Climate Change Research Program Guidelines

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Application guidelines for Expressions of Interest
3. Project management
4. Disclosure of information

1. Overview

1.1 Introduction

Australia’s climate is changing as part of a global trend and the dry conditions and drought facing many agriculture regions has particularly heightened awareness among the primary industries sector. We can expect the climate to become more variable and extreme which will represent a significant challenge to the management of sustainable primary production in Australia.

The Australian Government has made a significant commitment to reducing emissions. It ratified the Kyoto Protocol, announced it will introduce a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme by 2011 and has committed to a 60 per cent reduction in Australia’s total 2000 level emissions by 2050.

Emissions management will be a key issue for primary industries and government action will need to have both a short and longer term focus so that primary producers are best placed to manage their enterprises.

Recognising the important role of primary producers in sustaining a vibrant Australian economy and prosperity in communities, the Australian Government is implementing the Australia’s Farming Future (AFF) initiative. The initiative comprises three complementary programs, the Climate Change Research Program, the Climate Change Adaptation Partnerships Program and the Climate Change Adjustment Program. The programs commenced in July 2008 and are administered by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Further information on the programs is available on the DAFF farming future website.

1.2 Objective

The overarching objective of Australia’s Farming Future is to equip farmers, foresters and fishers to adapt and adjust to the impact of climate change and to manage their emissions.

1.3 Program delivery

Australia’s Farming Future will target the following elements:

1. Research, development and demonstration through the Climate Change Research Program, to develop commercially viable management techniques for farmers, foresters and fishers to manage emissions and adapt to climate change.
2. Information services to encourage producers to seek information and training on climate change and encourage behavioural change.
3. Targeted training activities through the FarmReady Program, to boost training opportunities for primary producers, and to enable industry, farming groups and natural resource management groups develop strategies to adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.
4. Community networks and capacity building activities to build the leadership and representative capacity of target groups to strengthen community resilience and the productivity of primary industries. The target groups include women, youth, Indigenous Australians and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
5. Adjustment assistance through the Climate Change Adjustment Program, including professional advice and adjustment training, re-establishment assistance and transitional income support.

Climate Change Research Program

The Climate Change Research Program (CCRP) will play an important role in assisting the primary sector to develop commercial solutions to manage emissions and adapt to climate change.

Collaborative CCRP projects involving industry, scientific and government sectors will ensure that:

• sufficient expertise and experience is brought together to achieve outcomes that will make a difference
• the commercial realities of the market are taken into account to improve the transition from applied research to demonstration of commercial applications.

These guidelines outline the process for conducting an Expression of Interest (EOI) for funding under the CCRP. EOIs for on-farm and food processor demonstration projects are now sought from eligible parties (see section 2.1 for more detail).

EOIs for AFF CCRP funding will be assessed on a competitive basis by a panel/s containing relevant experts from the industry, science and government sectors.

Collaborative projects with cross sectoral applications, and which combine the efforts of a number of eligible parties in consortia, are strongly encouraged.

In assessing EOIs, the expert panels will draw upon work done to date to ensure that projects sufficiently advance the primary industries sector ability to manage emissions and adapt to climate change. Examples of where relevant work has been undertaken to date include:

• projects funded through the 2008-09 round of the CCRP
• projects funded under the Greenhouse Action in Regional Australia (GARA) implemented by the Department of Climate Change
• the Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries (CCRSPI) which has prioritised gaps in CCRP and areas of future collaboration across rural research and development corporations and companies (RDCs)
• relevant research between the Australian Government and other countries such as New Zealand and China
• projects by research bodies such as the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and universities
• the National Climate Change and Fisheries Action Plan and the National Climate Change and Commercial Forestry Action Plan currently being developed
• the National Agriculture and Climate Change Action Plan endorsed by the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council

Based on the assessment by the expert panel, proponents of highly ranked EOIs will be invited by DAFF to prepare full project proposals. DAFF will negotiate these project proposals with the proponents. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the Minister) will be responsible for the final approval of CCRP projects under AFF (see section 2 for further detail).

Australia’s Farming Future is an important part of the government’s future research effort into climate change announced in the 2008–09 Budget. Therefore, funding under AFF will complement, not duplicate other government initiatives, which include:

• the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework, including the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility
• the CSIRO National Adaptation Flagship
• Bureau of Meteorology/CSIRO Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
• the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country initiative
• the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative
• Australian Government funding of $8 million over three years for research into the impact of climate change on our forest systems and industries.

