Innovation Support Pathways · Comparison
Support Pathway Map: Comparing the Options
The four pathways covered in this hub are built for very different projects. This page puts them side by side — by project type, stage, scale, partners and preparation — so you can see which conversations may be worth having. This is an orientation map, not an eligibility assessment: whether any pathway applies to your project depends on its structure, partners, evidence and the current official criteria.
The pathways at a glance
| R&DTI readiness | CRC-P | CRC Program | ARC Linkage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core logic | Tax-based support for self-assessed eligible R&D activities | Grant-funded, industry-led collaborative research project | Long-term cooperative research centre across a sector | University-led research with business as partner organisation |
| May suit projects that are… | In-house work with genuine technical uncertainty and experimental structure | Industry-defined problems needing a research partner, with a commercial outcome in view | Sector-scale challenges shared across many organisations | Problems with research depth that interest a university group on their merits |
| Typical stage & horizon | Any stage; assessed year by year against activities undertaken | Defined project term, medium horizon | Multi-year, long horizon | Multi-year, medium horizon, often with research students |
| Typical scale | From very small projects to large programs | Significant enough to justify a consortium and co-investment | Large — many partners, dedicated staff and governance | A research-group-sized project within a university |
| Partners involved | None required; an RSP may conduct the research | Industry partner(s) plus research partner(s) | Broad consortium: industry, research, often government | University (lead) plus partner organisation(s) |
| Who initiates / applies | The company self-assesses and registers its own activities | The industry-led consortium, in competitive rounds | A large consortium, in periodic selection rounds | The university, with the business as committed partner |
| Preparation centres on… | Experimental framing, contemporaneous evidence, self-assessment | Research-ready project definition and committed partners | Shared agenda, long-term co-investment, governance | University relationship, research framing, IP positions |
| Read more | R&DTI readiness | CRC-P explainer | CRC Program explainer | ARC Linkage explainer |
What this map deliberately leaves out: funding amounts, rates, thresholds, round dates and contribution levels. These settings change, and the only reliable place to read them is the official source for each program, linked below.
How to use this map
Start from the project, not the program. A project with real technical uncertainty and good records may make R&DTI readiness worth examining regardless of any other pathway. A project that genuinely needs a research partner opens the collaborative options — CRC-P for a bounded industry-led project, ARC Linkage where a university leads, and the CRC Program only where the challenge is truly sector-scale. The pathways are not mutually exclusive, and none of them turns a weak project into a strong one.
We deliberately make no eligibility judgements here. What we can help with is the step before any of these: whether your project has the research structure, partnerships and evidence that make a pathway conversation meaningful.
How Ignition Research helps
We help businesses understand which pathways may be worth investigating for a specific project, prepare the project structure and partnership logic each pathway typically expects, and document the research work itself. We do not assess eligibility, prepare applications or promise outcomes under any program.
Official sources
Not sure which conversation to start?
Bring us the project. Mapping it against these pathways — without prejudging any of them — is a short, useful piece of work.
Discuss your project with IRGeneral information only — not tax, legal, grant or R&DTI eligibility advice. This page compares program logic, not current program settings; criteria, funding arrangements and timelines change. Always confirm details on business.gov.au, with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, and with the Australian Research Council. Last reviewed: July 2026.