| Milestones and Reporting
For most grants, reports are required by funding bodies for each funded
project awarded under an Agreement. The type and timing of these reports
will depend on the obligations agreed to in the contract with the funding
body. Progress Reports and Milestone reporting enable the funding body
to assess whether satisfactory progress is being achieved and are often
required by the funding body prior to Milestone payments being made. Final
Reports enable the funding body to assess whether the objectives of the
project have been achieved and also to gather information that may be
useful in internal and/or external performance measurement activities.
Progress and Final Reports are important elements in ensuring accountability
and good management of public or private funding for research. The quality
and timeliness of these reports is one of the key elements that can influence
future funding. Reports should be prepared by researchers according to
the contractual obligations with the funding body. All reporting should
be submitted to the funding agencies on or before the due date as indicated
in the contract. Some organisations (such as the ARC, NHMRC) have pro-formas
for Progress and Final Reports and it is possible to download pro-formas
from their web pages. In situations where there is no pro-forma available,
summaries should be prepared. It must be consistent with the original
application and/or variations previously approved by funding body.
Researchers should forward reports to the Grants and Contracts Administrator
for review prior to submission to the funding body.
ARC Reporting
Progress and Final Reports for ARC-funded projects and fellowships are
important elements in ensuring accountability and good management of public
funding for research. Reports also assist in drawing attention to concerns
and problems that researchers face. Output reporting plays an increasingly
significant role in government research funding and policy.
Reporting requirements for each project are outlined in the relevant
Funding Contract and include:
| Progress Report |
31 January |
| End of Year Report |
31 March |
| Final Report |
Within six months of final payment of funds or approved
carry over, which ever is later |
| Industry Partner/Collaborating Organisation Agreed Contribution
Report (Linkage Projects only) |
Upon entering into a Funding Agreement, or at time of variation
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Progress Reports
Project Leaders must submit a Progress Reports for each ongoing project
by 31 January each year, except in the first year of funding. Linkage
Projects in Round 2 which have been underway for less than one year do
not need to submit a Progress Report. Please read the “Instructions”
section of the Progress Report before beginning. The report should outline
the progress of research conducted in the previous year, reporting against
the objectives stated in the proposal and/or subsequent amendments. Any
delays in research that have affected spending of funds must be outlined
in your Progress Report. If the ARC is not satisfied with the progress
of any project, further payment of funds will not be made until satisfactory
progress has been made. A reporting template will be made available to
you by the College’s Grants and Contracts Administrator prioir to
the submission date. Alternatively, templates are also available on the
ARC website.
End of Year Financial Reports
The ARC require annual financial reporting as a condition of funding.
This is done in the End of Year financial report, generated jointly by
the ANU College of Law Finance Dept and Special Purpose Funds. The ANU
must submit an EOY financial report for each project by 31 March in each
year following a year in which funding was awarded. The report contains
information on all expenditure for that year, including any unspent funds,
carry forward requests, and applicable justifications. Where a carry over
is requested for 75% or more of the funds allocated for a calendar year
(excluding any funds carried over from the previous calendar year), separate
justification must be provided. Funds will only be carried over more than
twelve months in exceptional circumstances. The Finance Dept will forward
an EOY report to all project leaders for review, prior to submission to
the ARC.
Final Reports
The ARC compiles statistics on the outcomes of publicly-funded research.
Final Reports give information on the number and types of publications
that each project has generated to date, the research training that has
been supported by the project, and the research personnel involved. The
Final Report should detail the outcomes of the project against the objective(s)
of the project as stated in the proposal and/or subsequent amendments.
Unless otherwise approved by the ARC, the Project Leader must ensure that
a Final Report is provided for each project within six months of the final
payment of funds or carry-over approved by the ARC, whichever is later.
The Final Report template is available online through GAMS.
Researchers, please note:
- If a submitted report is considered to be inadequate by the ARC,
the CIs, PIs and Fellows involved in the project may be contacted for
further information;
- If the ARC is not satisfied with the progress or outcomes of a project,
this may be noted against any further proposals under any ARC scheme
submitted by, or on behalf of, the CIs, PIs or Fellows and may be taken
into account in the assessment of these proposals; and
- Proposals submitted under any ARC scheme by, or on behalf of, any
CI, PI or Fellow involved with a project for which a Final Report is
still outstanding, may be deemed ineligible for approval or funding.
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