Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants
For Funding Commencing in 2021
Research Office Contact:
research-applications@newcastle.edu.au
*** Please not that there are updated dates for this scheme *** This Scheme is OPEN. Funding for the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grants opened on Wednesday 4 March 2020 and the UON deadline for final applications is 9:00am Wednesday 18 November 2020. |
Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants aim to support high-quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, leading to relevant and implementable findings for the benefit of human health. This grant opportunity is open to research proposals for clinical trials and/or cohort studies of any size – that is, they may be large or small clinical trials or cohort studies.
The desired outcomes of the scheme are improvements in health and well-being, health care practice or policy, resulting from:
- high-quality clinical trials that provide reliable evidence of the effects of health-related interventions on health outcomes (or appropriate surrogates), and/or
- high-quality cohort studies that provide reliable evidence on the relation of important risk factors and other exposures to health-related outcomes.
The provisional funding allocation for the 2019 scheme is estimated to be up to $70 million. The amount of funding provided will be based on assessment of the requested budget. Funding can be requested for between one and five years.
Please note: It is strongly recommended all applicants subscribe to the Research Office NHMRC mailing list for up to date information on this scheme.
Key Dates
***** Please note updated dates for this scheme *****
| Scheme Opens in Sapphire | Wednesday 4 March 2020 |
| UON Online Booking System Opens | Thursday 5 March 2020 |
| UON Eligibility and Compliance Check Period* | Wednesday 21 October – Wednesday 11 November 2020** |
| Minimum Data Requirements due in Sapphire | 5:00 pm Wednesday 4 November 2020 |
| UON Deadline for Final Application*** | 9:00 am Wednesday 18 November 2020 |
| NHMRC Scheme Closes | 5:00 pm Wednesday 25 November 2020 |
Please note:
* Applicants are strongly encouraged to commence their application in Sapphire ASAP after the scheme opens so that they can book their preferred day for Eligibility and Compliance Checks.
** The Eligibility and Compliance Check period for Clinical Trials and Cohirt Studies has been changed to reflect the extension in deadline by the NHMRC. If you have a booking for an E&C check for this scheme during the original check period, please cancel it and make a new booking for the new check period.
*** The UON deadline for final application requires the provision of a submission-ready proposal to the Research Grants Office submitted via Sapphire, as well as a fully signed coversheet.
Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants may be funded by or in conjunction with other organisations. These grants offer opportunities to researchers whose work is particularly relevant to the priorities and research interests of the partner organisations. Some funding partners may require a separate application to be provided to them, or may have specific criteria and requirements, in addition to NHMRC. Applicants may contact the funding partner to identify any additional requirements.
Current NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grant Funding Partners are:
Preparing an NHMRC grant
The NHMRC is required to publish Grant Guidelines and all associated scheme documents on GrantConnect, the Australian Government whole-of-government, web-based, grant information system. You will need to sign in or create a User Registration account in GrantConnect to access all relevant documentation for NHMRC applications.
Once you have signed in to GrantConnect, the essential documents can be found by searching for the relevant scheme under ‘grant opportunities’ (open schemes) or ‘forecast opportunities’ (upcoming schemes). As the NHMRC often updates documents after the scheme opens, it is highly recommended that you sign up for alerts by editing your profile.
If you encounter any problems accessing or downloading these documents please contact research-applications@newcastle.edu.au or 4921 7733.
UON Documents
Please see the NHMRC Submission Procedure on the NHMRC Grants webpage and the Online Booking System User Guide for instructions on how to make a booking for an Eligibility and Compliance Check.
Once complete, the CIA must certify and submit the application in Sapphire via the Certification page. To do this, select the ‘Certification’ page in Sapphire, select ‘Certify and submit to RAO'. This will result in the status changing to 'Submitted to RAO' - which equates to 'Research Administration Office' (NOT the NHMRC).
The Research Office uses an online booking process to manage optional Eligibility and Compliance Checks on applications for NHMRC Schemes. Scientific content is not reviewed. It is recommended that you see Peer Review of your application also either via your faculty or through the UON Academy of Reviewers where available.
A booking must be made within the allocated E&C Check period for each scheme. Applicants are strongly encouraged to commence their application in Sapphire ASAP after the scheme opens so they can book their preferred day for an E&C Check. Bookings without a Sapphire application ID will be cancelled.
Minimum data must be entered in Sapphire by the scheme-specific deadline to allow the NHMRC to find suitable peer reviewers for the application. Applicants must complete the required fields with correct information. Using placeholder text such as “text”, “synopsis” or “xx” etc. is not acceptable as minimum data. Minimum data requirements for each scheme are specified in the scheme Grant Guidelines.
Failure to meet the Minimum Data deadline will result in the application not proceeding.
The NHMRC has developed an eligibility tool to assist researchers in determining their eligibility for funding in the first round of the new grant program.
For further information and to understand how the tool works please see:
If you have further questions about your eligibility, please contact research-applications@newcastle.edu.au.
