auDA unveils new Research and Development grants and announces 2024 Community Grant Program

This is a new grant program from auDA’s Public Benefit Program to support our strategic objective to invest in innovation by others.

The FY2024-25 Research and Development Grant Program Applicant Guidelines provide detailed information on what we are seeking to fund and how to apply.

In FY2024-25, the auDA Board will consider funding up to two grants, with each grant to receive funding over a period of three years.

Applications can be submitted for three-year grants seeking between $300,000 and $500,000 per annum.

Grants are considered a gift and are exclusive of GST.

Please refer to the Guidelines for further information on what can be included in your project budget.

The maximum project duration is 42 months, which must include time for reporting and acquittal.

Eligible applicants must be an Australian university or research organisation registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC).

Consortiums and collaborations are encouraged and must appoint a lead organisation which must meet all eligibility requirements. Applicants must ensure all partners, including any international partners, are listed in their application and include a letter of support from each of the partner organisations.

The lead organisation will be responsible for communications regarding the program with auDA or its authorised vendors, and, if successful, for signing the grant agreement and ensuring reporting requirements are met.

Please refer to the Guidelines for further detail on eligibility requirements. Eligibility criteria cannot be waived.

Applicants may submit one application per organisation except universities which may submit one application per faculty, up to a maximum of three applications.

All applications from universities must be approved for submission by the university Advancement team.

Applicants are welcome to collaborate with others on additional applications.

The FY2024-25 Research and Development Grant Program will fund initiatives that support the auDA Public Benefit Program goal to deliver impact through projects on the following themes:

• The role of the domain name system (DNS)
• Governance of the internet (including the DNS)
• Technical resilience of the DNS
• Digital Inclusion.

Eligible projects must not duplicate activities that have already been funded through a grant or commissioned research by auDA.

Please refer to the Guidelines for further information on eligible activities.

Ineligible activities include:

• Political lobbying activity, including activities to influence the outcome of any specific public election
• Any religious or sectarian purpose
• Any activity that may lead to private financial benefit of individuals beyond incidental items such as payment of reasonable employment salaries
• Any unlawful activity in Australia.

Applicants should not assume they will have access to auDA data as part of their grant applications. In general auDA cannot use data provided by registrants for purposes other than which it was collected in accordance with privacy law. auDA may consider making some de-identified samples of data available. For example this could include counts of domain names by postcode.

auDA staff will conduct an initial review to ensure applications are eligible.

An Independent Expert Panel will review all eligible applications against the assessment criteria and recommend a shortlist for the auDA Board to consider.

The decision of the auDA Board will be final.

Please refer to the Guidelines for further information regarding the assessment process including the criteria.

Progress reports will be required throughout the duration of the grant. These reports should include quantitative and qualitative data regarding the progress of the project against the agreed milestones as well as a financial report detailing expenditure to date.

A final acquittal report will also be due at the conclusion of the project and should detail achievement of goals and objectives and final expenditures for the project.

Please refer to the Guidelines for further information regarding additional monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment requirements.

The auDA Board will make their decision in early February 2025. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by mid-February.

Your organisation must be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

We will refer to your information on the Charity Register during our assessment of your application. Please ensure your financial reporting and responsible person listing is up to date. Financial Reports must be signed by your auditors.

The grant cannot be used to fund basic digital skills training or development. 

There are many free and accessible resources available from not-for-profit organisations such as Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and Good Things Foundation Australia. 

Applicants must be confident they have adequate skills and resources to deliver their proposed project. auDA seeks to select projects that can be delivered by digitally capable organisations in particular with established policies and procedures to manage cyber security and protect stakeholder data. 

Infoxchange is a not-for-profit social enterprise that has been delivering technology for social justice for over 30 years. Infoxchange offers a range of guides and training for not-for-profits that need to assess or build their digital capability. Further information can be found at their Digital Transformation Hub.

The grant cannot be used for the purchase of IT equipment including devices, data or software.

Visit the Infoxchange website for information on how Australian not-for-profits can source discounted and donated technology for their organisation or their stakeholders.  

ACCAN maintains a list of organisations that may be able to help you source affordable devices.  

The Community Grant Program will fund proposals where the need, potential solution and impact are well-evidenced.

Your evidence may be quantitative or qualitative data, including from:

• Government sources such as Australian Bureau of Statistics, Department of Social Services or your local council 
• Research or inquiries such as a Royal Commission 
• Quantitative and qualitative feedback from stakeholders 
• Tools such as the Social Cohesion Compass.

We will fund projects with demonstrated community engagement. We also ask you to provide letters of support from project partners, priority group representatives or stakeholders. The letter should indicate that your project partners, priority group representatives and stakeholders think your proposal has merit and that your organisation is best-placed to deliver the activity. Letters that demonstrate authentic community consultation or co-design will be well-regarded.

The Program will fund proposals where the activities can be delivered in 12 months or less. The grant activity period is from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Please ensure you have identified the necessary staff, expertise, equipment, approvals and stakeholder relationships essential for your timely delivery.

You should consider whether any ethics approval is required and the impact that may have on your ability to deliver the project in the 12 months grant period. This may be most relevant for applicants from universities. 

The total project budget can be more than $40,000.

Your total project budget should be such that a grant is a meaningful contribution. Applicants are required to make an in-kind or financial contribution of at least 10 per cent of the total project cost. Any other funding sources will need to be confirmed before a grant can be awarded.  

auDA will fund website or APP development only if it delivers high impact functionality for your stakeholders. We may consider projects that:

• Incorporate high levels of accessibility as needed by your stakeholders
• Deliver information in an underserved language.

Sustainability means your project will continue to have impact beyond the grant period. We will look for projects that: 

• Develop new resources, processes or activities that become incorporated into your business as usual and help you better serve your stakeholders
• Develop a service or tool that can generate revenue for your operations or to invest in new initiatives.
• Develop stronger ongoing partnerships with your project stakeholders 
• Communicate your findings with a broader and/or influential audience so that more Australians benefit from your project.

We know change takes time. In your application you should include information about your inputs, outputs, outcomes and potential impact as well as how you will measure and evaluate that you have achieved digital inclusion or digital innovation. This will let us know the potential impact your project may have in the short, medium and long term for your organisation, your stakeholders and your sector. 

The following organisations provide free resources about evaluation and measuring impact: 

• Better Evaluation
• Centre for Social Impact
• Seedkit – Melbourne Social Equity Institute
• Social Ventures Australia.