Successfully Navigating Unchartered Waters: Brooke Patterson’s ARC ECR Industry Fellowship
prof liz harry | June 2023
Prof Liz Harry
I was very excited to team up with Dr Brooke Patterson in reviewing her ECR ARC Industry Fellowship application. These fellowships are a new ARC scheme, so it’s uncharted territory. Brooke and I navigated it with the combined expertise of her superb track record in sports medicine research and excellent project proposal, and my extensive experience in writing successful ARC grants, including those where industry is a partner.
This Fellowship is well suited to Brooke’s career trajectory. She is a clear leader in her field, only having completed her PhD very recently. She has been working with her industry partner, the Australian Football League (AFL), for 5 years, and had developed a well-rounded mature relationship with them as a player, a coach, a physiotherapist, and a researcher.
Brooke was keen to get my advice on how she could present her track record and other sections involving industry commitment and alignment of the project in a way that addressed the purpose of this new ARC scheme. I have had roles that bridge academia and industry, and it was truly satisfying to use my experience in this space. Brooke had a clear track record with industry but needed to provide crystal clear examples of how she has contributed to the industry partner’s work in the application. This is often overlooked in funding applications as it seems too obvious but is crucial for success and gives an application a differentiative.
The scheme has been designed to reduce the application burden on ECRs (5-page project proposal and 2-page CV) but provided tight page-limit challenges. Our approach was to ensure that the CV included outcomes, not just publications, most relevant to Brooke’s industry partners and the proposal. It needed to complement rather than duplicate information in the candidate capability section of the proposal. The CV detailed a few major outcomes; detail that was not possible in the 5-page proposal. Brooke feels that the industry and capability sections got her over the line.
It was such an honour to work with Brooke, who was open to constructive feedback, which is critical for winning grants.
Image: Australian Research Council
Many thanks to Brooke and Liz for working so well as a team and we’re thrilled to see this worthy project funded.
Prof Liz Harry has vast experience and knowledge of the development of successful ARC grants and Fellowships, NHMRC and government grants, having been continuously funded throughout her research career. She has worked with industry and negotiated successful partnerships across academic, industry and government sectors.
