Australia-Scotland Fund
Program highlights
- Delivered in partnership by the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- Supports Australian and Scottish early and mid-career researchers to undertake targeted bilateral research visits.
- Provides grant funding to help cover travel and living costs, enabling new and enduring Australia-Scotland research linkages.
The Australian Academy of Science (the Academy) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (the RSE) jointly deliver the Australia-Scotland Fund (the fund), which provides annual grants for bilateral research visits between Australia and Scotland.
The program supports early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) to progress joint research, build international connections, and access expertise and infrastructure that support high-quality collaboration.
Administration of the call for applications alternates between the two countries each year. In this round, the Academy will administer applications from Australian EMCRs seeking support to travel to Scotland or host a Scottish researcher at their Australian organisation.
Successful applicants may receive up to A$9,500 for approved travel and living costs for visits of four to six weeks taking place between 1 January 2027 and 31 December 2027.
Key dates
Below are the key dates for the application process. While we aim to keep to this schedule, some dates may change depending on circumstances.
GUIDELINES
The guidelines provide important information about eligibility, submission requirements and assessment processes. Applicants should review them carefully before submitting an application.
At the time of submission, the Australian applicant must:
- be an Australian citizen or hold a valid Australian visa
- be living in Australia at both the time of application and time of travel or hosting
- be employed as a scientist/faculty member at an Australian research organisation located in Australia
- have a PhD awarded no more than 15 years* prior to the application deadline.
Previous recipients of an Australia-Scotland Fund grant are ineligible to apply for this program.
* An extension to this limit may be approved in the case of significant career interruptions, such as leave or periods of unemployment.
At the time of submission, the collaborating Scottish project partner must:
- be working at a research organisation located in Scotland at both the time of application and time of travel or hosting
- be employed as a scientist/faculty member at a research organisation located in Scotland
- have a PhD awarded no more than 15 years* prior to the application deadline.
* An extension to this limit may be approved in the case of significant career interruptions
Eligible projects proposals must:
- directly address one of the eligible fields of research
- be a collaborative research project between an Australian EMCR researcher based in Australia and a Scottish EMCR researcher based in Scotland
- demonstrate the visit’s value to the project activities and clearly articulate why the visit should occur in the requested location.
Applicants may only submit one application per round and grant funding can only support one travelling researcher.
Fields of research
Applications are invited in areas of biological (terrestrial and marine) and chemical/biochemical sciences exploring aspects of natural ecosystems. Eligible areas of research include:
- ecological studies: from broad ecosystem studies to specific interspecies interactions
- systematic studies: systematic revisions; ecosystem exploration leading to an improved understanding of that ecosystem and/or the discovery of new species
- chemistry/biochemistry: limited to exploring the role of naturally occurring chemicals in mitigating influencing outcomes observed in any of the areas of biological sciences listed above.
Successful applicants will be offered a grant from the Academy of up to A$9,500 GST exclusive towards the cost of:
- an international return economy class airfare from the traveller’s location to the airport closest to the hosting organisation, including internal domestic travel up to a maximum of A$3,500
- a living allowance for accommodation and living expenses of A$200 per day, capped at a maximum of A$6,000 per grant.
The approved visit must take place during the 2027 calendar year and be for a visit of between four and six weeks in duration.
The grant funds will only be paid directly to the awardee’s Australian organisation on receipt of a valid tax invoice and the finalised flight itinerary, showing all associated airfare and taxes.
Airfare support is provided as reimbursement of actual eligible international economy airfare costs, up to the approved maximum amount. Any unspent amount from this component is not retained by the awardee and must be returned to the Academy.
Living allowance must be paid to the traveller at the commencement of their travel, and the payment must be facilitated by the awardee’s Australian organisation.
Awardees are responsible for managing all grant funds and organising the travel and accommodation arrangements in consultation with the host organisation or visitor, depending on the direction of travel.
Dependants of the visitor may accompany them on the travel at their own cost. The grant does not provide funds for bench fees, administrative, visa or insurance costs.
The grant does not provide any funding for bench fees, project costs, or institutional overheads.
Applications must be submitted via the Good Grants online portal, and include the following material and supporting documentation: :
- a curriculum vitae for the Australian applicant, including publication list, of no more than six pages
- a letter of support from the applicant’s organisation
- a referee report for the Australian applicant from a current or previous supervisor. Read information for referees in the PDF attachment below
- a curriculum vitae for the Scottish researcher partner, including publication list, of no more than six pages
- a letter of support from the Scottish partner researcher’s organisation
Applications must be complete at the time of submission to be considered. Incomplete applications, including those missing any required supporting material, will be deemed ineligible and will not proceed to merit assessment.
Applications are considered against the assessment criteria by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise. The decisions of the committee are based on the assessed competitiveness of each proposal.
Proposals will be assessed on the below criteria, without any weighting:
- The scientific merit of the proposed research project and the value of its expected outcomes to Australian science.
- The proposed visit’s value to both the project activities and the collaborative relationship between the Australian and Scottish EMCRs involved in the project.
- Demonstrated capacity of the proposed host organisation to undertake the project activities with a clearly articulated justification for the requested direction of travel.
- The potential for the Australian EMCR to become a leader in the research community.
- How the project will incorporate and make space for contributions from individuals of varied backgrounds, particularly those who are underrepresented in science, to ensure diverse perspectives are included and valued, enhancing the overall quality and impact of the research.
Applications are considered carefully against the selection criteria by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise.
Applications will be ranked based on the merit of the proposal and funding will be allocated according to each fund’s specifications.
The decisions of the assessment committee are based on the assessed competitiveness of the proposal. The Academy does not enter into discussion or correspondence regarding the reasons why an application is successful or not.
Awardees are required to submit a report within three months of travel completion. The report template will be provided to awardees prior to the commencement of travel.
Any publication resulting from the project funded by this program must mention the support granted to the project by the Australia-Scotland Fund, an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science.
Applications are to be completed through an online form found by clicking on the Apply button on the top right of this web page when the round is open.
