What is the Road Safety Innovation Fund?
The Road Safety Innovation Fund is a grant opportunity announced by the Australian Government on 29 March 2019 as a Budget measure to support road safety research and the development of new, innovative road safety technologies and products.
Background
To help address the rising rate of deaths and serious injuries on our roads, the Australian Government has allocated funding for a range of road safety infrastructure and non-infrastructure initiatives.
One of these non-infrastructure initiatives, the Road Safety Innovation Fund has been allocated $12 million over four financial years from 2019-20 to 2022-23 to support road safety research and the development of new road safety technologies and products. The Program is funded from Program 2.2: Road Safety as set out in the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities Portfolio Budget Statements 2019-20.
The Round 2 Grant Opportunity will be delivered by way of an open competitive round with a total value of $10 million over three financial years.
Objective
The objective of the Road Safety Innovation Fund is to improve road safety outcomes in the priority outcome areas outlined below with a long-term aim being to decrease harm and trauma related road crashes on Australian roads and create a safe and sustainable road transport system with zero deaths and serious injuries.
Funding
The Australian Government announced a total of $12 million (ex GST) over four financial years for the Road Safety Innovation Fund. Round 1 has been completed and has funded projects totalling $2 million.
Round 2 of the Program is expected to commit the full $10 million over the next three years, with no further funding available for additional rounds unless future Budget funding is announced. At this stage, the Program is scheduled to close on 30 June 2023.
Grant activities are expected to commence in the 2020-21 financial year upon execution of grant agreements.
- A maximum individual grant amount is capped at $150,000 in 2020-21 and $100,000 in 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years per grant.
- A maximum individual total grant amount is capped at $350,000 per grant over three financial years (2020-21 to 2022-23).
Eligible Projects
To be eligible your grant activity must:
- relate to one or more of the outcomes areas outlined in Section 2 of these Grant Guidelines;
- have at least $20,000 in eligible expenditure;
- agree that data obtained through the activity must be made available to the Australian Government Road Safety Data Network Hub.
Innovation can take the form of road safety management initiatives, new technologies or products. Applicants must note existing research programs and must not duplicate projects.
Eligible activities must directly relate to the grant activity and can include (but are not limited to):
- Reduction of road trauma and demonstration of evidence base or need;
- Innovative approaches to support the safe system approach;
- Real world testing of previous research findings to demonstrate actual Fatal and Serious Injuries (FSI) reductions to validate theoretical concepts (prototypes to develop or test real world outcomes will be considered);
- Investigate the scope to improve crash response and post-crash care in regional and remote areas;
- Explore barriers to correct the use of child restraints;
- Research into technology and human factors;
- Fatigue and distraction monitoring technology, building on recent work by National Transport Commission with the Alertness Co-operative Research Centre;
- Consider mechanisms to accelerate the exit of pre-2010 vehicles from the vehicle fleet;
- Trial eCall technology in Australian environment;
- Trials of innovative technology for protection of vulnerable road users;
- Assess barriers to the uptake and acceptability of advanced motorcycle rider assistance systems; and
- Research and data collection of heavy vehicle crashes to identify systemic issues.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible you must:
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be registered for the purposes of GST (unless exempt)
- be a permanent resident of Australia
- have an account with an Australian financial institution
- be located in Australia
and be one of the following entity types:
- a company incorporated in Australia
- a company incorporated by guarantee
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
- an incorporated association
- a partnership
- a joint (consortia) application with a lead organisation
- a registered charity or not-for-profit organisation
- a publicly funded research organisation as defined in the Glossary
- an Australian local government body
- an Australian state or territory government body
- an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006
Applicants must note existing research programs and must not duplicate projects.
Eligible areas can include:
- Infrastructure planning and investment
- Regional road safety
- Remote road safety
- Vehicle safety
- Indigenous Australians
- Heavy vehicle safety
- Vulnerable road users
- Risky road use
- Vehicles as a workplace
Timing
Applications close 29 March 2021.
