North American partnerships and funding

The United States has long been the largest international research partner for Australia and is a global leader in research and innovation. ANU researchers maintain a wide range of links with North American partners and the University invests in a number of strategic initiatives and partnerships. The United States is also the largest source of international funding for ANU research.

University partnerships

ANU has over 25 active partnership agreements with US universities and 17 with Canadian universities. These encompass research collaboration as well as staff and student exchange and include institutions such as Harvard, Indiana University, University of Maryland, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the East-West Center.

Strategic alliances

ANU is a member of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) as well as the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU).

  • North American IARU members
    • Yale
    • University of California - Berkeley
  • North American APRU members
    • University of British Columbia
    • Caltech
    • Stanford University
    • University of California - Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara
    • University of Hawaii
    • University of Oregon
    • University of Southern California
    • University of Washington

Research partnerships

ANU a founding partner in the Giant Magellan Telescope, currently being constructed in Chile by an international consortium. When completed, it will be the world's most powerful telescope, with a resolution ten times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Australian Government has invested $88 million in the GMT project, which also includes North American partners Harvard University, the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, the University of Arizona and the University of Chicago.

Research funding opportunities

ANU receives funding from many North American sources, including governments, companies and philanthropic foundations. The ANU Strategic Plan includes a focus on increasing and diversifying international research funding.

During 2020, the North American Liaison Office (NALO) and the Research Services Division (RSD) ran a series of webinars for staff on opportunities and best practice with US funding, featuring ANU academics who have been successful with US funders including the National Institutes of Health, defence research funding agencies and private foundations.

In March 2021, NALO and RSD jointly published a new Guide to US Federal Funding, which is available to ANU staff from the internal website below. Please contact NALO staff if you would like any further information.

https://services.anu.edu.au/research-support/funding-opportunities/us-funding-agencies