The Australian Government will also coordinate work with the state governments through the Primary Industrial Ministerial Council (PIMC) and Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

1.4 Outcomes

CCRP round 2 projects funded through the AFF aim to achieve the following outcomes.

1. Primary producers and food processors are equipped with the knowledge, tools and strategies to manage their emissions, including the ability to respond to the commercial imperatives arising from Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
2. Primary producers are able to adapt to changed climatic conditions through the availability of new technologies and techniques which encourage different farming practices.
3. Primary producers, their industries and communities understand the impacts of climate change and the future implications for their enterprise and region.

1.5 Research priorities

Research and development projects funded under the 2008-09 CCRP funding round targeted activities to deliver the knowledge, tools and techniques for primary producers to manage emissions and adapt to climate change.

The 2009-10 funding round will specifically target proposals which demonstrate on-farm and food processor activities. Therefore EOIs should identify on-farm and food processor activities and address one or more of the following research priorities.

Managing emissions

Agriculture is Australia’s second largest greenhouse gas emitter, representing around 16 per cent of total national emissions. Agriculture is the dominant national source of methane emissions (primarily from livestock and associated activities) and nitrous oxide (mainly from agriculture soils reflecting cropping and production systems). Beef cattle, wool/sheep meat, dairy cattle and grains are the main contributing sectors to agriculture’s emissions.

A number of practical difficulties exist in accurately measuring emissions in the agriculture sector. Improving measurement techniques would assist in producing better estimates to inform mitigation strategies. The Department of Climate Change (DCC) has primary carriage of maintaining and developing Australia’s national emissions inventory. AFF funding will seek to complement, not duplicate, the DCC work program in this area. For example, it is important that research on managing emissions can be reflected, over time, in refinements to emission factors and measurement techniques.

Agriculture will also be keen to fully explore potential opportunities in abating emissions, such as sequestering carbon in soils and forests. Opportunities which result in productivity increases and reduced emissions are also important.

Priority 1—Reducing methane emissions

A range of strategies have been explored to reduce methane emissions from ruminants with varying degrees of success. These are: dietary manipulations (e.g. the use of unsaturated fats in the diet); management options (improved growth or reproductive efficiency) to reduce methane emissions per unit of product; and chemical inhibitors of methanogens, vaccines and biological control agents.

A program of demonstration to reduce methane emissions from ruminants will involve a mixture of these strategies tailored to specific components of the industry (e.g. extensive and intensive livestock).

Reductions in methane from manure and waste water from farms and food processors will also be important.

Priority 2—Reducing nitrous oxide emissions

Current state of knowledge suggests that reductions are possible in certain cropping/production systems or regions.

Emissions from dry land wheat are low but other crops in the rotation cycle may have higher emissions. Emissions from sugarcane, irrigated cropping and irrigated pasture can be high and there is reasonable potential for some control through management of nitrogen inputs and soil water. For example, targeted nitrogen fertiliser management may reduce emissions in a broad variety of systems.

Genetic based strategies to improve the plant uptake of nitrogen and plant-based production of nitrification inhibitors may also be worthy of further investigation.

Better soil management

The carbon sequestration and retention capacity of Australian soils is highly variable and generally lower than in countries with more stable climatic conditions. Further research is needed examining practical problems with measuring and monitoring carbon in soils, and the viability of sequestering carbon in soil as an emissions management practice.

Adapting to a changing climate

In the face of vulnerabilities and risks from climate change, many farmers are testing and using different farming practices to build the resilience of their farms, so their properties are able to withstand drought and other extreme events.

Rainfall patterns are expected to change with some areas in northern Australia receiving more and south and south-eastern Australia likely to receive less. There will be changes to crop yields, grain quality, pasture growth rates, the prevalence of weeds, fisheries and forestry.

Further research, development and demonstration, which will allow primary producers to adapt to climate change, is a priority in the following areas:

1. production systems, including collaborative research where production systems have similarities or use similar technologies including: biosecurity and pest, disease and weed management; and nutrient management
2. changed or alternative management practices (e.g. grazing, cropping, intensive farming, soil fertility)
3. adaptation of existing varieties to new regions.

2. Application guidelines for Expressions of Interest

2.1 Eligibility criteria

The following eligibility criteria will apply to EOIs for CCRP funding.

1. Proposed work must primarily involve on-farm and/or food processor demonstration of research results from an identified priority or combination of priorities (see section 1.5). Communications and training activities which are part of AFF will not be funded through CCRP funding.

