WESTERN AUSTRALIAN
SCIENCE AND AGRIBUSINESS CONNECT
PREMIER’S AGRICULTURE AND FOOD FELLOWSHIP
PROGRAM
EARLY TO MID CAREER FELLOW
Applicant Information
November 2016
Early to Mid Career Fellow Applicant Information
1. A message from Professor Simon Cook, Premier’s Fellow in Agriculture and Food
International conferences during the first wave of data-intensive agriculture in the 1990s paraded speaker
after speaker who declared themselves to be ‘just off the farm’, presumably to enhance their credentials in
front of a potentially sceptical audience. I longed for the opposite - a speaker who explained they had just
arrived from Silicon Valley ready to help make agriculture a truly progressive sunrise industry.
Similarly, the new wave of analytics in agriculture, using big data, needs scientists from both within and
outside the conventional agricultural research domain. To provide insight that is valuable, analysis must occur
within the context of agriculture. This is itself hugely complex when seen draped over millions of kilometres
and supporting billions of people. But the major opportunities we now see for analytics in agriculture will only
be achieved by a mix of new ideas blended with proven knowledge. Disruption must occur, but within a
learning process that captures its benefits as they spin out from innovative experimentation.
Agriculture is important to the people and economy of Western Australia and we accept that it must seize all
realistic opportunities for change to keep ahead of global competitors and to remain sustainable. The Western
Australian State Government has anticipated the role for big data and analytics in agriculture and has funded
a Premier’s Fellow, based at Curtin and Murdoch Universities, to develop research into big data on behalf of
Western Australian agriculture. Curtin and Murdoch Universities have committed additional post-doctoral and
PhD scientists to form a core team. An Early to Mid Career Fellow is now sought to join this team to support
the Premier’s Fellow and produce their own research contributing to this emerging field.
Professor Simon Cook
Premier’s Fellow in Agriculture and Food
Centre for Data-Enabled Agriculture
Curtin and Murdoch University
2. Introduction
This document provides information for applicants to the Science and Agribusiness Connect – Premier’s
Agriculture and Food Fellowship Program (Fellowship Program) as a Premier’s Early to Mid Career Fellow in
Agriculture and Food (EMC Fellow).
The Fellowship Program is a $1.5 million program and forms the centrepiece of the $3.41 million Science and
Agribusiness Connect (SAC) initiative. SAC aims to develop Western Australia’s academic excellence and
improve the State’s capabilities in agriculture.
SAC is a part of the State Government’s four year $25.5 million Agricultural Sciences Research and
Development Fund. This fund aims to generate long-term improvement in productivity in agriculture across
Western Australia through targeted research grants and removing barriers to an expanded and sustainable
agriculture and food sector in Western Australia.
Both the SAC initiative and the Agricultural Sciences Research and Development Fund form part of the
broader $350 million Seizing the Opportunity - Agriculture initiative. This initiative is helping to enable the
agricultural sector to seize the opportunity of rising global demand and contributes to strengthening regional
communities where agriculture is a major economic activity.
These programs are all funded by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program which provides
funds to develop and broaden the economic base of regional Western Australia, maximise job creation and
improve career opportunities in regional Western Australia. As such, the EMC Fellow will be required to
deliver research and research-related activities to the benefit of regional Western Australia and the State more
broadly.
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2.1. Research Area
The broad area of research for the Fellowship Program is as follows:
World-leading research and development in data science and analytics to capture the opportunities offered by
big data to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Western Australian agrifood sector and create
significant value for the Western Australian economy.
Within this area of research, the Premier’s Fellow’s research program will:
Apply big data and analytics to support sustainable growth of Western Australian agriculture. Change will be
supported at two levels: at farm scale, through enhanced decision processes by growers - individually and
collectively; and at state scale, through evidence-based policy support for agribusiness and governance of
state-wide natural resources. At both scales, big data will be used to enrich our understanding of landscape
processes that define knowledge-based agricultural systems.
The EMC Fellow will undertake research to assist the Premier’s Fellow in their research program. The
EMC Fellow will also deliver their own program of applied research which will complement the
research conducted by the Premier’s Fellow and which will translate research outcomes into practice.
