ARC Linkage Projects
Funds Australian universities and industry in co-funded projects with shared research contributions and partnership.
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
Linkage Projects 2026 (LP26) is the current round of the Australian Research Council's Linkage Projects scheme, which funds collaborative research partnerships between Australian universities and external research end-users—including industry, government agencies, and community organisations. The scheme's purpose is to initiate or develop long-term strategic research alliances, apply advanced knowledge to real-world challenges, and transfer skills and ideas from academia to practical benefit. From 2026, the scheme operates one assessment round per year, replacing the previous two-round structure. All applications must include at least one Partner Organisation, and combined Partner Organisation contributions in cash and/or in-kind must at minimum match the ARC funding requested, making this a mandatory 1:1 co-funding arrangement.
Project funding is AUD 50,000 to AUD 300,000 per year for two to five years. The submission window for LP26 ran 14 January to 18 March 2026. The rejoinder window runs 27 May to 10 June 2026; the Selection Advisory Committee meets 27–31 July 2026; the announcement is expected between 10 December 2026 and 9 March 2027. Deadlines close at 5:00 pm Canberra time. Applications are managed by a university Research Office and submitted through the ARC Research Management System; industry partners contribute as Partner Organisations but are not the formal applicant. Medical research is excluded from the scheme.
Linkage Projects reward proposals that demonstrate genuine collaborative intent and a clear research end-user with a concrete stake in the outcomes. The matched-contribution requirement means Partner Organisations must be firmly committed before submission. Researchers should engage their partner early to define shared research objectives, agree on in-kind contributions (such as staff time, data access, or facilities), and articulate a commercialisation or adoption pathway in the application. Documentation is on GrantConnect as Forecast Opportunity LP2025 and current opportunity GO8179. Universities handle all submission logistics, so researchers should initiate contact with their Research Office well before the round opens.
Open-topic, but every application must include at least one Partner Organisation (business, industry, government or community), and project must develop a long-term research alliance.
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