Applications have now closed for ON Prime! If you'd like to be the first to hear about our next cohort application round, sign up to our expression of interest list.
To keep updated on all things ON Program, please subscribe to our mailing list
If you have questions about ON Prime, please contact us via email: on@csiro.au
Where ideas take off: Welcome to ON Prime
ON Prime is a free program designed to help research teams of two to five people take their projects to the next level through customer discovery activities and more. We work with researchers at any stage of their project across all disciplines.
During the nine weeks of ON Prime, you will develop a deeper understanding of the people who could benefit the most from your research and sharpen your skills to communicate with that audience.
Expert facilitators will support you to build evidence for the impact of your research, so you can make a difference in the world and attract the resources you need along the way. Remotely delivered sessions are spaced out approximately two weeks apart and you should allocate additional time between sessions to undertake stakeholder engagement activities.
What teams will get out of ON Prime
Every team's pathway is different, so what your team gets out of ON Prime will depend on what you are seeking to achieve.
Outcomes from teams in recent years include:
- attracting new funding sources
- establishing new partnerships
- increasing industry engagement
- improving clarity around the impact and focus of their research
- increasing confidence communicating their research
- forming team bonds in a new project group
- licensing IP or creating a new start-up venture.
Participating teams can receive up to $5000 to reward engagement and learning velocity in the program.
Teams have to meet minimum attendance requirements as well as showcase presentation to graduate from the program.
Who can participate in ON Prime
To participate in ON Prime, you must apply with a team of two to five people.
One person needs to be a researcher at an Australian university or a Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO)**. The rest of your team may include anyone else you think will add value to your team, for example:
- your colleagues
- people from other research organisations
- community representatives
- industry partners
- university students
- someone from your organisation involved in research services, tech transfer, communications.
If you are a small team, think about who else you could involve in ON Prime to strengthen your group.
All team members should be based in Australia for the duration of the program.
** PFROs include: Australian higher education providers listed in the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and/or federal, state and territory government departments or agencies which undertake publicly funded research.
What participants are saying about ON Prime
Explore insights and testimonials from those who've experienced the program first-hand:
- "It is great program, especially for scientists who mostly work in the lab and teaches new skills like engage with customers, mapping ecosystems etc."
- "It is great program, especially for scientists who mostly work in the lab and teaches new skills like engage with customers, mapping ecosystems etc."
- "This program is very useful for researchers to close the gaps and realise the differences between research and commercialisation, helping with road maps to align the technology development with the real market."
- "The insight, structure, expertise and methods of communication and teaching were incredibly insightful. We are so grateful for the knowledge imparted and lessons learnt."
- "Engaging directly with 100 industry stakeholders through ON Program was a game-changer. It helped us validate problems, conduct customer discovery and identify pivots. The enabled us to start focus on creating impactful solutions over nice-to-have ideas."
- "I attended ON Prime in 2019 and received the Facilitator Award. That Program opened up the translational research opportunities of my research. After that, one of my patents got licensed and I co-founded two deep-tech start ups in Clean Energy and Sensing."
Hear more: 📽️ ON Program testimonials - Vimeo showcase
How ON Prime is delivered
ON Prime offers a dynamic and interactive learning experience, combining in-person and virtual facilitated sessions over a span of six days.
These facilitated sessions are strategically scheduled over a period of nine weeks, with the initial two-day immersion session in the first week, followed by a session every two weeks thereafter.
Throughout the program, you'll gain access to team coaching with your cohort facilitator between the fortnightly workshops. Additionally, you'll benefit from one-on-one guidance from your assigned innovation mentor during the intervals between sessions.
As part of the exciting culmination of the program, a showcase event will take place in week nine, providing a platform for you to present your progress and offers a unique networking experience. This showcase event will mainly be conducted in person, with a virtual option available for those unable to present in person.
It's important to note that some sessions, including the immersion sessions and the showcase event, may require travel. Travel costs will be supported and accommodated.
Overall, ON Prime participants will engage in a balanced blend of in-person and virtual learning, fostering meaningful connections and nurturing your innovation journey.
What time commitment is required?
The program requires moderate effort and allocation from teams.
Each team member should allocate at least one day per week allocation for nine weeks.
In order to graduate from the program, teams must fulfil both the minimum attendance requirements and deliver a showcase presentation.
Applications for ON Prime are currently closed
ON Prime 18 will take place from August to October, 2025.
Don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list to be notified of all future application rounds. Rounds are typically open twice a year, Jan/Feb and again in June/July each year.
If you're a researcher considering applying for ON Prime, here's a tip - assemble a team and review the evaluation criteria to maximise your chances of success.
The clarity of your application will be assessed based on the following key points:
- solution and value proposition for their idea
- the problem that their idea addresses
- the identified end-users of customers of their idea
How to apply
Applying to participate in ON Prime is a simple, two-step process:
- Submit an online application
Each team is required to submit an application via our portal. Access to the portal will be made available when applications open. - Application review and evaluation
At the closure of the application period, all applications will be reviewed by representatives of their lead organisation. This is to ensure that each team has engaged their sponsoring institute and has full support to participate in the program.
Each application is evaluated by multiple experts from our extended network. The highest rated applications will be invited to participate in ON Prime.
Successful teams will be notified approximately four weeks after the application closing date. Applicants who do not successfully progress to ON Prime will be provided with access to detailed feedback from the evaluation process to help them refine and continue to work on their ideas.
Interested in hearing about the next application round? Register your details via our expression of interest sign up!
Have a question?
Watch a recording of our ON Prime information session. [NB. the session took place on 30 June 2025]
If you have any further questions, please reach out to our team at ON@csiro.au.
Applications have now closed for ON Prime! If you'd like to be the first to hear about our next cohort application round, sign up to our expression of interest list.