The Premier’s Fellow and the EMC Fellow will be ambassadors for science in Western Australia who engage
with the science community, industry and the general public. The EMC Fellow’s research will leverage off
existing capacities within the State and will encompass work on a variety of products, processes and factors
that affect Western Australia's productivity and international competitiveness. The two Fellows will be
expected to build on existing capacities and opportunities within Western Australia, strengthen Western
Australia’s national and international research standing, increase research capacity and capability, and
improve collaboration between universities, industry and government.
The Fellowship Program provides a real opportunity for an applied researcher to contribute to research
excellence, further their skills and experience and make an impact on Western Australia’s economy.
Collaboration between the Premier’s Fellow and the EMC Fellow will be a mandatory requirement for the
Program. The application form requires input from the host organisation and the conditions and obligations the
organisation must fulfil are outlined below.
The EMC Fellow’s research project may also involve collaboration and contributions (cash and/or in-kind)
from research partners, collaborating businesses, collaborating institutions/organisations or collaborating
government departments.
2.2. Job description for the EMC Fellow
The EMC Fellow will provide much of the core data analytical capacity of the Premier’s Fellow’s research
team. The successful candidate:
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will demonstrate strong competencies in acquiring and analysing large data sets, including spatial data;
may come from an agricultural or natural resource background but not necessarily so, provided a desire to
use their analytical prowess to solve complex problems of practical significance can be demonstrated,
including the ability to recognize and avoid statistical and logical pitfalls in analysis; and
demonstrate a broad level of programming competence; and
demonstrate experience in the translation of knowledge from research.
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3. Objectives
The objectives of the Fellowship Program are:
a) to enable the Fellows to undertake research and development in the area of research in Western
Australia;
b) to increase Western Australia’s capabilities and capacity in the area of research;
c) to deliver benefits and opportunities to the State and regional Western Australia in particular;
d) to strengthen Western Australia’s national and international research standing;
e) to increase investment in research and development in Western Australia; and
f)
that the Fellows apply their research findings to policy and/or industrial uses through collaboration with
tertiary institutions, research organisations, government, not-for-profits, industry and other end-users at
the local, national and international levels.
One further objective specifically relates to the EMC Fellow under the Fellowship Program:
g) to attract a promising early to mid career researcher, preferably with a connection to Western Australia, to
undertake applied agrifood research with the Premier’s Fellow.
4. Levels of funding support
The Fellowship Program is funded by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions Program. The level of
funding support available for the EMC Fellow is $500,000 over a four year period. Funding will be paid
annually in four instalments of $125,000 over the Fellowship period.
The host organisation will be expected to match the State’s funding at a minimum 1:1 ratio cash commitment.
Eligible expenditure under the EMC Fellowship includes:
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the salary of the EMC Fellow;
professional development (e.g. conferences); and
travel expenditure.
The provision of financial assistance under the Fellowship Program is at the absolute discretion of the State.
Nothing in the application process, the selection process or any associated documentation shall give rise to
any:
(a)
legal relations or process contract between the Minister or the State Government on the one hand
and the applicant on the other; or
(b)
legitimate expectations on the part of the applicant.
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5. Application process
Applicants must complete and submit their application form and requested supporting documentation to
[email protected]. Applications must be received by the Department by 3.00 pm (AWST) on 31
January 2017. Applicants should ensure they allow sufficient time as late or incomplete applications will not
be accepted.
Please do not submit any other supporting or additional documentation beyond what is required by the
application form as it will not be used in the evaluation.
Eligible applications will be evaluated based on the objectives and selection criteria contained in this Applicant
Information and the EMC Fellow Application Form. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview
with the Evaluation Panel (anticipated to occur in March 2017) in person, by video conference, or by
telephone. Shortlisted applications will be subject to technical appraisal prior to interview. The interview and
technical appraisal will form part of the evaluation decision making process, with technical appraisals
anticipated to occur in March 2017. Applications may also be subject to due diligence, financial and
economic appraisals.
Recommendations for the successful EMC Fellow will be provided to the Premier for final selection.
The successful applicant, and the unsuccessful applicants, will be notified by emailed letter. Applicants are
entitled to request and receive feedback on their application. It is anticipated that the EMC Fellow will
commence their employment by no later than 1 June 2017.
Applications must be made using the EMC Fellow Application Form, which has been provided to all Western
Australian universities and is available online at:
https://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/science/ScienceAndAgribusinessConnect/Pages/Fellowship-Program.aspx .
