The purpose of the fund is to deliver significant research and innovation infrastructure located within or aligned to the Tech Central innovation precinct.
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $8,000,000
- Application opened: 20 May 2022
- Application closed: 29 August 2022, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The program aims to deliver significant open-access research and innovation infrastructure located within or aligned to the Tech Central innovation precinct.
This infrastructure must be open access to the Tech Central ecosystem and support collaborative R&D and innovation.
A key outcome of the program will be to support the translation of world-class research into commercial outcomes, new technologies, services and globally competitive cutting-edge industries.
A total of $8 million is available for proposals that meet the eligibility requirements and selection criteria.
Why Tech Central
Tech Central is the NSW Government’s geographical headquarters for Sydney’s innovation and technology community.
The innovation powerhouse covers 6 central Sydney neighbourhoods from Surry Hills to Camperdown.
Tech Central will create a vibrant precinct in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, with strong links to international markets, Greater Sydney, NSW and Australia.
The Tech Central precinct is home to 3 world-class universities, a world-leading research hospital and over 100 research institutes and centres of excellence.
This program is funded and administered by Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Eligible applicants include:
- universities
- research organisations or institutions
- NSW-located NCRIS (National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy) facilities
- consortium-based applicants bringing together industry, university, specialist research organisations and/or publicly funded research organisations (PFROs)
- organisations or industry applicants.
Proposals for funding from organisations, facilities or programs that are already funded by the NSW Government will be considered so long as the proposal meets the selection criteria and supports a significant physical or digital infrastructure investment within, or strongly aligned with, Tech Central.
Applicants must be headquartered and/or have a major research/innovation presence located in NSW.
If a proposal is consortium-based, the proposal lead must be headquartered in NSW.
For the purposes of this grant, headquarters is defined as the main administrative office of the applicant or facility and location of the CEO.
Headquarters must remain in NSW for the period of the agreement. This includes those with a major research or innovation presence in NSW, being those that retain approximately at least 40% of their researchers, developers or other innovation staff (total staff and PhDs) in NSW for the period of the agreement.
Applications can include co-funding proposals and potential leveraging opportunities.
Types of projects funded under this grant
Infrastructure grants may be provided for any of the following, which are directly targeted at driving innovation in Tech Central:
- major equipment
- laboratory facilities
- highly-skilled technical experts or facility managers
- specialised technologies and systems
- industry-focused collaborative programs driving access to infrastructure and commercialisation.
In select circumstances, infrastructure grants may be provided for other forms of infrastructure, R&D or innovation if there is a demonstrable need and if it satisfies the remaining criteria within these guidelines.
Proposals should be focused on 1 or more of the following areas, which correspond to industry and research strengths found in Tech Central:
- quantum computing and devices
- robotics and automation
- Artificial Intelligence and machine learning
- advanced communications and smart devices
- aerospace, defence and space technologies
- energy generation and storage
- biotechnology and medtech
- E-Health
- Fintech
- bioinformatics, genetics and ‘omics’ technologies
- new materials and nanomaterials
- cyber security, Cloud, embedded and blockchain systems
- digital and creative industries technologies.
Critically, applications must have their infrastructure located within Tech Central or demonstrate a strong alignment with the Tech Central innovation precinct.
The grant monies must only be used on activities undertaken within NSW, and on staff, students or equipment to be located in NSW.
Proposals that suggest spending grant funds on partners, activities or items located outside of NSW will not be eligible.
Most recent recipients
What your application needs to include
You can download the full guidelines:
File
Tech Central Research and Innovation Fund Guidelines (PDF 458.15KB)
Prepare your application with this checklist
Applicants need to make sure they have:
- Answered all questions. If they are not applicable, please indicate.
- Clearly identified in their application (including attachments) any information that the applicant requests be treated as confidential.
- Signed their application. If applying as a consortium, the lead applicant must sign and have at least 1 of the core participants sign (by the head of the organisation or their authorised delegate). If all core participants’ representatives have not signed the application, the signatories must acknowledge that the application is made with the knowledge, and on behalf of, all core participants.
Your application for the Request for Proposal (RFP) must also address the general criteria set out in section 2.3 of the guidelines, as well as the specific criteria set out in section 3 of the guidelines, as relevant to your proposal.
You must attach supporting documentation to the application form in line with instructions provided within the online form.
You should only attach requested documents.
We will not consider information in attachments that is not requested.
Address the assessment criteria
Applications will be ranked and given preference according to the selection criteria outlined below. The application form seeks responses to criteria, such as:
- Proposed research, development or innovation to be undertaken and value added to the Tech Central ecosystem by the investment.
- Economic, environmental and social benefits of the program for NSW, alignment with the NSW Government Premier’s Priorities and alignment with Tech Central priority sectors and technologies.
- Track record of current facilities, projects or similar work/collaborations.
- Explanation of how the applicant will support and/or grow the ecosystem to translate research and innovation into commercial outcomes and drive research and innovation excellence, industry access, collaboration and economic outcomes, increasing NSW’s global competitiveness within the Tech Central corridor.
- NSW industry, Government agency and end-user linkages.
- Impact on NSW skills, advanced education and training.
The responses to these criteria will be used by Investment NSW and the independent expert panel to determine whether to recommend funding to the applicant and how much funding to recommend.
Investment NSW will make recommendations regarding funding allocations to applicants. Investment NSW, in its discretion, may choose not to award or recommend funding under this program.
Process and timeline
Applicants are encouraged to collaborate on proposals with university and/or industry partners, where appropriate and can apply as a consortium of organisations.
For this reason, the process to apply for the Tech Central Research and Innovation Infrastructure Fund is a two-step process:
- Expression of Interest (EoI) – Opening Friday 20 May and closing COB Friday 17 June 2022
– EoI will require a brief overview of the proposal in development, the partners involved and the impact/rational for this infrastructure investment in Tech Central.
– The EoI form will be emailed to grants@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au.
– The EoI timeframe is designed to support the ecosystem in developing proposals and building consortiums where appropriate.
– All applications that submit an EoI will be provided with the Request for Proposal (RFP) documentation in advance of the RFP opening. - Request for Proposal (RFP) – Opening Friday 17 June, closing COB Friday 29 July 2022
– The RFP process will require the applicant to submit a detailed application.
For the RFP, applicants need to make sure they have:
- Answered all questions. If they are not applicable, please indicate.
- Clearly identified in their application (including attachments) any information that the applicant requests be treated as confidential.
- Signed their application.
If applying as a consortium, the lead applicant must sign and have at least one of the core participants sign (by the head of the organisation or their authorised delegate).
If all core participants’ representatives have not signed the application, the signatories must acknowledge that the application is made with the knowledge, and on behalf of, all core participants.
Your application for RFP must also address the General Criteria set out in section 2.3, as well as the Specific Criteria set out in section 3, as relevant to your proposal.
You must attach supporting documentation to the application form in line with instructions provided within the online form.
You should only attach requested documents. We will not consider information in attachments that is not requested.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: The Secretary, Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, will make the final decision about which applications to fund.
The applications will be assessed and both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified.
Support and contact
Phone: 02 9228 5769
Email: grants@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au
Post:
Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer
Level 6, 52 Martin Place
Sydney 2000