To keep updated on all things ON Program, please subscribe to our mailing list
If you have questions about ON Prime, please contact us via email: on@csiro.au
Where ideas take off: Welcome to ON Prime
ON Prime is a free program designed to help research teams of two to five people take their projects to the next level through customer discovery activities and more. We work with researchers at any stage of their project across all disciplines.
During the nine weeks of ON Prime, you will develop a deeper understanding of the people who could benefit the most from your research and sharpen your skills to communicate with that audience.
Expert facilitators will support you to build evidence for the impact of your research, so you can make a difference in the world and attract the resources you need along the way. Remotely delivered sessions are spaced out approximately two weeks apart and you should allocate additional time between sessions to undertake stakeholder engagement activities.
What teams will get out of ON Prime
Every team's pathway is different, so what your team gets out of ON Prime will depend on what you are seeking to achieve.
Outcomes from teams in recent years include:
- attracting new funding sources
- establishing new partnerships
- increasing industry engagement
- improving clarity around the impact and focus of their research
- increasing confidence communicating their research
- forming team bonds in a new project group
- licensing IP or creating a new start-up venture.
Participating teams can receive up to $5000 to reward engagement and learning velocity in the program.
Teams have to meet minimum attendance requirements as well as showcase presentation to graduate from the program.
Who can participate in ON Prime
To participate in ON Prime, you must apply with a team of two to five people.
One person needs to be a researcher at an Australian university or a Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO)**. The rest of your team may include anyone else you think will add value to your team, for example:
- your colleagues
- people from other research organisations
- community representatives
- industry partners
- university students
- someone from your organisation involved in research services, tech transfer, communications.
If you are a small team, think about who else you could involve in ON Prime to strengthen your group.
All team members should be based in Australia for the duration of the program.
** PFROs include: Australian higher education providers listed in the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and/or federal, state and territory government departments or agencies which undertake publicly funded research.
What participants are saying about ON Prime
Explore insights and testimonials from those who've experienced the program first-hand:
- "It is great program, especially for scientists who mostly work in the lab and teaches new skills like engage with customers, mapping ecosystems etc."
- "It is great program, especially for scientists who mostly work in the lab and teaches new skills like engage with customers, mapping ecosystems etc."
- "This program is very useful for researchers to close the gaps and realise the differences between research and commercialisation, helping with road maps to align the technology development with the real market."
- "The insight, structure, expertise and methods of communication and teaching were incredibly insightful. We are so grateful for the knowledge imparted and lessons learnt."
- "Engaging directly with 100 industry stakeholders through ON Program was a game-changer. It helped us validate problems, conduct customer discovery and identify pivots. The enabled us to start focus on creating impactful solutions over nice-to-have ideas."
- "I attended ON Prime in 2019 and received the Facilitator Award. That Program opened up the translational research opportunities of my research. After that, one of my patents got licensed and I co-founded two deep-tech start ups in Clean Energy and Sensing."
Hear more: 📽️ ON Program testimonials - Vimeo showcase
How ON Prime is delivered
ON Prime offers a dynamic and interactive learning experience, combining in-person and virtual facilitated sessions over a span of six days.
These facilitated sessions are strategically scheduled over a period of nine weeks, with the initial two-day immersion session in the first week, followed by a session every two weeks thereafter.
Throughout the program, you'll gain access to team coaching with your cohort facilitator between the fortnightly workshops. Additionally, you'll benefit from one-on-one guidance from your assigned innovation mentor during the intervals between sessions.
As part of the exciting culmination of the program, a showcase event will take place in week nine, providing a platform for you to present your progress and offers a unique networking experience. This showcase event will mainly be conducted in person, with a virtual option available for those unable to present in person.
It's important to note that some sessions, including the immersion sessions and the showcase event, may require travel. Travel costs will be supported and accommodated.
Overall, ON Prime participants will engage in a balanced blend of in-person and virtual learning, fostering meaningful connections and nurturing your innovation journey.
It runs from left to right. Reading from the left the boxes read Week 1 Immersion, Week 3 Session 2, Week 5 Session 3, Week 7 Session 4, Week 9 Showcase. Between each boxes is marked Mentor.Linear overview of the session schedule
What time commitment is required?
The program requires moderate effort and allocation from teams.
Each team member should allocate at least one day per week allocation for nine weeks.
In order to graduate from the program, teams must fulfil both the minimum attendance requirements and deliver a showcase presentation.
Applications for ON Prime are currently closed
ON Prime 18 will take place from August to October, 2025.
Don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list to be notified of all future application rounds. Rounds are typically open twice a year, Jan/Feb and again in June/July each year.
If you're a researcher considering applying for ON Prime, here's a tip - assemble a team and review the evaluation criteria to maximise your chances of success.
The clarity of your application will be assessed based on the following key points:
- solution and value proposition for their idea
- the problem that their idea addresses
- the identified end-users of customers of their idea
How to apply
Applying to participate in ON Prime is a simple, two-step process:
- Submit an online application
Each team is required to submit an application via our portal. Access to the portal will be made available when applications open. - Application review and evaluation
At the closure of the application period, all applications will be reviewed by representatives of their lead organisation. This is to ensure that each team has engaged their sponsoring institute and has full support to participate in the program.
Each application is evaluated by multiple experts from our extended network. The highest rated applications will be invited to participate in ON Prime.
Successful teams will be notified approximately four weeks after the application closing date. Applicants who do not successfully progress to ON Prime will be provided with access to detailed feedback from the evaluation process to help them refine and continue to work on their ideas.
Interested in hearing about the next application round? Register your details via our expression of interest sign up!
Have a question?
Watch a recording of our ON Prime information session. [NB. the session took place on 30 June 2025]
If you have any further questions, please reach out to our team at ON@csiro.au.