Funders have advice and requirements around GenAI and research that are best factored in early; at the planning stages of your project

The ARC

The Australia Research Council (ARC) awards grant schemes in social sciences, humanities, education and law.

Like universities, the ARC regards the use of GenAI in grant applications, and in funded projects and their outputs, to be governed by the Australian CODE of Responsible Conduct of Research. The ARC has a dedicated Research Integrity Policy & Office to govern and advise on the CODE.

TEQSA's ten tips will help you to plan compliant uses of GenAI in your research project.  

Important Considerations for ARC Applications, Rejoinders, and Review Processes:

• If you are considering using an Assistive or Generative AI tool to help you prepare aspects of your ARC grant application or your rejoinder, make sure you know and understand the confidentiality risks of the tool you are using

• The content generated by GenAI in your application or rejoinder may be based on other researchers copyrighted intellectual property, along with the usual concerns around bias and factual content
•  If you are asked to review an application, "the ARC advises that peer reviewers should not use AI as part of their assessment activities"

For more information refer to the ARC Policy Statement on the use of GenAI in Grants Programs. 

You can also get in touch with VU's Research Funding Team for detailed advice.

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) awards an extensive program of grants in Australian Medicine and Health research.

Visit their funding opportunity board or talk to VU's Research Funding Team to learn about the different schemes.

The NHMRC has devised a policy statement on the use of GenAI in grant applications and their peer review. 

Like the ARC, the NHMRC:

• Regards GenAI tools' lack of adherence to confidentiality codes and copyright law as problematic for their use in grant applications and rejoinders.  
• Ultimately, they claim, it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that their submission meets the Australian CODE of responsible research, including norms around confidentiality and copyright.
• Peer reviewers "must not input any part of a grant application, or any information from a grant application, into a natural language processing and/or artificial intelligence technology system to assist them in the assessment of applications". (NHMRC 2023)

Remember TEQSA's ten tips can help you to plan compliant uses of GenAI in your research project.  

Category 2, 3 & 4 Grant Schemes

Other Public Service grants, as well as Industry grants and Community grants funded in Australia, are all governed by the Australian Code of responsible research - and will therefore have similar stipulations as the ARC and NHMRC around the use of GenAI in funding applications, and funded projects and their outputs.

International Partners

Where an Australian grant application or funded project involves international research partnerships, or has been awarded by an international funding body - researchers will need to appraise themselves of the relevant national or regional GenAI in Research policies governing that funding.

For example:

• The European Commission Guidelines on the responsible use of generative AI in research