To apply for funding, you must be an enrolled Crawford School HDR student, had your TPR approved, have all your other milestones up-to-date, and have not yet submitted your notice of intention to submit (NOI); funds will not be provided for use after submission. Funds must be used to directly progress research that is integral to your thesis. Your chair of panel must be a continuing academic staff member of the Crawford School.

A sub-committee of the HDR committee will consider funding applications as they come in. All funding requests must be made well in advance of the need for the funding to allow the sub-committee to assess the appropriateness of the request. Accordingly, no retrospective applications will be accepted. This means that you must submit your application before your activity commences and before the committee next meets. No reimbursement for activities already undertaken will be provided.

Your application will be favourably viewed if you can demonstrate that you have also sought funding from other sources and that you have participated in the intellectual activities available to you at Crawford. You must have  successfully completed your mandatory research integrity training and your annual research plan, and your TPR must be approved by your supervisor. All other relevant milestones must be up-to-date and approved before applying for funding. You not will be given funding until your full panel has been appointed; if you do not have a full panel, the HDR-Committee will reduce or reject your request. Funding may be approved pending ethics and/or TPR approval.

Under normal circumstances, the maximum total amount of funding that any one student will receive over the life of their candidature is $9,000. Whilst we appreciate that your costings will be indicative, we ask for a reasonable justification of the dollar amounts you are claiming for funding. Funding is not an entitlement; all applications are assessed on academic need and the strength of the case. Here is some important information you should be aware of:

• Your milestones need to be up-to-date and fully approved (by your supervisor and the DA) in the Manage My Degree system.

• Please submit your application at least 2 weeks before the next HDR Committee meeting.

• If you intend to travel, you need to submit an ANU Travel Approval eForm and have it approved before departure. You are reminded that travel will be covered by the ANU Travel Insurance Policy only if you have completed the Travel Approval eForm.

• It will be looked upon favourably if you also apply for funding from other sources, such as from the Vice-Chancellor's HDR Travel Grants, which provide partial funding for travel and other costs.

• It will be looked upon favourably if, where possible, you are engaged in the intellectual activities provided to you for free at the Crawford School (for example, regular attendance and participation in seminars and local conferences, and dedicated Crawford PhD events). The supervisor's supporting statement should comment on such activities.

• All enquiries should be made to the HDR Administration Officer via cap.hdr@anu.edu.au.

• All submissions should be made to the HDR Administration Officer via cap.hdr@anu.edu.au. Please remember to include your student number as well as a subject line along the lines of, 'CRAWFORD PhD: HDR funding request, [insert your name and student number]'.

​​Conference funding

Download and fill out the application form

Conference funds should be used to progress research that is integral to your thesis. It is expected that conference papers will lead to a peer-reviewed publication so it should be your intention to submit the work for publication soon after your return.
To qualify for conference funding, you must have a paper accepted for presentation at a recognised, academic conference (i.e., not at a for-profit conference or similar). You should consider your strategy for attending conferences and be sure that you are applying at the right time in your candidature; it is essential that you discuss with your supervisor which conference(s) will be most appropriate, relevant, and useful to your research.

Your application will be favourably viewed if you can demonstrate that you have presented the paper in a Crawford or related seminar series (e.g., in the economics, CAMA, environment and resource management, national security, or public policy PhD student seminar series).

Approval may be given pending acceptance of the paper, but funds will not be released until proof of acceptance has been provided. Whilst we appreciate that your costings will be indicative, we ask for a reasonable justification of the dollar amounts you are claiming for funding; screenshots of online quotes are acceptable.

According to academic need, the following will be considered for conference funding:

• Airfares and other travel, including reasonable ground transportation

• Conference registration

• Networking events, up to a cap of $100

• Membership fees, up to a cap of $100

• Conference accommodation (please think about costs and aim for reasonably priced accomodation)

• Required immunisations (as recommended by smarttraveller.gov.au)​

For conferences, Crawford will not fund

• Miscellaneous, incidentals, per diems, or similar requests

• Meals

Applications for conference funding must contain:

• Evidence of acceptance of the paper to be presented at the conference

• A copy of the abstract of paper to be presented or a copy of the paper itself

• The names of at least two journals or outlets where you will seek to publish your work as well as the SSCI or Scopus or similar index (or indication of the outlet's quality and standing) for these journals or outlets

• A complete budget breakdown, including quotes for travel, reasonably priced accommodation, and registration fees; screenshots are fine

• A statement of any alternative sources of partial or full conference funding sought

• Supervisor's supporting statement (see the form), as well as a statement of your own contribution(s) to the school and/or university.

