Defence Strategic Policy Research Program

To be eligible, an applicant must:

• Be an incorporated organisation in Australia.
• Hold an Australian Business Number.
• Be registered for GST.
• Hold an account with an Australian financial institution.
• Have an established board informed by a skills matrix for board positions.
• Provide all mandatory application attachments.
• Comply with all applicable formatting, file-size, word and page limits.
• Agree to comply with relevant recommendations from the Varghese Review.
• Agree to provide the Commonwealth with board observer status where relevant.
• Maintain policies governing the transparency and appropriateness of corporate, philanthropic and foreign funding.
• Comply with Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality.
• Comply with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
• Declare that it can continue meeting the required legislation, policies and standards throughout the grant period.

An incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust.

Organisations not eligible to apply

The following are not eligible:

• Organisations that are not incorporated in Australia.
• Overseas organisations and sole traders.
• Organisations already receiving Commonwealth operating funding for strategic policy work between 1 July 2027 and 30 June 2032.
• Individuals.
• Partnerships.
• Unincorporated associations.
• Trusts applying without an incorporated trustee.
• Commonwealth, state, territory or local government bodies.
• Government business enterprises and material government entities.
• Non-corporate Commonwealth entities.
• Organisations named as non-participants in the National Redress Scheme.
• Employers with 100 or more employees that do not comply with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.

A Commonwealth company established under the Corporations Act 2001 may be eligible.

All eligibility requirements are mandatory and cannot be waived.

Applicants must address all four weighted assessment criteria. Funding will only be awarded to applications that score highly across every criterion.

The amount of detail and supporting evidence provided should be proportionate to the size, complexity and funding requested.

Strategic alignment – 50 points

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Strong alignment between their activities and outputs and the priorities outlined in the National Defence Strategy.
• A clear understanding of publicly available Secretaries’ Committee on National Security priorities and other relevant national security initiatives.
• How their work will support and advance Australian Government defence and national security priorities.
• The timeliness, quality and scope of their proposed research and policy outputs.
• The ability to inform and shape defence strategic policy through research, outputs and institutional direction.
• The durability of the proposed deliverables and outcomes.
• The ability to adapt activities and outputs when the strategic environment changes.
• An informed understanding of the defence and national security policy environment.
• The organisational flexibility and responsiveness required of a member of the strategic policy sector.

Capacity, capability and resources – 20 points

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Appropriate governance and planning arrangements.
• How funded work will be managed, monitored and delivered.
• The ability to reduce or limit administrative expenditure.
• Transparent organisational and enterprise policies.
• Adequate governance structures and risk controls.
• Effective management of national security risks.
• Appropriate management of proposed engagement with foreign entities.
• Strong intellectual property protection arrangements.
• The ability to build and retain a suitably skilled workforce.
• Access to personnel with the relevant expertise and experience.
• Effective management of funding, security, cybersecurity, infrastructure and technology.

Impact of grant funding – 15 points

Applicants must demonstrate:

• How their work will encourage inclusive and informed public debate.
• The policy relevance of the proposed research contribution.
• How the research will inform, challenge or advance defence and national security policy development.
• How the proposed work will deepen dialogue and engage the public.
• How it will contribute new, alternative or underrepresented perspectives.
• Whether the work addresses a genuine capability or knowledge gap.
• Whether it provides a fresh analytical perspective or seeks to test, contest or refine existing findings.
• The qualitative, quantitative or longitudinal opportunities for public engagement.
• How the organisation will measure and report the impact and reach of its work.
• The quality, depth and significance of the meaningful change expected.
• The number or proportion of people expected to encounter the research or other strategic policy work.

Effective and efficient use of funding – 15 points

Applicants must demonstrate:

• The overall cost-effectiveness of the proposed program of work.
• How engagement with government and the strategic policy sector will be sustained.
• How the funded work will provide a strong return on investment.
• A clear, transparent and well-justified operating budget.
• All proposed income sources and co-contributions.
• A clear explanation of total costs.
• That proposed outputs and activities are proportionate to the funding requested.
• How resources will be used efficiently.
• How the funding will maximise the reach, relevance, quality and usefulness of the organisation’s strategic policy work.
• A performance framework containing specific, measurable and targeted indicators.
• How the performance framework will support the program’s reporting requirements.

Additional assessment considerations

Eligible applications will also be considered according to:

• How well they meet each assessment criterion.
• How they compare with other eligible applications.
• Their overall value with relevant money.
• Their contribution to the program’s objectives.
• The quality of the evidence provided.
• The amount of grant funding requested.
• Alignment with program objectives where applications receive equal rankings.
• Relevant past performance in other grant processes.
• National interest, financial, legal, regulatory and governance risks.
• Risks involving directors, officers, senior managers, key personnel and related corporate bodies.
• Any issue that could bring the Australian Government into disrepute.
• Any conflict between the proposed funding and Australian Government policy.

A Defence-led, cross-agency assessment panel will assess eligible applications and may obtain advice from independent experts. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence will make the final funding decisions.

Successful applicants should demonstrate:

• Strong and direct alignment with the National Defence Strategy and national security policy research priorities.
• A clear contribution to Australia’s defence and national security policy development.
• Timely, credible and high-quality research and policy outputs.
• The ability to adapt the proposed work as strategic priorities change.
• A realistic and durable five-year program of work.
• Experienced personnel and sufficient organisational resources.
• Robust governance, risk management and project monitoring arrangements.
• Effective management of national security, foreign engagement, cybersecurity and intellectual property risks.
• A commitment to transparent funding and organisational policies.
• The ability to minimise unnecessary administrative expenditure.
• Meaningful engagement with government, the strategic policy sector and the wider public.
• Opportunities to include diverse, new and emerging strategic policy talent.
• A measurable approach to assessing the impact and reach of funded work.
• A clear and well-supported project budget.
• Strong value for money and outputs proportionate to the funding requested.
• Specific and measurable performance indicators.
• The ability to deliver effectively if only 75 per cent or 50 per cent of the requested funding is awarded.
• Complete, accurate and relevant supporting evidence for every eligibility and assessment requirement.

Applicants should prepare:

• A project plan incorporating a risk management plan, limited to six pages.
• A detailed project budget covering all income sources, eligible expenditure and deliverables.
• Details of any applicant or third-party co-contributions.
• Evidence supporting the organisation’s funding strategy.
• Relevant financial statements, loan agreements and cash-flow documents.
• Evidence of the skills matrix used for board appointments.
• A link to the organisation’s most recent annual report, where publicly available.
• A trust deed, where applicable.
• Evidence of compliance with relevant legislation, policies and industry standards.
• Evidence supporting every assessment criterion.
• Details of proposed research, policy outputs, activities, milestones and outcomes.
• Governance, workforce, security, cybersecurity and intellectual property arrangements.
• A performance framework with measurable indicators.
• Details of what will be delivered at the full amount requested.
• An explanation of the impact of receiving only 75 per cent or 50 per cent of the requested funding.
• Details of proposed foreign engagement and associated risk controls, where relevant.

Applications must be completed and submitted through the business.gov.au online portal.

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