Applicants are encouraged to contact Johanna Dowsett, Principal Policy Officer, Department of the Premier
and Cabinet (Department) by email at [email protected] if they have queries about the
eligibility criteria or general queries about the Fellowship Program.
6. Eligibility criteria
6.1. EMC Fellow
To be considered eligible, and to be included in the evaluation process, an application must be submitted on
the Premier’s Agriculture and Food Fellowship Program – Application Form for the Premier’s Early to Mid
Career Fellow, received by the deadline and meet the following criteria:
a) Host Organisation support: the EMC Fellow must be supported by a Western Australian university in
their application;
b) PhD from recognised university: the EMC Fellow must have been awarded a PhD (or equivalent) from
a recognised university within the previous 10 years (prior to 31 January 2017), unless career disruptions
(e.g. carer responsibilities) are demonstrated;
c) Australian citizen, permanent residency status or appropriate visa: the EMC Fellow must be an
Australian citizen, a permanent resident of Australia or have an appropriate working visa for the full term
of the Fellowship. If the successful EMC Fellow does not have Australian permanent resident status, that
person shall obtain the appropriate permits from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
before taking up the Fellowship;
d) Employment in Western Australia: the EMC Fellow must be located (during the period of funding) on a
full-time basis at a host organisation, or organisations as may be appropriate, in Western Australia, and
must relinquish their existing position(s) before taking up the position of EMC Fellow. Any further
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position(s) or employment undertaken by the EMC Fellow will be subject to approval, in writing, by the
Department for the duration of the EMC Fellowship;
e) Attached to a research project under the leadership of the Premier’s Fellow: the EMC Fellow must
be attached to a specified applied research project and team under the leadership of the Premier’s Fellow;
and
f)
Project alignment: the EMC Fellow’s applied research project must align to the Premier’s Fellow’s area
of research and the research program, and must address the objectives of the Fellowship Program.
Note: further to eligibility criteria e) and f) the terms of the collaboration between the EMC Fellow and
EMC host organisation and the Premier’s Fellow and Premier’s Fellow host organisations will be
determined via a collaboration agreement with all parties, refer to conditions and obligations clause 8.(l)
below for more information.
6.2. Host Organisation(s)
The EMC Fellow can be supported by one or more host organisations. To be eligible a host organisation:
a) must be a Western Australian university (refer to clause (e) below for secondary organisation
requirements);
b) must have a demonstrable record of research and development in agrifood;
c) shall demonstrate in the application form how they intend to collaborate with the Premier’s Fellow in
delivering the EMC Fellow’s research program over the funding period; and
d) agree to match the State’s funding at a minimum 1:1 ratio cash commitment. All co-funding items
proposed may be subjected to an independent audit;
e) if more than one host organisation is proposed, then any additional host organisation must be either a
Western Australian university or a publicly funded research institution.
Note: State Government agency resources cannot be leveraged against the Fellowship Program unless prior
written agreement from the State is obtained.
7. Selection Criteria
Each application will be assessed on merit and will cover four key themes: the applicant; the project research
environment; project quality, innovation and feasibility; and the potential project impacts and benefits. Further
detail on each of these criteria is provided below.
7.1. Applicant
The applicant will be assessed against the Fellowship Program objectives (section 3 above) and how they
meet the following selection criteria:
a) Demonstrable academic history relevant to the area of research.
b) Proven ability to acquire, manage and analyse big data, including structured and unstructured data, for the
purposes of solving large and complex problems. Spatial analysis of agricultural or natural resource data
will be a plus.
c) Demonstrated technical competence in some or all of the following (or equivalent) software/programming
languages: [Essential] ArcGIS, Python, Imagery software (Erdas, ERMapper, ENVI); [Desirable] Linux;
QGIS, R, GRASS, IDL, ENVI. Additional competency in the following (or equivalent) will be considered
favourably: C, Matlab, IDL, CUDA and OpenCL.
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d) Demonstrated awareness of the opportunities and pitfalls of big data analysis, and of methods to avoid
faulty inference. Such examples may be in the form of formal publication, research reports or presentations
to colleagues.
e) Demonstrated ability to clearly and fluently translate technical findings to a non-technical team, or with field
scientists and other users through the use of custom-built tools, graphical insight and reports for the
purpose of enabling enhanced decision making.
f) Proven ability to understand the insights from a wide range of contributors, and to select insights for
actionable analysis.
g) Ability to show examples of innovative solutions to complex large scale problems (advantageous but not
essential).
