Cooperative Research Centres Program

About the program

The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community.

The program brings industry and research organisations together to focus on research and development towards end-use and commercialisation.

The program aims to:

• improve the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries, especially
• where Australia has a competitive strength, and in line with government priorities
• foster high quality research to solve industry-identified problems through industry-led and outcome focused collaborative research partnerships between industry entities and research organisations
• encourage and facilitate small and medium enterprise (SME) participation in collaborative research.

How the program works

The program has 2 funding elements:

• CRC grants support medium to long term collaborations between 3 to 10 years
• CRC Projects (CRC-P) grants support short term collaborations up to 3 years, with a focus on SMEs.

How we administer the program

Our department administers the CRC and CRC-P grant opportunities. The independent CRC Advisory Committee assesses eligible applications against assessment criteria including:

• alignment with program objectives and government priorities
• quality of proposed research
• capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project
• impact of Australian Government grant funding on the project. 

The committee makes funding recommendations to the Minister for Industry and Innovation and provides strategic advice on the operation of the program.

An independent impact evaluation of the CRC Program in 2021 found the program is delivering on its objectives and makes a significant contribution to Australia’s economy.