Open Call: AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program

Background

The AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program goal is to invest in RD&E that will secure a productive, sustainable and more profitable Australian beekeeping industry and secure pollination of Australia’s horticultural and agricultural crops. To ensure the Program goal is achieved, AgriFutures Australia is currently seeking research proposals to address targeted investment priorities outlined below.

During this Open Call, AgriFutures Australia is seeking research proposals that align with the Varroa destructor Research Strategy and the Honey Bee and Pollination Program RD&E Plan. Alignment to the listed investment priorities must be demonstrated in all submissions made to the Open Call. Investing in projects which are aligned with the research, development and extension (RD&E) priorities and objectives of the industry ensures that AgriFutures Australia is investing in research that meets the needs of the honey bee and pollination industry. If researchers are unsure of the alignment and relevance of their research to the listed investment priorities, they are encouraged to speak with the AgriFutures team.

AgriFutures Australia is only seeking proposals which address at least one of the following investment priorities:

• An integrated approach to varroa management
• Minimising the impacts of varroa on honey bee health
• Breeding resistant honey bees
• Slowing the spread of varroa
• Pollination continuation
• Floral resource access and industry sustainability
• Enhance industry capability

Download full Open Call document

We welcome and encourage your collaboration with other research providers to build the critical research mass necessary to meet our objectives.

Further details regarding these research priorities can be found in the Varroa Destructor Research Strategy and the Honey Bee & Pollination Program RD&E Plan.

The AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program Open Call closes 12 noon on Wednesday, 12 February 2025.

Timeline

Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will be used to assess your application and will have equal weighting applied:

• How relevant is the project to the research priorities of AgriFutures Australia?
• How relevant is the project to the research priorities of the Program?
• How important do you think it is for AgriFutures Australia to invest in this research?
• How much value do the benefits of this research provide to industry?
• How important is this research to industry?
• Was the industry consulted or were adequate industry letters of support required?
• How important are the expected outcomes of this project to industry?
• How important are the outputs/deliverables from this project to the industry?
• The value for money for this project.
• The project design – how conceptually sound and technically feasible is the project?
• The potential for adoption in industry.
• The potential for commercial pathways.
• The value of any potential IP resulting from this project.
• The capability of the Project Lead.
• The experience of the Project Lead.
• The capability of the Research Organisation.
• The experience of the Research Organisation.

Proposals should clearly indicate the following:

• The project benefits for the honey bee industry.
• The objectives and outcomes of the proposed project and the link to the R&D objectives.
• Who will be undertaking the majority of the work, including statistical analysis (it must be clear if new staff, and/or students, are to be employed to undertake the work).
• The plan for extension and adoption of research outcomes from the project activity work, i.e. beyond distribution of summaries, journal papers and conference presentations.
• Where relevant, proposals should include collaboration with experts in the field, which may not be located in Australia.
• The researcher’s understanding of past research in this field.

The researcher must complete the checklist prior to the submission being accepted:

• If the project requires statistical analysis, has a qualified statistician been engaged to undertake project design and data analyses?
• Is the Principal Investigator an early career researcher (less than five years since postgraduate study completion)?
• Has the proposal been discussed with AgriFutures Australia?
• Has the proposal been discussed with people in the Program industry?
• Does the proposal identify if the work potentially relates to the Program objective?
• Does the proposal clearly identify who will be undertaking the bulk of the work (might not necessarily be the Principal Investigator)?
• Does the proposal clearly articulate what the applied outcome for industry will be? (even if it is a long-term applied project, there should still be a focus on an applied outcome).
• Does the proposal clearly outline what the potential process might be for identifying extension opportunities? (Excluding publications and opportunities for presenting the work at conferences).
• Does the proposal take into consideration where the international expertise is in the area of research?
• The Principal Investigator must comply with the application process within K2.

Submitting an application

Applications for this Open Call must be submitted online using the PRP application in K2.

New users need to register for access to the K2 platform, please note the provision of login details may take up to two business days.

Click here to login to K2

Users must create a K2 account before submitting a proposal. To set up a secure account before submitting a proposal, please visit the login page below to access our new user or new company request forms.

Usernames and passwords will only be issued while the applicant round is open.

K2 user guides and login

If you require assistance, please contact

Terms of Reference

AgriFutures Australia uses standard form contracts and agreements for projects and research procured by AgriFutures Australia (please refer to https://agrifutures.com.au/contracts-and-agreements/). These contracts and agreements set out the terms on which AgriFutures Australia will engage successful applicants to carry out the project.

Applicants must be familiar with the contracts and agreements before submitting a response, and are advised to seek legal advice beforehand.

These contracts and agreements have been developed to reflect AgriFutures Australia’s statutory and other procurement responsibilities.

If you require any amendments to the standard agreement please complete the statement of non-compliance for each of the relevant clause. AgriFutures will then assess those requests.

Applicants will be taken to have agreed to all clauses in the Research Agreement that are not referred to in a statement of non-compliance. The extent of any non-compliance will be a factor in AgriFutures Australia’s evaluation of the application.

If you require further information regarding these contracts and agreements please, contact:

James Holding
Program Manager

Contact

Should you have any questions about the Open Call, please direct all enquires to James Holding, Program Manager (details below) prior to 5pm on Friday, 24 January 2025 (for questions relating to making a submission in K2, please email ).

The Program Manager will take questions via email or phone. Individual responses to questions relating to the Open Call will not be provided. A response, along with the question, will be posted in the Frequently Asked Questions section, below, within 24 hours of receival.

Contact:

James Holding
Program Manager

The AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program Open Call closes 12 noon (AEDT) on Wednesday, 12 February 2025.