AAL Funding

How is AAL funded? 

AAL receives funding from the Australian Government via the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). This is primarily driven by a five-year planning process starting with a Research Infrastructure Roadmap, followed by investment plans with additional funding opportunities arising from time to time in specific areas e.g. HPC, Research Translation, etc. (see graphic to the right).

NCRIS Five Year Funding Cycle

  • Roadmap every five years
  • One or two Investment Plans per Roadmap
  • There may be several Funding Allocations per Roadmap

AAL is also proactive in seeking out funding from other sources which may become available from time to time.

AAL’s Assessment Process

AAL will use the following four-step process to systematically and transparently assess investment opportunities and requests for AAL support: 

  • Initial triage – initial triage is performed to eliminate requests that very obviously fall outside the scope of the Astronomy NCRIS program. Successful opportunities are assigned an AAL Program Manager to manage their further assessment. 
  • Scoping and assessment – the assigned Program Manager will have quality assurance responsibility over the proposed submission and will work with the proposer to ensure that quantitative data is accurate where possible, and qualitative statements are supportable. The Program Manager will also complete an AAL resources assessment detailing resources required to support the project, including direct and indirect costs to AAL.  
  • Review – the relevant AAL technical committee (ASAC, IEAC, SSLC or an appropriate combination thereof) is asked to review the opportunity based on the submission. The committee can choose to recommend the opportunity to the AAL Board without alteration; recommend to the Board that the opportunity is not appropriate for AAL to support; or recommend that the submission be revised and returned to the committee for a second review. 
  • Approval – the submission is put to the Board along with the recommendation of the technical committee. 

AAL is also keen to identify and support co-investment opportunities which may achieve a scale of investment not possible from a single funding source. 

 

*NCRIS assessment criteria can be viewed on page 10 of the document National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy 2025 Guidelines.

How does AAL distribute these funds?

AAL directs NCRIS funding toward a variety of projects/facilities as guided by the AAL Board of Directors and its Advisory Committees. These bodies assess all current and future investment proposals based on how they align with the criteria set out by the ​Decadal plan for Australian astronomy (2016-2025). Please view our website to see the types of projects we are currently funding.

The Decadal Plan for Australian astronomy (2026-2035) is due to be released later this year and consideration will also be given to the alignment of future proposals with any new requirements while transition between the Decadal Plans is underway. 

AAL is proactive in looking for opportunities from the community that fit in with the goals of the Decadal Plan and which enhance links between astronomy, industry, and the broader innovation system, and welcomes submissions or project funding proposals from members of the Australian astronomy community that comply with the NCRIS Eligibility Criteria listed below. Astronomers can draw AAL’s attention to new opportunities via the following options:

NCRIS Eligibility Criteria

​​In addition to the NCRIS criteria* specified by the Department of Education, AAL considers the following when deciding the allocation of NCRIS funding:

Does the investment opportunity address a recommendation of the Decadal Plan? 
 
  • Yes (priority recommendation) – AAL will proactively seek funding to support the project, with due consideration of any other major funding allocations managed by other organisations.
  • Yes (tier 2 recommendation) – AAL will consider responses to the questions in the relevant EoI form as a guide when considering supporting the project.
  • No – AAL will not engage with the project.