Fieldwork funding

Download and fill out the application form

​Fieldwork funds should be used to progress your research and this research must be integral to your thesis. Fieldwork refers to the collection of primary data for the purpose of meeting a specific research goal, and that is directly used in the final presentation of the research (i.e., the thesis). Examples of fieldwork include undertaking participant observation, conducting interviews and focus groups, and undertaking surveys or similar data collection methods that require direct engagement with participants. Pre-fieldwork, or ‘scoping’ work’, that must be legitimately carried out in order for the formal fieldwork to proceed is counted under this funding category; however, your TPR must still have been approved before funds for pre-fieldwork will be released. Experiments are not counted as fieldwork as they are typically conducted in a controlled environment. The collection of secondary data and attendance at meetings and similar are also not defined as fieldwork as they do not involve the collection of primary data that will be used in the final presentation of the research.

Students going on fieldwork must undertake the requisite fieldwork and risk management training required by ANU. Where required, ethics approval must be obtained before funding will be approved (funding may be approved conditional on ethics approval). Ethics approval is not necessarily required for pre-fieldwork or 'scoping' work, and therefore such funding can be released separately from funding for research that requires ethics approval. Whilst we appreciate that your costings will be indicative, we ask for a reasonable justification of the dollar amounts you are claiming for funding.

According to academic need, the following will be considered for fieldwork funding:

• Airfares and reasonable ground transportation

• Certain local transport (not including hire/private cars and drivers unless there is a demonstrated safety concern) • Visas

• Required immunisations (as recommended by smarttraveller.gov.au)

• Contribution towards translating, if required

• Contribution towards short-term, reasonably priced accommodation, where required

For fieldwork, Crawford will not fund

• Research assistants’ salaries or costs (the research should be the work of the student)

• Any staff salaries, payments, or honoraria for research, professional, or administrative staff

• Living expenses (these should be paid for out of your scholarship or earnings)

• Miscellaneous, incidentals, per diems, or similar requests

• Mobile devices or computers

• Gifts, fees, or simlilar for participants or others, unless specific items have been approved by the Ethics Committee. The HDR Committee nevertheless reserves the right to not approve these items.

• Meals for participants

• Car, bike, or motorbike hire, or the hire of a private car and driver (unless there are demonstrated safety and security concerns)

• Transcription costs

• Visiting fellowships, attendance at meetings, the collection of secondary data, and similar (they do not meet the definition of ‘fieldwork’, above; however, you may apply to fund such activities in the 'other funding' category)

Arguments for special consideration of otherwise non-funded or special items will be considered on a case-by-case basis. You must bring any specific security or safety concerns to the attention of the Committee.

Applications for fieldwork funding must contain:

• A statement explaining the value of the fieldwork for your thesis

• A statement outlining the fieldwork methods you will use

• A detailed plan of and timeline for your fieldwork (indicative dates are acceptable)

• A detailed breakdown of your budget (screenshots are fine)

• A statement of alternative sources of partial or full fieldwork funding sought

• Confirmation of ethics approval, if needed. Funding approval may be given pending ethics approval, but funds will not be released until proof of ethics approval has been provided. Please provide an email that shows that ethics approval has been granted.

• Confirmation that your compulsory fieldwork and risk management training required by ANU has been successfully completed.

• Confirmation that your First aid: remote area training (if required) has been successfully completed.

• Supervisor's supporting statement (see the form), as well as a statement of your own contribution(s) to the school and/or university.

To provide evidence of that you have completed the requisite training, please go to HORUS > View training summary and take a screenshot. Attach the screenshot to your application.

Other funding

Download and fill out the application form

Requests for 'other' resources will be considered by the HDR Committee. Prior to applying for funding you must
have completed all of your milestones. Your request should include:

• A statement of why the resource is required for progression of your thesis

• A clear estimate or quote for the cost of the resource(s)

• Supervisor’s supporting statement (see the form), as well as a statement of your own contribution(s) to the school and/or university.