7.2. Project Research Environment (host organisation support)
The host organisation(s) will be assessed on their current capabilities and capacity in the area of research and
what support they can provide the applicant in undertaking their research. The host organisation(s) will also
need to outline the investment proposed for the applicant, supervision of the EMC Fellow by the Premier’s
Fellow, and research (cash and in-kind), mentoring and support to be provided to the EMC Fellow.
The host organisation(s) will also need to outline their strategies to encourage dissemination,
commercialisation, if appropriate, and promotion of research outcomes.
7.3. Project Quality, Innovation and Feasibility
a) Project quality: the project will be assessed against the Fellowship Program Objectives (section 3 above)
and how the project addresses the area of research sought, and the degree to which the conceptual or
theoretical framework outlined is innovative and original.
b) Project feasibility: the project will be assessed against whether the proposed methodology is appropriate
for the purpose and objectives of the research project, the risks are identified and managed appropriately,
the application of State funding is justified and the project is able to be delivered within the timeframes
and budget proposed.
Note: should the applicant be successful the project will be subject to further refinement in collaboration with
the Premier’s Fellow upon commencement of the EMC Fellowship. As such, the Department does not expect
a mature research proposal to be submitted at this time.
7.4 . Project Impact and Benefit
The project will also be assessed under the following criteria:
a) Complementation, collaboration and comparative advantage: the project complements the Premier’s
Fellow’s research program and any other research achieved or advanced in Western Australia.
b) Projected impact and benefits: the project has the potential to contribute to the area of research,
advance knowledge and build the capability of the agriculture sector. The project has the potential to
enhance collaboration and achieve significant industry and other end-user support. The project has the
potential to advance Western Australia in an area in which it already has an advantage in comparison to
other Australian states. The project has the potential to benefit the State, regional development,
government and industry.
c) Translation of research: the project has the potential for translation of knowledge into policy and/or
practice within Western Australia, and provides feasible strategies for translation of research and
engaging regional Western Australia in its delivery and/or translation of outcomes.
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8. Conditions and obligations for funding recipients
a) The Fellowship Program will be administered through the Office of Science in the Department.
b) It is expected that the EMC Fellow will be appointed at Academic Level B, or above, by the host
organisation(s). EMC Fellows are expected to work full-time on research and research-related activities
during the Fellowship funding period. Research-related activities should not include a major role in
administration or teaching.
c) It is expected that the EMC Fellow will assist the Premier’s Fellow in building a Western Australian
research team and delivering their research program, including research related activities, over the
funding period.
d) The host organisation(s) must provide supervision, mentoring, support and career development
opportunities to the EMC Fellow over the funding period.
e) The EMC Fellow may reside outside of Western Australia for no more than an aggregate of 65 business
days per annum (which can be non-consecutive days) subject to the terms and conditions in the financial
assistance agreement.
f)
The EMC Fellow is expected to act as a science ambassador for the State and engage in communication
activities, including speaking publicly about their research and research related activities, to enhance the
profile of science in Western Australia. Audiences will include the general public, government, researchers
and tertiary institutions, industry and other end-users.
g) The successful EMC Fellow will be expected to seek out collaborations with industry, government and
other institutions during the period of their Fellowship to enhance their research and ensure efficient use
of resources in the delivery of the research program.
h) The Fellowship Program is funded by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions Program and as such
needs to deliver benefits to regional Western Australia. The successful EMC Fellow will be expected to
engage with regional Western Australia (regions defined as outside of Perth metropolitan area) in
completing their research project. Engagement could take the form of completing research, or
components thereof, or engaging with regional stakeholders in delivering the EMC Fellow’s project, or
other types of regional engagement as agreed to by the Office of Science.
i)
The successful EMC Fellow will be required to respond with a final decision on acceptance or otherwise
within two weeks of the letter of offer being sent.
j)
It is expected that the successful EMC Fellow will begin the Fellowship on or before 1 June 2017.
k) On selection of the EMC Fellow, the host organisation(s) and the EMC Fellow are required to enter into a
written agreement with the Department prior to the disbursement of any funds. The financial assistance
agreement will outline the terms and conditions under which the financial support is provided, including
project performance, publicity and reporting matters.
l)
If the successful application consists of two or more host organisations, as a condition of the financial
assistance agreement, the host organisations and the appointed EMC Fellow will sign a separate
collaboration agreement. The collaboration agreement will set out the details of the collaboration between
the host organisations, the relationship between the host organisations and the EMC Fellow, and the
management of intellectual property.
m) As a condition of the financial assistance agreement, the EMC Fellow’s host organisation(s), the EMC
Fellow, the Premier’s Fellow’s host organisations and the Premier’s Fellow will also enter into a separate
collaboration agreement. The collaboration agreement will set out the details of the collaboration between
the host organisations, the relationship between the EMC Fellow’s host organisation(s) and the EMC
Fellow and the Premier’s Fellow host organisations and Premier’s Fellow; and the management of
intellectual property.
