Innovation Support Pathways · ARC Linkage

ARC Linkage: Business–University Research Partnerships

The Australian Research Council's Linkage Program exists to connect university researchers with partners outside academia — including businesses. Its core logic: a university leads the research; a partner organisation contributes the real-world problem, resources and pathway to application. For a business, Linkage is less something you apply for and more something you participate in, alongside a university that holds the grant.

What this pathway is

Linkage Projects are competitive research grants awarded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) to eligible universities for research conducted in collaboration with partner organisations. The university is the applicant and administers the grant; the partner organisation — a company, government body or community organisation — joins the project with cash and in-kind contributions, and in return shapes the research direction and shares in its outcomes under a negotiated agreement.

A structural point worth knowing: ARC funding supports research with an emphasis on generating new knowledge, and the ARC operates within rules about the balance of basic and applied work it funds. Linkage projects are therefore genuine research collaborations — typically involving academic publication and research training — rather than contracted product development.

What kinds of projects it may suit

  • Problems with real research depth. The question must interest a university research group on its scientific merits — it needs to produce new knowledge, not just a working system for one company.
  • Medium-horizon timeframes. Linkage projects run over multiple years, often involving PhD students or postdoctoral researchers. This suits businesses investing ahead of need, not those needing an answer this quarter.
  • Businesses that value the relationship. Alongside the research itself, partners often gain access to specialist facilities, talent pipelines and a lasting connection with a research group in their field.

Where the problem is short-term, proprietary and application-focused, direct contract research or RSP-supported research delivery may fit better than the Linkage model.

What preparation may be required

  • A university relationship. Because the university applies, the practical starting point is finding a research group whose interests align with your problem — and giving that relationship time to develop before any proposal.
  • A problem framed as research. The business problem must be translated into questions a research group can investigate and publish on, while still serving your application goals.
  • Committed contributions. Partner organisations contribute cash and in-kind support (staff time, data, equipment, site access) at levels set by the current scheme rules.
  • Positions on IP and publication. Universities publish; businesses protect. Agreeing how intellectual property, confidentiality and publication will work is essential groundwork.

How Ignition Research helps

We help businesses understand whether a problem has the research depth and time horizon the Linkage model expects; prepare by framing the problem as researchable questions and structuring what the business side of the collaboration will contribute; and document the company's own preliminary and parallel R&D so the partnership is grounded in evidence. We do not prepare ARC applications — that is the university's role — and we make no representations about grant outcomes.

Official sources

Could your problem support a research partnership?

Testing whether a business problem has genuine research depth is exactly the kind of structuring work we do before any pathway is chosen.

Discuss your project with IR

General information only — not tax, legal, grant or R&DTI eligibility advice. ARC Linkage scheme rules, timelines and partner requirements change; always confirm current details with the Australian Research Council and the partnering university. Last reviewed: July 2026.