Innovation Research Acceleration Program

National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy Support Program

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These grants deliver research infrastructure that leverages support through the Commonwealth Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy Program (NCRIS).

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Key information

  • Status: Closed
  • Grant amount: From $500,000 to $10,000,000
  • Application opened: 14 December 2022
  • Application closed: 15 February 2023, 10:00 am

Program objective

The NCRIS Support Program is a four-year program for world-class NSW research facilities supported by the Commonwealth Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

The objective of the NCRIS Support Program is to increase the research and translation capability and capacity of NSW NCRIS facilities.

The NCRIS Support Program will invest $21.6 million in 2022/23 for NSW-based NCRIS research and innovation infrastructure facilities, equipment and technical expertise and initiatives related to infrastructure facilities funded and supported through the Commonwealth Government’s 2021 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap.

This program is administered by Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer.

Eligibility

Who can apply

To be eligible for the NCRIS Support Program, applicants must:

  • currently, or have previously been funded, under the Commonwealth Government’s NCRIS, and be located in NSW or be planning a major research/innovation presence located in NSW. Applicants must be based in NSW before entering into a Deed of Agreement with DEIT
  • confirm alignment to the investment plans in the 2021 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap (Chapters 3 to 4 of the guidelines), the NSW 20-Year R&D Roadmap and the NSW Industry Development Framework (Table 1 of the guidelines)
  • have already been assessed by the Commonwealth Government for their ability to deliver open access infrastructure through a Commonwealth NCRIS funding round. Applicants who have not received extension funding in the most recent Commonwealth Government NCRIS grant round are eligible to apply for NCRIS Support Program funding
  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN).

Who can’t apply

  • Organisations that are not, or have not, been funded under NCRIS.

Types of projects funded under this grant

NCRIS Support Program funding may be provided for any of the below which are directly targeted at driving innovation, and where it can be demonstrated that the activity will increase research and commercial outputs and outcomes:

  • Major equipment upgrades or replacement, or equipment to increase the ‘industry offering’ of the facility.
  • Laboratory facilities improvement to facilitate industry access.
  • Developing new infrastructure facilities.
  • Highly skilled technical experts where it can be shown that this enhances end-user access or outcomes from the equipment.
  • Business development managers or industry application scientists employed by a university, research infrastructure facility or consortium to assist SMEs and companies to navigate the research pathways and access infrastructure.
  • Specialised technologies and systems to facilitate researcher and industry access.
  • Industry-focused collaborative programs driving access to infrastructure and commercialisation, which can be joint across facilities.

What your application needs to include

You can download the complete 

File

NCRIS Support Program Guidelines (PDF 469.89KB)

You can also see a 

File

NCRIS Support Program sample application form (PDF 71.68KB)

 

1

Prepare your application with this checklist

The application will include as a minimum:

  • details of the project scope and how it addresses the Eligibility (Section 3) and Assessment Criteria (Section 4) in the Guidelines
  • a description of what would happen without funding by the NCRIS Support Program, including what would happen with existing research and innovation infrastructure
  • a copy of a feasibility study or similar information, and a project plan for the project, including any supporting quotes or technical documents
  • completed data sheet (a template will be provided) for the project, including project cost estimates and sources of major inputs, cash flow projections, underlying assumptions for the project’s lifecycle, and information on quantifiable benefits the project will create over the first four years (at a minimum)
  • details of how the proposal would be implemented (for example, proposed operating model), the requirements for successful implementation and identified risks and their mitigants and/or controls (a template will be provided)
  • evidence of applicant financial viability if statements are available, for example, a signed statement from an external accountant. An audited financial statement must be provided for the last financial year
  • financing and funding arrangements that might be relevant for consideration under the project
  • confirmation of any co-contributions or commitments from partners to deliver the project, from the applicant and other sources (including letters of support)
  • evidence of experience in delivering projects similar in scope and scale to the project or otherwise demonstrating capability and capacity to deliver the project.
2

Address the eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the NCRIS Support Program, applicants must:

  • currently, or have previously been funded, under the Commonwealth Government’s NCRIS, and
  • be located in NSW or be planning a major research/innovation presence located in NSW. Applicants must be based in NSW before entering into a Deed of Agreement with DEIT
  • confirm alignment to the investment plans in the 2021 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap (Chapters 3 to 4), the NSW 20-Year R&D Roadmap and the NSW Industry Development Framework (Table 1)
  • have already been assessed by the Commonwealth Government for their ability to deliver open access infrastructure through a Commonwealth NCRIS funding round. Applicants who have not received extension funding in the most recent Commonwealth Government NCRIS grant round are eligible to apply for NCRIS Support Program funding
  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN).
3

Address the assessment criteria

IRAP NCRIS Support Program Assessment Criteria

CriteriaDescription
Project impact
(60%)
  • Why NSW needs the proposed research and innovation infrastructure and how the state will benefit from the investment.
  • How the proposal will contribute to the NCRIS Support Program Outcomes of:
    • Outcome 1 - Increase the availability and use of open-access research and innovation infrastructure (for example, facilities, equipment, resources, and expertise)
    • Outcome 2 - Increase collaborative R&D and innovation within the NSW innovation community (academia, industry, government, non-government organisations and students)
    • Outcome 3 - a) Increase R&D output, translation, and other commercial outcomes and/or b) contribute to a robust talent pipeline of technical skills and career pathways.
  • Ensures open access to the research and innovation infrastructure for researchers, startups, and industry.
Deliverability
(40%)
  • Expertise or industry knowledge that makes the organisation/s uniquely qualified to deliver this public infrastructure investment and/or program.
  • Track record of current facilities, projects or similar work/collaborations or for industry delivered proposals.
  • How the proposal would be implemented, the requirements for successful implementation and identified risks and their mitigants and/or controls.
  • The suitability of the project plan, technical plans and/or cost estimates supporting the project.
  • Co-investment and strengths of the proposal in terms of bid partners and proposed participants.
  • That the total funding sought and provided through the grant, partners, participants, and other funding sources is sufficient to undertake the initiative.

In the case that an identified potential leveraging opportunity is not successful, this scenario should be clearly described in the program application material as an Optional Activity Stream.

 

Start the application

Applications for this grant are available via the Grants portal.

Apply now

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: The Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, who will consider recommendations from the Infrastructure Assessment Panel.

The applications will be assessed and both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified.

Support and contact

Any enquiry about the assessment process or the outcome of an application for Build Out should contact us:

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