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n) All information will be treated as confidential. The outcome of the financial appraisal may influence the
final decision or the structure of payments made to successful applicants.
o) No rights to financial assistance accrue until such time as the financial assistance agreement between the
Department, the host organisation(s) and the EMC Fellow has been formally executed.
p) An Intellectual Property Plan will be required under the financial assistance agreement. This plan will
detail how intellectual property developed as part of the EMC Fellow’s project will be released into the
public domain.
q) All financial support provided by the Department under this program is subject to a post funding review.
To assist this process, proponents will be required to submit an annual review of financial inputs,
activities, outputs and impacts related to the financial support.
r)
The EMC Fellow and the host organisation(s) shall use their reasonable endeavours to translate the
outputs of the EMC Fellow’s project to the benefit of industry and other end-users in Western Australia.
s) For the purposes of calculating the nominal value of in-kind support, applicants must use an infrastructure
multiplier of 125% of the direct cost of research/technical staff salaries claimed as cash input. The
Department has introduced the infrastructure multiplier because it recognises that direct salary on-costs
do not represent the full cost of providing research infrastructure to support the employment of
research/technical staff.
t)
Research infrastructure (indirect costs) includes existing facilities and equipment, research/technical staff
support, administrative support and indirect research infrastructure such as libraries, computer services,
telecommunications, power, maintenance, etc.
9. Other
9.1. Availability of funding
The provision of financial support under this program shall be at the absolute discretion of the State and is
subject to the availability of funds.
9.2. Freedom of Information Act 1992
Applicants are informed that the Department is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1992, which
provides a general right of access to records held by Western Australian State and Local Government
agencies.
Applicants should be aware that information pertaining to the receipt of State Government financial support
may be tabled in the Western Australian Parliament. This information could include names of recipients, the
amounts of financial support, the name of the project/activity and, possibly, a brief description thereof. This
could result in requests for more detail to be released publicly.
Further information on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 can be obtained from the
Department’s website.
9.3. Conflict of interest
Applicants are required to disclose any information that might be relevant to an actual, perceived or potential
conflict of interest.
9.4. Tax information for applicants
The Department is registered for GST and has been issued with Australian Business Number 61313082730.
The Department regards grants under this program as payment for a supply. GST- registered grant recipients
will therefore be liable for GST in connection with the grant.
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For GST- registered grant recipients, the Department will increase the grant by the amount of GST payable.
GST- registered grant recipients must provide the Department with a tax invoice for the GST inclusive value of
the grant unless the Department and the applicant have agreed in writing to the issue of a Recipient Created
Tax Invoice. Payment will not be made until the Department receives a tax invoice or an agreement to issue a
Recipient Created Tax Invoice.
The recipient acknowledges that the grant provided is consideration for a supply to the Department and that
the GST component will be included in the recipient’s next Business Activity Statement lodged with the
Australian Taxation Office.
For recipients not registered for GST the Department will not include GST, nor will it reimburse an
unregistered grantee for GST paid or payable to a third party. Unregistered grant recipients must provide the
Department with an invoice for the amount of the grant.
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Appendix A
Glossary of terms
Definitions
agriculture means the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops
and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. The term agriculture includes
aquaculture and horticulture activities for the purposes of the Fellowship Program.
area of research Fellowship Program in the Fellowship Program means world-leading research and
development in data science and analytics to capture the opportunities offered by big data to enhance the
productivity and competitiveness of the Western Australian agrifood sector, and create significant value for the
Western Australian economy.
big data means high-volume, high-velocity and/or high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective,
innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight, decision making and process optimization.
capacity and capability means the ability of researchers, institutions and organisations (including available
resources) to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve objectives.
collaboration means a cooperative arrangement in which the applicant works jointly with another party
towards common objectives that are specified in the application. The parties may or may not have had any
previous relationship.
