Research Fellowship Program

Frequently asked questions

How will applicants be evaluated?

In general, fellowship candidates will be evaluated on:

  • Academic record
  • Suitability for research training
  • Focus on peer-reviewed and publishable outcomes
  • Significance of the proposed research and
  • Suitability and support of the institution and intended supervisor(s)

For more information, check Assessment criteria for research fellowship application.

May researchers submit an application for a project for which they are currently seeking funding elsewhere?

Researchers may submit the same research project concept to another funding program and to the ADRF Research Fellowship. Researchers who are successful in seeking funding from another will not, however, be eligible for the Research Fellowship, for the same project and time period.

Can the grant be used to fund payment for a researcher to work on the proposed project?

Yes, the fund can be used to pay a researcher who must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident. These details will have to be included in the applications.

Can we include references in the application and if so, do they count for the word limit?

Yes, you can include references. And no, they are excluded from the specified word limits for the section in which they are cited.

I joined ADEA as a member in 2017. Can I apply for the Research Fellowship?

The Research Fellowship 2018 won’t be granted until after 1 September 2018. If you joined ADEA before 31 August 2017, you are eligible to apply for this Research Fellowship program.

What kind of attachments need to be submitted?

The attachment session is only for applicants to list any documents that can support their applications. If none documents are relevant, applicants don’t have to worry about this session.

Is this research fellowship provided to support the cost of conducting a research? Or is it to support the student/researcher financially to undertake the course instead of working?

This research fellowship is provided for recipients to conduct a research. All the cost in the budget must be for relevant activities that recipients plan to undertake the research project.

Does it matter if my mentor comes from a different university from where I am currently working?

It doesn’t matter that your mentor is from another university but the university where you enrol to must administer the fund.

Please provide a mentoring plan as part of question 2 – Merit that outlines:

  • Aims/objectives of the mentoring partnership
  • How and how often you will meet your mentor
  • Role of this mentor (why you need this particular researcher to mentor you)

Does the proposed research project need ethics approval before submission of application?

Your project doesn’t need ethics approval before applying for the Research Fellowship. However, it must receive ethics approval for the first fund to be dispensed.

Will feedback be given to unsuccessful applicants?

Upon request from applicants and depending consent from individual reviewers, their feedback might be made available. We encourage the reviewers to provide as detailed feedback as possible but feedback is not compulsory as our reviewers are very busy and already helps us greatly scoring applications.

Are we able to include funds towards article processing fee for a high impact open access journal?

Yes, you can use the funds towards article processing fee. Please include the rationale in the space provided in the budget table.

Does the application need to be de-identified?

The applicant doesn’t need to be de-identified as reviewers will need to understand the track record of their research team as part of the assessment criteria.