Future Fellowships Fact Sheet 

KEY POINTS

• In the 2008–09 Federal Budget, the Australian Government met its election commitment to fund the $844 million Future Fellowships scheme for outstanding mid-career researchers.
• The internationally competitive scheme provides an incentive for Australian researchers based overseas to return home to continue their work and also to attract the best international researchers to Australia.
• Over five years, the scheme offers 1000 talented Australian and international mid-career researchers four-year fellowships with salaries of up to $141,000 a year. Administering organisations will receive an additional $50,000 a year to support related infrastructure, equipment, travel and relocation costs.
• The Future Fellowships scheme is intended to enable highly qualified mid-career researchers to pursue a career in Australia, rather than overseas. .
• The scheme will seek to encourage those researchers who can demonstrate a capacity to build collaboration across industry and/or research institutions and/or with other disciplines.
• The Future Fellowships scheme funds researchers conducting all types of research (including pure basic research, strategic basic research and applied research) and particularly in areas of national priority that will deliver significant economic, environmental, social health or cultural benefits to Australia, for example renewable energy, manufacturing technologies, the sciences, medical research, education and Indigenous health and wellbeing.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• The Future Fellowships scheme is administered by the Australian Research Council (ARC).
• Applicants will be expected to demonstrate a link between each Fellowship and the host organisation’s research strengths to ensure that they align with planning for renewal and expansion of the research workforce.
• Administration of the scheme by the ARC will help to ensure:
• that the selection of Future Fellows is based on merit;
• the application of consistent and equitable criteria in the selection of fellows;
• that candidates are of equivalent calibre across institutions and discipline areas; and
• that candidates in a given discipline will be provided with an appropriate research training environment that offers access to excellent infrastructure.
• The first round of Fellowships will be awarded in 2009.
• The inaugural round of 200 Future Fellows was announced on 9 September 2009. Funding totalling $147.4 million was awarded over the next four years (2009-2013).
• More information about the Future Fellowships scheme is available at the ARC's Future Fellowships website.