2. Proposed work can be up to a maximum of two years. Payments may be made across three financial years.

3. The EOI must address the assessment criteria (see section 2.2).

4. Proponents must provide a completed EOI form.

5. Proposed work must not duplicate activities which are being funded under other Australian Government programs.

6. EOI proponents must be an Australian registered company or research agency, for example:

• RDCs
• peak national or state primary industry organisation
• Australian, state or territory government agency
• Australian tertiary education institution
• Australian Cooperative Research Centre
• Australian registered business or registered industry group
• Australian public sector research agency
• Australian private, not for profit, research organisation.

Other Australian private research organisations may be members of a research consortium but are not eligible as a proponent.

7. EOI proponents’ cash and in-kind contributions are expected. Dollar-for-dollar matching contributions are mandatory for state government agencies but not for other organisations. In-kind contributions must be directly related to the eligible costs of delivering the activities of the project and can include salaries of staff for the time they are involved and other costs incurred for the duration of the project. The amount of matching contribution offered may have an influence on the funding outcome, e.g. where two projects are ranked equal in all other respects.

8. The EOI includes references from two qualified referees addressing Assessment Criterion 6 (see section 2.2).

2.2 Assessment criteria

EOIs will be assessed by the expert panel/s against the following criteria. All criteria are weighted equally.

1. Addresses demonstration of research results in one or more of the research priorities outlined in section 1.5.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• the degree to which your project specifically addresses one or more of the priorities
• when your project will contribute to meeting one or more of the priorities.

2. Demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic and its relationship to climate change.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• demonstrated understanding of the research topic
• demonstrated understanding of climate change and its impacts on Australian primary industries.

3. Project outcomes are clearly defined and can be delivered within the specified timeframe.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• clearly show how the outcomes will be achieved
• a clear timeline for the project, including realistic key milestones.

4. Degree to which proposal will contribute to the program CCRP outcomes outlined in section 1.4.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• clear explanation of how the demonstration will help primary producers to manage their emissions, including the ability to respond to the commercial imperatives arising from emissions trading
• clear explanation of what new technologies and techniques will be available to encourage different farming practices or
• clear explanation of the information that will be available to help primary producers and their industries and communities to understand the impacts of climate change on their region.

5.Proponent’s managerial and financial competency to manage the project and grant monies.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• financial management systems and policies in place to manage grant monies
• capacity of the project manager to administer grants of this nature, including relevant experience.

6. Technical feasibility and competency to deliver the project outputs and outcomes.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• practical and realistic methodology which will ensure delivery of project outputs and outcomes
• research capability of project proponent and other consortium members (if applicable), including previous work on the project or related topics
• how you will report against your expected outputs and outcomes, i.e. how you will monitor and evaluate your work.

Include references from two qualified referees addressing methodology and research capability.

7. Identifies key risks and mechanisms to treat these risks.
Factors to address when responding to this criterion include:

• identification of risks
• proposed treatment.

2.3 Ineligible activities and costs

Funding will not be provided for:

• capital expenditure for the purchase of assets such as office furniture and equipment, motor vehicles, computers, printers, photocopiers, construction, renovations and utilities
• any cost incurred prior to signing a funding agreement with the Commonwealth
• costs that are supported by the in-kind or financial contribution from the applicant or other participants in the project
• staff relocation costs
• administration/overhead and infrastructure costs
• Australian domestic travel and living allowance
• international travel and living expenses for undergraduate students
• hospitality/catering costs
• costs involved in the purchase/upgrade of software including licenses
• costs associated with the protection or patenting of intellectual property
• financial support for feasibility studies
• costs associated with market research for products or research carried out by surveys to assess the size of the market and/or the price of a particular service or product
• costs associated with activities of a distinctly commercial or proprietary nature that are aimed at selling or attracting investment
• costs associated with product development and the building or production of commercial prototypes.

2.4 Expression of Interest assessment

EOIs will be assessed on a competitive basis by an expert panel/s against the criteria in section 2.2. The expert panel will make recommendations to DAFF on those EOIs which:

• could be developed into full proposals for funding
• could be improved by collaborating with another Australian research body
• could be improved by changes to the proposed activities
• should not be pursued further.

Panel recommendations will be submitted to the Rural Research and Development Council (RRDC) for endorsement/comment. The outcomes of the expert panel assessment and RRDC consideration will form the basis for recommendations by DAFF to the Minister.

All applicants will be advised of the outcome of their EOI in writing.

2.5 Expression of Interest development

EOIs for funding proposals should be developed and submitted on the application form by 5.00pm, 5 February 2010 by email.

and a hard copy to

Climate Change 2009-10 Research Expressions of Interest
Climate Change Policy Branch
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
CANBERRA CITY ACT 2601

A Microsoft Word version of the form is available on request, or from the DAFF farming future website.

