Funding university research for future defence capability

AUSMURI operates in conjunction with the United States Department of Defense’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI). It encourages partnerships between Australian and US-based institutions.

Each year AUSMURI designates a topic that is a research priority for Australia’s future defence capability. If an Australian university is part of a successful submission to the US MURI for a research project on the designated topic, it can then apply for AUSMURI funding for that project.

The AUSMURI program will provide 100% of eligible project costs up to a maximum of AUD$1 million per year over 3 years. Projects may be extended for a further 2 years, subject to approval, with additional funding of AUD$1 million per year.

What are the eligibility criteria?

To be eligible, you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be a higher education provider listed at Table A or Table B of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth)
• be the lead Australian university in an approved MURI submission on a designated topic.

 Your project must:

• be approved through MURI on a designated topic
• include eligible expenditure
• be undertaken in Australia.

What are the designated topics?

The designated topic for AUSMURI Round 2 is:

• Topic 6: Active perception and knowledge exploitation in navigation and spatial awareness

The designated topic for AUSMURI Round 3 is:

• Topic 11: Adaptive and adversarial machine learning

You can find details of the MURI funding opportunity on grants.gov using the funding opportunity number N00014-19-S-F005. For details of the AUSMURI Round 3 designated topic, go to the ‘Related documents’ tab and select N00014-19-S-F005 Amendment 0001.pdf.

Applying for AUSMURI is a two-step process.

Step 1: MURI

The US MURI funding opportunity is announced on grants.gov. Through a US lead university, you submit your collaborative MURI proposal to the US authorities in line with MURI requirements.

If you are selected to be part of a US–Australia collaborative research project on the designated topic, you can proceed to step 2 and apply for AUSMURI funding.

The deadlines for MURI are as follows:

• White Papers for the prerequisite MURI Round 3 must be received no later than 3 June 2019 at 11:59pm Eastern (US) Time.
• Applications for the prerequisite MURI Round 3 must be received no later than 13 September 2019 at 11:59 PM Eastern (US) Time.

Step 2: AUSMURI

Applications for AUSMURI Round 3 are expected to open in April or May 2020.

Before you apply

Read the grant opportunity guidelines and sample grant agreement. The guidelines provide detailed information on the:

• grant opportunity, including grant objectives
• eligibility criteria
• assessment processes
• reporting and acquittal requirements
• review mechanisms

How to apply

The current AUSMURI application form is only available to the eligible Australian university that was part of an approved MURI submission for the 2018 designated topic.