Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research today called for interested Australians to respond to a consultation paper on the development of the Government’s new Future Fellowships scheme.

Senator Carr made the comments while speaking at the opening of the Remote Engineering Laboratory at the University of Technology, Sydney.

In the Federal Budget, the Government met its election commitment to fund the $844 million Future Fellowships scheme for top mid-career researchers.

The scheme will offer 1,000 talented Australian and international mid-career researchers four-year fellowships of up to $140,000 a year. Host organisations will receive an additional $50,000 a year to support related infrastructure, equipment, travel and relocation costs.

It will be run by the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the Government calls on all interested parties to have their say in the running of this critical scheme, by reading and commenting on the Future Fellowships Consultation Paper.

The internationally competitive scheme will provide an incentive for Australian researchers based overseas to return home to continue their work and attract the best international researchers to our shores.

All of these researchers will bring with them a wealth of knowledge learned from overseas experiences and ongoing connections to international collaborations and networks.

The scheme will seek to encourage those researchers who can demonstrate a capacity to build collaboration across industry, research institutions, and with other disciplines.

The ARC will collaborate with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other public research organisations in assessment of funding proposals. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate a link between each Fellowship and the host organisation’s research strengths to ensure that they align with planning for renewal and expansion of the research workforce.

The closing date for feedback on the Future Fellowships Consultation Paper is 27 June 2008. The first round of Fellowships will be awarded in 2009.