is developing a robust grant administration process to support research and administrative staff throughout the life of the grant, from idea through to completion.

• This support includes:• provision of successful grant applications to early career researchers for guidance in preparing new applications; • creating opportunities for early career researchers to liaise with experienced researchers for advice and assistance in preparing grant applications; • assistance with the preparation of budgets; • encouraging expert and lay review of grant applications; • submission of ARC grants to the Research Office by the prescribed deadline, provided that the grant is submitted to the Business Office within local deadlines.

• Follow the links below to guide your application.

• If you intend to apply for a grant in 2007, please complete the Online notification to the CECS Business Office. After doing this, we strongly advise you to make an appointment with the Grants Officer to discuss your application.

• Online notification

• By the time of your preliminary meeting with the Grants Officer you should have familiarised yourself with the funding agency guidelines, and you should have given some thought to the grant budget. The Business Office has prepared sample budget templates for ARC grants (below) to assist you.

• Applying For Grants - Where to start • Finding Sources of Funding • Before you Apply • Application Process • Information about ARC Grants • ARC Sample Budget Templates • Acceptance of Successful Grants • Frequently Asked Questions

• The College encourages early career and experienced researchers to liaise with each other in preparing grant applications. A list of successful grants, linked to investigators, is below. • Successful grants (tba)

• Grants and Finance Officer• [email protected]


Grant Schemes• ARC• Discovery• Linkage• SRI• Centres and Networks

• ACGR• (incl ARC, NICTA, CSIRO etc)

• General Research Income


Why Apply?

• Enables research

• University rankings

• Department budget

• Personal advancement


Comparisons within Go8

(Source “Bibliometric Analyses” http://info.anu.edu.au/OVC/University_Research_Committee/


Research Quantum

• DEST schemes

• Research Infrastructure Block Grant (RIBG)• Institutional Grants Scheme (IGS)• Research Training Scheme (RTS)

• Based on success in ACGR, General categories, HDR figures (enrolled, completions) University down to Units (after slices) get income.


Example•Grant: Part of CoE MASCOS (2 CIs)

•Amount: $442,000

•Upfront cash: Centre $44,200 (10%)• CECS $57,800

•RQ:

•Total: $156,698 to CECS•“Profit” about $100,000!•(Centre slices 30%, profit $22,956)

Scheme c/$ Amount

RIBG 0.21642 $95,658

IGS 0.09910 $43,802

RTS 0.03900 $1,724


ARC DISCOVERY 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005

No. of grants Total No. of grants Total No. of grants Total Dept of Engineering, FEIT 1 735,000.00 4 1,211,000.00 1 193,000.00Dept of Computer Science, FEIT 1 575,000.00 1 233,000.00CSES, FEIT 1 265,000.00Computer Science Lab, RSISE 1 263,993.00 1 333,000.00Information Engineering , RSISE 4 3,386,914.00 1 336,000.00 1 150,000.00

6 4,385,907.00 7 2,387,000.00 4 909,000.00

Success Rate 23% 33% 22%

ARC Unsuccessful DiscoveryDept of Engineering, FEIT 4 7 7Dept of Computer Science, FEIT 5 3 4CSES, FEIT 3 1Computer Science Lab, RSISE 3 2 1Information Engineering , RSISE 5 1 2

20 14 14

College Data (Source: CECS Business Office)


ARC LINKAGE 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005

No. of grants Total No. of grants Total No. of grants Total Dept of Engineering, FEIT 1 236,034.00Dept of Computer Science, FEIT 1 240,000.00 1 599,998.00CSES, FEIT 1 127,900.00Computer Science Lab, RSISE 3 470,500.00Information Engineering , RSISE

1 $240,000.00 4 470,500.00 2 836,032.00

Success Rate 50% 66% 50%

ARC Unsuccessful LinkageDept of Engineering, FEIT 1 2Dept of Computer Science, FEIT 1CSES, FEIT 1Computer Science Lab, RSISEInformation Engineering , RSISE

1 2 2


Other Grants 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005 2004 2004

No. of grants Total No. of grants Total No. of grants Total No. of grants Total

2 400,848.00 2 94,027.00 6 421685.00

1 150,000.00 3 180866.00

CSES, FEIT 2 615,085.00 602,551.00

2 85,117.00

1 150,000.00

3 550,848.00 7 944,229.00 9 602,551.00

Granting bodiesBASF AktiengesellschaftMondialogoAdelaide University/Australian National UniversityAustralian Academy of ScienceCRC for Smart Internet TechnologyEmbassy of France (Ambassade de France)Microsoft CorporationCRC for Advanced Automotive TechnologyCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Division of ICTIBM AustraliaATSAKnowledge FundAustralian Greenhouse Office (Environment Australia)Business ACTFord Motor Company of Australia LtdSan Diego Foundation TheSustainable Energy Development AuthorityMurray Irrigation LtdACT Office for Children Youth and Family SupportCanon Australia Pty Ltd

