NeAT Project Arrangements

Governance

NeAT Projects are constituted as activities within the business pans of ANDS and ARCS and are therefore subject to the requirements of the ANDS and ARCS joint ventures and the funding agreements between ANDs and ARCS and the Commonwealth Government.

The following arrangements provide a common approach to the management of NeAT Projects:

• Each Project has a Project Committee appointed consisting of
  • a prominent discipline leader as the Project Committee Chair
  • an ANDS representative (the Executive Director or delegate)
  • an ARCS representative (the Executive Director or delegate)
  • representatives from any other institutions that would manage the enduring services provided by the Project
  • community nominated discipline representatives
  • a designated Project Manager (ex officio)

• Where a suitable discipline Chair could not be found, the Chair will be either the ANDS or ARCS representative, as agreed between ANDS and ARCS

• Each Project has a Project Manager who would be appointed by the relevant Project Committee

• The Project Manager must be the person who manages the day to day work of the project and will report directly to and be directed by the Project Committee

• The governance structures of ANDS and ARCS also need to be satisfied with the Project Committee's management of the project in order to ensure the funds keep flowing, which provides the appropriate checks and balances and ensures accountability

• Core responsibilities of each of the Project Committees include
  • overseeing and approving the design and implementation of an appropriate and relevant enduring service
  • and at the end of the Project identifying and establishing a Steering Committee of key stakeholders and service providers to manage this enduring service into the future and to take over from the Project Committee

• ARCS and ANDS will jointly review each Project every three months using their standard processes and the Project Committees would review their project every six months with a written report from the Project Manager. NeAT would review all Projects annually in September, beginning 2009, as part of the established NeAT processes

• ANDS and ARCS will provide Project funds quarterly in arrears based on acceptable performance on a per EFT basis for each Project

• The ANDS and ARCS quarterly reviews will be the trigger for either approving or withholding NeAT funds for that quarter from a Project or a component of a Project as appropriate

Rate of Expenditure

Considering the available $12 million of cash funding across ARCS and ANDS, then:

• Proto-NeAT activities have expended approximately $525k, which is approximately 4%
• the 6 approved agreed Projects expend approximately 50%
• the remaining potential projects that might be agreed in the first round are estimated to expend approximately a further 15%

leaving approximately 31% of the available $12 million for the second round which would become part of the 2009-10 Business Plans for ARCS and ANDS (noting that any unspent funding, due to non-appointment or partial delivery of effort, could be returned to grow the second round).

Assuming similar project funding profiles in the second NeAT round, it follows that only approximately five additional significant integrative projects can be implemented during the remainder of the NCRIS funding period.

Total cost estimates

The agreed Projects total to an expenditure of $2.45 million from NeAT funds in 2008-09.

That funding is leveraging significant in-kind contributions from service providers and discipline communities including an in-kind contribution of more than 28 EFTs.

As an estimate, we have:

• the Australian Research Council's standard in-kind multiplier of 1.25 based on salary plus on-costs
• the majority of project staff will be employed through universities
• the typical salary plus on-costs for those people is expected to be approximately $100k (on costs are $29% at universities)
• a total average cost per EFT of $100k + $125k = $225k.

As some staff (as in the MARCS) will have lower cost structures, and as some funds will be provided to support non salary costs, a reasonable and conservative estimate can be derived by taking 80% of this number as the basis for estimating a minimum in-kind contribution.

Therefore in the case of effort funded through NeAT, as ARCS (for example) has agreed to provide $120k from PfC funds, each EFT will entail an in-kind contribution of $60k. So that if NeAT provides $2.45m in cash, the total cost of that effort will be about $3.6m.

The 28 in-kind EFT equates to a further $5m leading to a total project value of $8.6m per year, ensuring NeAT funds are a minority component of the overall project costs.

ARCS/ANDS Cost Division

ARCS and ANDS have also agreed how their respective funding should best be applied in the coming business year.

The following have been agreed as principles to guide the funding allocation:

• All the proposed Projects have both ANDS (data management) and ARCS (collaboration tools and services) related components; as such, both entities are interested in their success and care about their governance
• All the proposed projects will have ANDS and ARCS representation on their steering committees
• The precise nature of the projects (and the relative emphasis of ARCS or ANDS concerns within the projects) will not become clear until after the projects have commenced
• The money in the NCRIS budgets for ANDS and ARCS should be seen as PfC money to be used for the greater good of NCRIS
• ARCS and ANDS have developed a close and collaborative working relationship

Consequently, ANDS and ARCS have agreed that the NeAT projects will be supported in FY 2008/9 50% by ANDS and 50% by ARCS. This funding split will be reviewed for FY 2009/10 as part of the normal business planning cycles for both ARCS and ANDS

-- RhysFrancis - 15 May 2008