Late EOIs may not be accepted.

2.6 Onus on the applicant

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they have examined these guidelines and all documents referred to in the guidelines. Applicants should ensure that their EOI meets the eligibility criteria (seesection 2.1) and assessment criteria (see section 2.2) and that they have satisfied themselves as to the correctness and sufficiency of their EOI (see section 2.7 Discrepancies, ambiguities, inconsistencies or errors in an EOI).

It is the applicant’s responsibility for ensuring that referees receive copies of all supporting documentation submitted with the EOI, and that supporting documentation, including referee reports are submitted by the notified closing date for EOIs. If supporting documentation have not been received by the notified date the EOI may be assessed as ineligible, unless an alternative timeframe has been agreed prior to the closing date.

Applicants are responsible for all costs incurred in the preparation and lodgement of EOI and, if successful, full project proposals, and in respect of any discussions, negotiations, enquiries or any work undertaken prior to signing a funding agreement with the Commonwealth.

It is the applicant’s responsibility, if successful, to ensure they have read and understand all aspects of the funding agreement referred to in section 3.1.

2.7 Discrepancies, ambiguities, inconsistencies or errors in an EOI

The Australian Government will not accept responsibility for any misunderstanding arising from the failure by an applicant to comply with the guidelines, or arising from any ambiguity, discrepancy or error contained in an EOI.

If an applicant discovers any material discrepancy, ambiguity, inconsistency or error in their EOI, they must immediately bring it to the attention of DAFF by email. DAFF may request further information from an applicant or referee and allow an applicant to remedy any discrepancy, ambiguity, inconsistency or error in an EOI. DAFF may consider new information submitted by an applicant after the closing date for the purpose of resolving any material discrepancy, ambiguity, inconsistency or error in an EOI provided that no entirely new information has been added, which had not been referred to in the original EOI. DAFF’s decision will be final and will be made at its absolute discretion. No correspondence will be entered into in relation to the decision other than to inform the applicant of the decision.

Applicants should be aware that the giving false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

2.8 Intellectual property rights

Applicants must provide details of intellectual property (IP) issues in their EOI. This includes both the use of IP in the project and the proposed ownership of rights to IP generated by the project as well as strategies for protecting Australia's IP interests. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio approach is to vest the title to intellectual property rights in any project material upon its creation in the grantee, with a grant to the Commonwealth of a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty free licence (including a right to sub-licence) to use and adapt the project material.

For further information, contact the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on 1800 638 746, email farming future or visit the DAFF farming future website.

3. Project management

3.1 Funding agreement

The funding agreement for successful applicants is standard for all program grants, with the schedule covering the project specific activities and funding. The funding agreement also provides for rights and obligations, including provision of participant contributions, reporting, confidentiality, privacy, insurance and indemnity, and intellectual property. If your EOI is successful, you can obtain a copy of the funding agreement by emailing farming future or calling 1800 638 746.

A successful full project proposal will form the basis of the schedule to the agreement. It must include details of the project activities, budget (GST exclusive), milestones and performance indicators. Until a funding agreement is signed, the grantee and partners are expected to meet the project resources committed in the EOI.

The first payment will generally be made on both parties executing the funding agreement and on receipt by the department of a correctly rendered tax invoice. Subsequent payments will be made in accordance with the provisions set out in the funding agreement. Payments will be dependent on acceptance by the department that specified milestones and reporting obligations have been satisfactorily met. Project funding may be deferred varied or cancelled if project performance is unsatisfactory.

3.2 Publicity

The Australian Government requires due recognition for all projects it fully or partly funds by use of the Australian Government logo and appropriate wording. In all communications, media, events and reports directly related to funded activities, the contribution by AFF is to be highlighted by successful proponents. The logo and wording should be included at the department’s discretion in all elements of publicity material such as brochures, pamphlets, booklets, signage, static displays, electronic and print advertising, program-specific websites and direct mail campaigns.

For an electronic version of the logo, email farming future or call 1800 638 746.

4. Disclosure of information

DAFF is collecting the information on the EOI form to assess the applicant’s project for funding and to pay that funding if the EOI is successfully negotiated as a full project proposal. In applying for funding, applicants accept that DAFF may give all or some of this information to:

• those involved in assessing projects
• federal members of parliament, senators and the media who may help in publicising successful projects, unless the information is designated as confidential.

The name of the successful applicant organisations and their contact names may be disclosed in documentation, such as media releases, and be made publicly available on the DAFF Climate Change website.