Up to $3M is available from the Collaborative Research Grant Scheme to support Australian participation and collaboration in leading international collaborative research through the UK’s NIHR.
Collaborative Research Grant Scheme
The NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grants scheme (NHMRC-NIHR scheme) supports Australian participation and collaboration in leading international collaborative research through the United Kingdom’s NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme. The HTA Programme funds independent research about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests.
The NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme 2019 grant opportunity will be undertaken according to the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017 (CGRGs), available from the Department of Finance website.
Background
NHMRC is the Australian Government’s key entity for managing investment in, and integrity of, health and medical research. The NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme is a component of the Portfolio Budget Statement Program 1.1: Health and Medical Research, which
contributes to Outcome 1: Improved health and medical knowledge. NHMRC works with stakeholders to plan and design the grant program according to the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (NHMRC Act) and the CGRGs.
NHMRC awards grants through several research funding schemes to advance health and medical knowledge and to improve the health status of all Australians. NHMRC invests in the highest quality research and researchers, as determined through peer review, across the four pillars of health and medical research: biomedical, clinical, public health and health services research.
Objectives
NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme aims to:
- support Australian participation and collaboration in leading international collaborative research through the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme. The HTA Programme funds independent research about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests.
- allow Australian researchers to engage with world leading researchers on projects of the highest calibre and assists Australian health and medical research to maintain a standard of excellence.
The intended outcomes of the NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme are:
- to assist Australian health and medical research to maintain a standard of excellence
- to support health and medical research that is of benefit to Australia.
Funding
The provisional funding allocation for the NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme 2019 grant opportunity is $3 million over five years. NHMRC’s Research Committee annually reviews and recommends indicative budget amounts to be awarded across individual funding
schemes.
Australian-based research will be funded by the NHMRC, and the UK-based research will be funded through the NIHR-HTA Programme.
A grant under the NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme 2019 grant opportunity can be awarded for a maximum of five years, depending on the proposal.
Eligible Topics
NHMRC is supporting Australian researchers for the following NIHR HTA research topics:
- 18/185 Antipsychotics for anorexia nervosa
- 18/189 Combination treatment for dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia
- 18/191 Care planning intervention for people with dementia who do not have regular contact with an informal carer
- 18/194 Vagus nerve stimulation for highly treatment-resistant depression
- 18/195 Extended treatment in early intervention in psychosis services.
Eligible Projects
Funding provided by NHMRC for a Research Activity must be spent on costs directly incurred in relation to that Research Activity that satisfies all of the following requirements:
- The cost must be integral to achieving the objectives and outcomes of the Research Activity as set out in the Application for Funding for that Research Activity, as approved by NHMRC.
- The cost must be directly related to the grant proposal as set out in the Application for Funding for that Research Activity, as approved by NHMRC.
- The cost must not be for a facility or an administrative cost that would be provided by an institution in the normal course of undertaking and supporting health and medical research.
NHMRC will only fund Australian components of the project. NHMRC will not fund any components of the projects that are funded by the NIHR-HTA Programme.
Grants funded under the NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant Scheme 2019 grant opportunity are for research cost expenditure in Australia. Funding may be used to support specific grant activities to be undertaken overseas if the overseas grant activity is critical to the successful
completion of the project, and the equipment/resources required for the grant activity are not available in Australia.
Eligible Applicants
The NHMRC-NIHR scheme has eligibility criteria and applications will be excluded from consideration if eligibility requirements are not met:
- The Chief Investigator A (CIA) and their Administering Institution must be named as the Australian Partner Investigator on an application submitted to the NIHR
- The application must have been shortlisted based on scientific peer review by NIHR in order to be considered for funding by NHMRC
- Other Australian researchers listed on the NIHR application must be identified as CIs in the application to NHMRC
- Australian applicants must provide the Australian budget details on the NHMRC-NIHR Scheme application form (in RGMS).
The Australian applicants must be successful through the NIHR HTA process to be eligible to receive funding from NHMRC.
Timing
Applications close 26 July 2019.
