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Strategic policy research projects can now request funding from the latest round of Defence grants.
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Defence has announced the opening of the 2023 Strategic Policy Grants Program (SPGP) for the fifth consecutive year, set up to support and encourage independent research and public policy engagement.
The SPGP aims to stimulate debate, and bolster Defence’s partnerships, and ultimately inform strategic policy advice.
Defence has invited applications directly aligning with current priority policy topics, including in the areas of:
- strategic competition, particularly in the Indo-Pacific;
- expanding capabilities and technologies in the information, cyber and space domains; and
- threats to human security and state fragility in Australia’s immediate region, such as climate change and pandemics.
Applicants are encouraged to focus on priority policy topics likely to be relevant to Defence over the next five to 10 years.
First assistant secretary, strategic policy, Dr Peter Sawczak said the program could award up to $3.5 million in grant funding in 2023.
“The Strategic Policy Grants Program adds real value to Australia’s defence policy debate, allowing Defence to source fresh thinking on priority topics,” Dr Sawczak said.
“The program aims to fund a diverse range of perspectives, including from new, emerging, and established defence and national security experts.
“If you can offer valuable insights into Australia’s future defence and security needs, we strongly encourage you to apply.”
The 2023 SPGP round is expected to close on 31 August 2022, with successful applicants notified in April 2023.
The opening of the SPGP follows Chief Defence Scientist Professor Tanya Monro’s announcement of round two recipients of the National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants (NISDRG) program, aimed at addressing emerging threats in a changing national security environment.
The grants are expected to fund further research into:
- addressing vulnerabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) systems;
- investigating supply chain risks;
- new explosive detection methods;
- the development of sensing technology;
- secure computing; and
- machine learning for miniature satellites and electromagnetic shielding.
The grants are administered by the Australian Research Council (ARC), tasked with enabling national intelligence and security communities to systematically engage with Australian researchers.
[Related: National security projects secure funding boost ]