committed in-kind support means the existing non-cash resources (confirmed by appropriate letters of
support) that will be contributed to support the EMC Fellow’s project. Such contributions also includes the
infrastructure multiplier. Individual in-kind salaries should not be separately listed as in-kind support as they
are captured within the infrastructure multiplier.
committed net cash co-investment means the new investment (cash input) from external source(s) (as
confirmed by appropriate letters of support) that will be directed to support the EMC Fellow’s project. In the
Fellowship Program, a “committed net cash co-investment at a rate no less than 1:1 host universities,
Commonwealth, international, industry, etc. funding to State Government funding for the Fellowship Program
funding period” is required. The cash input may include:
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money transferred to and managed by the host university, or universities as may be appropriate, to
support the EMC Fellow’s project;
new investment for equipment, service and fit-out of buildings, travel, etc. to directly support the EMC
Fellow’s project;
the EMC Fellow’s salary or part of the EMC Fellow’s salary;
salaries of any new or existing research/technical staff (greater than 20% FTE) directly supporting the
EMC Fellow’s project;
scholarships of any PhD students directly linked to the EMC Fellow’s project;
grants that have been awarded before the application submission date to directly support the EMC
Fellow’s project; and
existing grants redirected to support the EMC Fellow’s project.
department means the Department of the Premier and Cabinet or such other body or instrumentality which
principally assists the Minister for Science in the administration of the Program and any financial agreement
provided under the Program.
EMC Fellow’s project means the research project undertaken by the EMC Fellow (and research team).
end-user means a person or organisation that actually uses a product, as opposed to the person or
organisation that authorises or procures the funding in the application.
Fellowship Program means the Science and Agribusiness Connect – Premier’s Agriculture and Food
Fellowship Program.
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Fellowship Program funding period is the four-year period that the State Government provides funds
(through the funding program) to the applicant to support the EMC Fellow’s project.
financial assistance agreement means a written agreement by which the State Government grants funds to
the successful applicant and sets out conditions.
host organisation is a Western Australian university or meets the conditions outlined in the eligibility criteria
above.
industry support means any relevant contribution from industry to the EMC Fellow’s project.
infrastructure means relatively permanent capital investment into a Western Australian eligible entity that
furthers the core business of that entity. Examples include employment of research officers, senior research
officers, senior technical staff, laboratories, equipment etc.
infrastructure multiplier means the nominal multiplier used for the estimation of the value of in-kind costs
associated with employment of research/technical staff. The value is calculated as 125% of the direct cost of
research/technical staff salaries claimed as cash input, i.e. 1.25 x (basic salary plus direct salary on-costs). A
pro-rata value must be used in the calculation if research/technical staff are not allocated to support the EMC
Fellow’s activities for 100% of their time.
innovation
means
improvements
in
technology,
products,
operations that lead to a distinct competitive advantage or productivity gain.
services
or
business
letters of support means the letters provided by supporters of the EMC Fellow (including the host
organisation(s)) that confirm the dollar ($) value of their committed cash and/or in-kind funds and what the
funds represent (e.g. salaries, services, equipment, etc.).
Letters of support must be attached and submitted with the corresponding completed application form.
1
Letters of support must be current and addressed to:
Executive Director
Office of Science
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
1
Note: The letters are not required to be posted to the Executive Director, just addressed in this manner and
submitted with the completed full application form.
Premier’s Fellow’s research program will apply big data and analytics to support sustainable growth of
Western Australian agriculture. Change will be supported at two levels: at farm scale, through enhanced
decision processes by growers - individually and collectively; and at state scale, through evidence-based
policy support for agribusiness and governance of state-wide natural resources. At both scales, big data will
be used to enrich our understanding of landscape processes that define knowledge-based agricultural
systems.
research and development (R&D) means systematic activity combining both basic and applied research,
and aimed at discovering innovative solutions to problems or creating new goods and knowledge.
research/technical staff salaries means remuneration for research/technical staff providing services
expressly for the development and achievement of objectives specified in the application. Funding may be
sought for a proportion of time in cases where research/technical staff are not wholly committed to directly
supporting the EMC Fellow’s project.
salary means the salary dollar ($) value plus direct salary on-costs only.
tenure means the period of the EMC Fellow’s employment.
travel expenditure means expenditure for travel for research and development purposes only.
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