Dept of Engineering, FEIT

Dept of Computer Science, FEIT

Computer Science Lab, RSISE

Information Engineering , RSISE


Consultancies 2006 2006 2005 2005 2004 2004

No. of grants Total No. of grants Total No. of grants Total

1 9,000.00 1 1,000.00 2 138010.00

2 90537.00

CSES, FEIT 1 454,545.00

1 42,326.00 2 37,432.00

3 505,871.00 3 37,432.00 4 228,547.00

Consultany CompaniesWizard Information Services Pty LtdMITRE Corporation TheNSW Department of HealthFord Motor Company of Australia LtdICT Systems Australia Pty Ltd (trading as 433Locate)Quickstep Technologies Pty LtdSpecialty Coatings (Aust) Pty LtdWorld Vision East TimorCommonwealth Department of the Environment and HeritageUniversity of SheffieldAustralian Greenhouse OfficeCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Dept of Engineering, FEIT

Dept of Computer Science, FEIT

Computer Science Lab, RSISE

Information Engineering , RSISE


Summary 2002-07

Dept Staff DP Link Other Cons

DE 26 17 7 19 7

DCS 22 7 4 6 2

CSL 11 7 3 6 3

IE 18 15 2 4 0

Total 77 46 16 35 12


Current Situation

• 43 active grants

– 21 DP– 8 Linkage– 9 Other– 3 consultancy– 1 FF, 1 CoE

• 33 (out of 77) staff have grants listed, 43%


Observations

• Number of grants, e.g. 64 ARC total in six years

• Number of Linkage very low

• % of staff with grants close to ANU average (45%), but expect higher in technology areas

• Not ramping up as expect after entry to ARC, e.g. IE DP has 2007- 2002: 4, 1, 1, 2, 7, 0


Conclusions

• Why √

• What

• How


Grants Management Team

Michelle SearleCollege Executive Officer


ANU College of Engineering and Computer ScienceTo reiterate …. we are here to help you …

Key People

Eva Lerable, Grants and Finance Officer

Ben Patricks, Finance Manager, Budgets

Heather McEwen, Marketing Manager, Review

Michelle Searle, College Executive Officer, Overview


Use the Website … give us feedback

For information about College grant application procedures

http://cecs.anu.edu.au/support/grants

Understanding the ARC

Assessment Process

Professor Matt JamesARC Professorial Fellow, FEIT


ARC programs discussed today

• DP - Discovery Projects- For basic research involving one or more researchers- Includes fellowships APD, ARF/QEII, APF, and PhD support

• LP - Linkage Projects- For applied research involving an industry partner- Includes fellowships and PhD support


ARC Discipline Groups

• 5 discipline groups, each managed by an Executive Director (ED)- Biological sciences and biotechnology- Physics, Chemistry and Geoscience- Engineering and environmental science- Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences- Social, behavioural and economic sciences


Review Process

• Two major decision meetings per year

• LP - considered twice per year April and August

• DP - considered once per year August

• Decisions are made by discipline panels consisting of members of the College of Experts

• Proposals are assigned to a discipline panel


• Proposals are assessed by- two panel members (College of Experts) scores- a number of OZreaders scores and comments- a number of INTreaders scores and comments

• Scores are combined to give an overall rank


Review Process (Cont’d)

• Decisions are based on the rank

• Rankings are discussed at the meetings, and can change depending on rejoinders and reviewer comments

• Success depends on rank and amount of funding available

Review Process (Cont’d)


• Your proposal should provide a readable and compelling case for high quality research on a project of importance

• Fellowship applicants should demonstrate a track record that is at a high standard and merits such distinction

• That’s it!

Proposal writing


• Who you are?

• What you are going to do?

• Why you are proposing to do it?

• How you are going to do it?

Assessors will want to know:

You need to present this information quickly and clearly.


Grant Title

High Bitrate QPSK-TCP/IP for WAV, JPG and HDTV Transmission

Improving Internet Performance for Multimedia Services


Grant SummaryThis important and innovative project investigates high bitrate TCP/IP, AM, FM, QPSK and IM/LOST modulations and protocols for WAV, AAC, MP3, JPG and HDTV transmission....

The purpose of this project is to develop methods for improving internet performance in response to increasing demands for multimedia services. Current internet technology will not be able to cope with rapidly developing consumer entertainment and business services because...

Performance improvements will be achieved by....


Track recordDr Flintstone was born in 3042 BC ... and got his PhD from Prehistoric University majoring in stone-timber mechanisms. He then got a post-doc and worked on a new type of round stone-timber mechanism...

Dr Flintstone has published 1,234 very important articles ...with citation index of 0.0000234927Dr Flintstone is best know for his invention of the wheel. This invention revolutionised transport because...

Dr Flintstone has received numerous awards including ....

and has published a number of influential articles ....


