Australia’s research grant processes have veered off the rails again, with delay and confusion prevailing after a couple of years of smooth operations.
Hundreds of academics will learn on 19 May whether they have secured funds from a key Australian Research Council (ARC) scheme, six months after a selection committee decided which projects to fund.
The scheme, Linkage Projects, supports researchers’ partnerships with businesses, community organisations and other research agencies in Australia and overseas. The results from last year’s first funding round were announced in October, three months after the committee had picked the successful bids.
However, applicants to the second round have been forced to wait twice as long, after the ARC extended its grant processing time frames to accommodate new security obligations.
The agency will announce the outcomes five days after revelations emerged that the education minister, Jason Clare, had blocked funding for 13 projects – including three approved under the Linkage Projects’ second round – on national security grounds.
