Annual Thematic Report
2026 Report: Call for EOIs
The Annual Thematic Report is produced under the aegis of the ERRN Research Council. The Report is produced as a year-long annual research project conducted through collaboration between electoral commission staff and academic researchers. It aims to address a specified theme of practical policy relevance to all member commissions.
Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI)
ERRN welcomes expressions of interest to produce the first Annual Thematic Report on the topic Maintaining Public Confidence in Elections. $30,000 in funding is available as well as in-kind support from participating electoral commissions. Download the Call and the EOI Template below.
Deadline: 13 March 2026
FAQs - 2026 Call for EOIs
We have compiled an FAQ in response to a range of queries we have received from applicants. Applicants can still send formal queries to law-errn@unimelb.edu.au or informal queries to Prof. Tom Daly, Director of ERRN, at thomas.daly@unimelb.edu.au before the application deadline of Friday 13 March 2026.
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Yes. ERRN State and Territory Convenors are encouraged to apply.
Other members of ERRN may also apply e.g. Editors.
However, Applicants are not required to have a formal connection to ERRN to apply, and are encouraged to apply.
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No. The relevant area of the Application Form (EOI Template) simply asks applicants to indicate whether any PhD researchers or students will be involved in the team. This is to allow ERRN to ascertain whether the Report’s production will provide support for younger scholars.
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Applicants can attach short CVs related to the team members. For other material (e.g. relevant previous reports) please provide a URL where one is available. If appending CVs, provide all material as one combined PDF and clearly identify all appended documents.
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Once submitted, the Expression of Interest cannot be changed unless the submission was in error (e.g. where a clearly unfinished version of the Application Form (i.e. the completed EOI Template) has been submitted). In cases of error, the Applicant(s) should contact the ERRN team at law-errn@unimelb.edu.au.
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The submissions received will be assessed by the Co-Chairs of the Research Council and the successful Applicant/Team will be selected from the shortlist by the entire Research Council. The successful Applicant/Team will be announced and notified no later than Friday 27 March.
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Once the Applicant/Team has been selected, the ERRN Director, Prof. Tom Daly, will organise a remote meeting to discuss production of the Report. This will allow the Applicant/Team to raise any questions e.g. regarding the scope of the Report, tweaks to the project design and methodology, disbursement of the research funding, and the production process.
ERRN Research Council
Established in 2025, the purpose of the ERRN Research Council is to better enable the Network to assist electoral commissions in meeting their research needs. The Research Council provides a framework for electoral commissions to collaborate on selecting research themes and jointly fund the production of research on issues that affect the work of all commissions.
The Research Council thereby assists in achieving the central aim of ERRN to promote research relating to electoral regulation amongst academics, electoral commissions and other interested groups.
Current Members
The current members of the Research Council are the electoral commissions of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, and Victoria.
Co-Chairs
The 2026 Co-Chairs are Pat Vidgen PSM, Electoral Commissioner of Queensland, and Professor Tom Daly, Director of ERRN.