Proposal text

• Be clear and concise

• Keep your readers (i.e. assessors) in mind

• Provide all the information that is requested

• Back up assertions with evidence

• Main points should come quickly and clearly, with more detailed material later on

• Less is more - make your proposal readable, not crammed

who? what?why?how?


Best wishes!


Selling Your Research

Professor Bob WilliamsonComputer Sciences Laboratory, RSISE

& NICTA


What would I know?What would I know?

Not much… but …

• ARC MICS EAC member for 2 years

• Wrote the research vision for the NICTA bid

• Scientific Director of NICTA

• 9 ARC Discovery grants – (out of 10 applications)


Selling and StrategisingSelling and Strategising• Before you try and sell your work, first make

sure it makes sense

• Be as rigorous about this as every other part of your research

• My experience is that this is one of the main ways to fail

• There are structured ways to help…


Heilmeier CriteriaHeilmeier CriteriaQuality of proposed research and its potential impact • What are you trying to accomplish?

– What is the end use problem you are trying to solve? – [Does not have to be “applied”]

• How is it done now, and with what limitations? – Need to assess both academic and commercial solutions

• What is truly new in your approach which will remove current limitations and improve performance? How much will performance improve? – Do you really need to do research to solve this problem?– Who else is doing similar things and why have the

proponents a chance to be world leading?


• If successful, what difference will it make? – Who will care?

• What are the mid-term, final exams or full scale applications required to prove your hypothesis? When will they be done?


Heilmeier Criteria (con’td)Heilmeier Criteria (con’td)

Writing the proposalWriting the proposal• Line up your partners and start the conversation• Start early (really)• Read the guidelines, then read them again• Revise often• Polish, then polish then polish.

– Read it out loud (really!)– Edit every section, paragraph sentence and word

• Get someone else to read it critically (swap)


Writing the proposal (con’td)Writing the proposal (con’td)• Write a really good introduction or summary

– This sets the tone and can get people off-side real fast– Grab the readers attention!– By the end of the introduction the reader should know

• What the problem is• Why it matters• And have some idea what you are going to do about it

• Make it easy for the assessors to be really enthusiastic about it – make it a pleasure to read


Context SettingContext Setting

• Put a lot of effort into the title

• You want to come across as totally in

command without being arrogant

• This is tricky

• Critical review without slagging off

• Be concrete – “sweeping generalities are the kiss of death”

• Breadth of context – narrowness is a sin


Have a planHave a plan

• Actually have a feasible concrete plan of what you will do

• Not a fishing expedition

• Don’t be over-ambitious– By all means set a grand context, but don’t say

you will save the world or revolutionise your field– Application has to be credible and realistic


BudgetBudget

• Don’t over-inflate

• Ask for expenditure in all catagories if you

can (leaves you freedom to spend what you

get)

• Be careful about priorities


Writing TricksWriting Tricks• Don’t write in a manner that presumes perfect

attention on part of the reader• Don’t write for the one other world expert in the

field• Explaining the problem, why its important but not

how you are going to solve it• Be ultra-squeaky clean in track-record – any whiff

of inflation will doom you• Explain author order policy (some reviewers are

parochial)


When you think you are finishedWhen you think you are finished• Look at your proposal in the light of the

Heilmeir criteria

• Be as critical as you can

• Read it out loud

• Pretend you are tired reviewer who is reading this instead of doing his own research or playing with his/her kids etc


– Ask “So What?” or “Who Cares?”– Think of the questions they might ask – are

they effectively addressed?


When you think you are finished (cont’d)When you think you are finished (cont’d)

At the end of the day…At the end of the day…You are writing a story … make it a good one

– Memorable– Exciting– Differentiated– Credible– Stimulating– Pleasurable– Clear


When you get rejectedWhen you get rejected

• Don’t presume bias against ANU / NICTA

• Don’t conclude the referees are idiots

• Don’t conclude the system is corrupt/stupid

• Do conclude that your proposal was not good enough … and try again!


ResourcesResources• The Academic Scientists' Toolkit – How not to kill a

grant proposal– Science magazine's Next Wave

• The Art of Grantsmanship– Jacob Kraicer, Faculty of Medicine, University of

Toronto• A Guide for Proposal Writing

– National Science Foundation• Plenty of other materials – key thing is to read

them!


http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0000/the_academic_scientists_toolkit/

http://www.hfsp.org/how/ArtofGrants.htm

http://www.hfsp.org/how/ArtofGrants.htm


Making it Happen:

Panel Discussion

(11.20 - 12.40)

Chair: Dr Alistair Rendell

Associate Dean (Research) FEIT


Summary & The Way Forward

Panel Members


Close

Please join us for lunch

anu college of engineering and computer science. setting the scene professor david hill federation...

Documents

computer science slide

successful grants tba

grant budget

rsise slide

research office

list of successful grants

grant applications assistance

cecs business office