Submission – Policy review of the National Competitive Grants Program discussion paper: A new plan for ARC-funded research

The Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Forum (the EMCR Forum) welcomes the goals and focus of the Australian Research Council (ARC) in encouraging high quality and creative early-stage research and recognition of the need to support early-career researchers (ECRs) and the research workforce.

This submission focuses on the proposed changes and their likely intended and unintended consequences on Australia’s EMCR community.

The EMCR Forum recommends:

• that the ARC undertake further consultation with EMCRs in developing a framework and implementation plan that articulates how EMCRs will navigate and transition through the new schemes throughout their careers
• the ARC define career stages clearly and incorporate these definitions into the modelling and evaluation of the new scheme to assess impact on researchers at different career stages. This includes acknowledging the different goals and challenges faced by three cohorts of EMCRs.