• If you are requesting funding for journal article submission, then you need to provide a copy of the paper you will be submitting, as well as indicate when you intend to submit the article.

The HDR Committee may request information in addition to that listed above at its discretion once the nature of the funding request is understood. Funding for journal article submission fees is capped at $600 for a maximum of three separate submissions across the life of your candidature and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For other funding, Crawford will not fund:

• Mobile devices and computers

• Books, journal subscription, or similar

• Pre-fieldwork (funding for this must be applied for under the fieldwork funding category)

In rare instances, and if you are dealing with big data, the HDR Committee may consider funding a more powerful computer for your on-campus desk; however, in such cases there must be a demonstrated need for such an item. In particular, you will need to show that hardware configuration is essential to the significantly faster processing of your data and that handling big datasets does not simply require different data-processing skills. Any computers acquired in this manner must be purchased through the ANU’s purchasing system and will remain the property of the Crawford School. It would help your case if you could provide an expert recommendation -- in addition to your supervisor’s endorsement -- stating that the purchase of such an asset is essential to progressing your research. To apply for such an item, you must first discuss the matter with the PhD Academic and Research Skills Advisor.

​A note on data, training, and software
Please note that some data, training, or software are already available to students free-of-charge. If you need a particular software program to complete your thesis, first view the information on this site relating to Getting software. All data, training, and software needs must first be discussed with your supervisor.

​Copyediting funding

You may choose to manage your research funding budget to include the possibility of the copyediting of your final thesis draft before submission. This means you will have to weigh the likelihood that your thesis will need copyediting against the potential cost of a copyedit against costs you might forego for other items such as fieldwork, conference attendance, or the purchase of data. The maximum amount you can apply for for copyediting is $2,000. Download and fill out the application form for other funding for this category.

It should be noted that most theses do not need copyediting and as such you should make an informed decision as to whether or not you want to apply for funding to engage a copyeditor. To this end, your supervisor should be satisfied that a copyedit is needed and a sensible use of possible funds, and you should talk to the PhD academic and research skills advisor well in advance (maybe, even, up to 18 months or more in advance) of making your decision to apply for this funding. This is to ensure that you do not miss out on opportunities to apply for funding that might be more useful to your research earlier in your candidature. 

Funding for copyediting will only be considered if the following conditions are met: 

1. You are not on a scholarship, stipend, or similar that provides funding for copyediting  

2. You provide two quotes for the requested copyedit 

Funding for copyediting will not be released unless you have contacted and agreed to engage an editor who is accredited by the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) or who has credentials otherwise deemed suitable by the HDR committee. 

The copyeditor must comply with the ANU’s Guideline: Higher Degree by Research: Editing of Theses, in particular, 

• You must supply the editor with a copy of the ANU’s Guideline: Higher Degree by Research: Editing of Theses 

• The editor can is restricted to working only on standards D and E of the Australian standards for editing practice 

• You must acknowledge in your thesis the editorial assistance provided by the copyeditor 

Contact the PhD academic and research skills advisor before proceeding with your copyediting funding application to discuss all possible options. 

​Other training funding

An allocation of $200 in total per student is provided for fee-based training not provided free-of-charge by ANU or Crawford. This allocation is separate from the Crawford HDR funding described here. You do not need to apply separately for this, but you may need to supply a charge code for ANU-based training, in which case contact the PhD Academic & Research Skills Advisor.

​Travel approval

When you travel for conferences, fieldwork, and so on, you need to complete an online ANU Travel Approval eForm. This also acts as your travel insurance. If you have submitted but not yet received an approval for admission to the degree letter and you are travelling on university business, you should also still submit an approval form.

​Alternative sources of funding

There are other avenues of funding that you should also investigate. For example,

• The Vice-Chancellor’s HDR Travel Grants. Note that you need to apply for this grant 8 weeks in advance of travel, so please plan early.

• The ANU's Funding opportunities page 

• Conference organizers sometimes have scholarships available for PhD students.

• Your supervisor may be able to help you obtain funding from other sources, particularly if you are undertaking joint work with them.

• Your AusAID, Sir Roland Wilson, Endeavour, or other scholarship might have extra money available to you.

The Vice-Chancellor’s HDR Travel Grants provide funding to assist research students who meet specified criteria to facilitate mobility, enrich your academic experience, and enable you to undertake approved periods of study, or contribute to costs to enable attendance at a peak conference, or access special research needs directly related to the your field of study. You are strongly encouraged to apply for this grant before applying for Crawford HDR student funding.

The Crawford School’s Executive Education program offers some excellent professional development courses, ranging from one-to-multiple days’ duration, on topics as diverse as statistics, writing public policy, and trade barriers. Periodically, the program opens up a round of scholarships for PhD students from across ANU to attend free of charge. The scholarships are very competitive. Watch out for an email from Research Training, which will announce when scholarship applications are open, or visit the Executive Education website for more information.

Current ANU students may be eligible for other forms of scholarship and support from the university. Check the ANU’s Scholarships page for further opportunities.

Most grant schemes have a lengthy lead-in time: 6 and 12 months between the date the application is due and the date that the funding is announced. It is possible to get funding in a shorter time than this from some agencies or foundations but as a rule you need to make an early start looking for suitable grants. The CAP Research Services Office offer a personalised service for finding funding opportunities based on your field of research. Make an appointment to discuss your funding needs.

Tribute for Trevor Swan

“My father, Trevor Swan, is most famous for his contribution to economic theory but in fact he had no interest in theory for theory’s sake. He devoted his whole working life on a daily basis to improving Australia’s economic policy. I, my sister, Barbara Spencer, son, Tony Swan, and the whole of the Swan family is absolutely delighted that this highly prestigious award is being used to promote serious analysis of Australian economic policy in a unique manner.” Quote from Peter Swan, Trevor’s son, March 2017

The name of the prize recognises Trevor Swan – widely regarded as one of the finest Australian economists to have had distinguished careers in both government and academia. Trevor Swan’s article from 1956: “Economic growth and capital accumulation”. Economic Record 32 (2), pp.334–361, is one of the most cited articles in the history of economics (it remains the most cited article published in The Economic Record).​

The objective is to recognise and promote contributions to Australian economic policy. The intention is not to preclude specifically theoretical contributions – as such publications may have a direct link to policy debates (as was Swan’s celebrated article). There is currently an annual ‘Best Paper Prize’ for The Economic Record, sponsored by the publisher Wiley‐Blackwell. The focus of the Swan prize is the contribution to Australian economic policy. It is possible, though not inevitable, that one paper may win both prizes. The Swan prize will be considered every second year, commencing in 2017. It will be finalized in time for the announcement and presentation to be made at the Australian Conference of Economists in the same year.​

Criteria: Awarded to the paper considered by the selection committee to be the most important contribution to Australian economic policy published in The Economic Record in the previous two calendar years. The committee has the right to not make an award if it determines there are no meritorious papers.​

Judging: The selection committee will be appointed by Central Council on the recommendation of the President of the ESA to determine the paper to be awarded the prize. The committee shall comprise the President (ex officio) who shall be chair, one other member of Central Council, one Distinguished Fellow, and the Editor of The Economic Record (or nominee). It is anticipated that the selection committee will develop more detailed criteria as required. If, in the opinion of the selection committee no paper is considered to warrant the award of the prize, the value of the prize shall carry forward to the next award.​

Prize amount: $10,000.

View more information about the prize.

The JG Crawford Award is presented annually to the author of an unpublished research paper seen by the Selection Panel as making a substantial and original contribution to scholarship on Japan or on Australia-Japan relations. To be eligible for consideration papers should address some aspect of the operation of the Japanese economy or economic policy, or Japan’s international relations or relations with Australia, or the political environment affecting these affairs. The value of the Award is determined each year by a judging panel and in recent years has been $2,500. View more information on the JG Crawford Award.

• Crawford website info on scholarships

• Funding opportunities (ANU site)

• Australian Government Research Training Program (AGRTP) International Fee Offset Scholarship

• Help! I Have To Write A Grant Application

• ARC

• ARC Linkage Projects

• Australian Laureate Fellowships

• Discovery Indigenous

• Discovery Projects

• Future Fellowships

• Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities

• Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects

• Linkage Projects

• SPIN

• Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship

• Westpac Research Fellowships

• Asia & the Pacific Travel Grant 

• National Security College HDR Travel Grant