Appointed by the DVCRI and nominated by UON Faculty Pro-Vice Chancellors, the UON Academy of Reviewers is a select and esteemed group of highly experienced researchers who will act as a reference group for the Research and Innovation Division providing comment on strategic matters as they arise.
A key strategic role for members of the Academy will be the review of draft UON grant applications in the major grant rounds, to provide tactical feedback and advice to applicants.
2019/20 ROUND OF ACADEMY REVIEWS
The UON Academy of reviewers will be providing reviews for the following schemes:
| Scheme | Scheme Opens | EOI Deadline | Deadline for Draft Applications Seeking Academy Review* | Funding Body Closing Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC Future Fellowships | 9 October 2019 | 16 October 2019 | 23 October 2019 | 27 November 2019 |
| ARC Discovery Projects | 13 November 2019 | 4 December 2019 | 15 January 2020 | 26 February 2020 |
| ARC DECRA | 16 October 2019 | 4 December 2019 | 30 January 2020 | 12 March 2020 |
| ARC Discovery Indigenous | 27 November 2019 | 4 December 2019 | 5 February 2020 | 18 March 2020 |
| NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies | 4 March 2020 | 26 February 2020 | 18 March 2020 | 29 April 2020 |
| NHMRC Ideas Grants | 11 March 2020 | 26 February 2020 | 25 March 2020 | 6 May 2020 |
Research Services wishes to advise that an internal Expression of Interest (EOI) process will be used to facilitate this valuable scientific content review.
If you would like your draft application reviewed, please complete the UON Academy of Reviewers EOI Form (DOC) and submit to Research Services via research-applications@newcastle.edu.au by 5:00pm on the appropriate deadline listed above.
*Please note that due to the time constraints of the Academy members whom will also be writing and mentoring their own grants submissions, it is required that applications for review will be sent to the Research Grants team 6 weeks before the Funding Body deadline with the expectation that the review will be returned to the application no later than 2 weeks before the Funding Body deadline.
List of Members
From February 2020, the NHMRC is using its new grants management system, Sapphire for all grant rounds. The first grant round to open in Sapphire was the Synergy Grants 2020 round on 26 February 2020.
Resources are available to assist in navigating Sapphire, such as how-to videos and access to the Sapphire Help Centre. The NHMRC will update Sapphire’s web page with latest news and other relevant information. Applicants are encouraged to check back regularly to keep informed of any updates.
NHMRC copied RGMS users’ CV/Profile data from RGMS for migration into Sapphire on 12 February 2020. Any changes made to an RGMS profile after this date have not been replicated in Sapphire. Researchers should confirm all Profile data is complete and up-to-date prior to submitting an application.
A summary of the key changes for Sapphire Profile and NHMRC’s recommendations for checking your profile data is available on the NHMRC Sapphire - Profile Update webpage. If you have any questions or concerns about your migrated profile data, please contact the Sapphire Help Desk.
The NHMRC has released a Toolkit for Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research to ‘provide practical advice on engaging with consumers and the community to undertake high quality and relevant research’.
The Toolkit comprises of five individual resources available for download from the Consumer and community engagement page.
The Toolkit has been designed by the NHMRC and its Community and Consumer Advisory Group to complement the 2016 Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research
Impact Case Studies
The assessment criteria for some NHMRC schemes now include research impact wherein applicants are required to demonstrate the impact of a project or program of research.
Applicants will be assessed based on:
- The significance and reach of their claimed research impact
- The contribution of their research program to the research impact
NHMRC defines the impact of research as the verifiable outcomes that research makes to knowledge, health, the economy and/or society. Impact is the effect of the research after it has been adopted, adapted for use, or used to inform further research. Research impact is the verifiable outcomes from research and not the prospective or anticipated effects of the research. Research impact also includes research that leads to a decision not to use a particular diagnostic, treatment or health policy.
Engagement and Impact Toolkit
Research Services has developed an Engagement and Impact Toolkit which helps to provide:
- a comprehensive overview of how research engagement and impact is increasingly influencing researcher practice, institutional strategies and practices as well as research funding;
- strategies to support research impact at the institutional, faculty and individual level;
- resources to support data capture and effectively communicate research impact.
A series of tiles on the EI Toolkit homepage link visitors to information and resources across major themes including An introduction to the EI Toolkit, Resources, ARC Engagement and Impact assessment, Promoting your research impact and Collecting EI data.
Citation metrics
One aspect of impact evidence is represented by the recognition of scholarly research outputs. Citation metrics are a significant part of this evidence. Please see the UON Library Guides for a more detailed breakdown of this aspect of research impact.
Research Services can provide researchers with access to view successful applications where the lead Chief Investigator has provided consent. Applications must be viewed in hard copy in the Research Services office or by arrangement at HMRI.
How to Arrange to View a Successful Application
Contact research-applications@newcastle.edu.au to request access to view successful applications for a specific scheme. Please include preferred date(s), time(s) and location.
Confirmation of the date, time and venue will be provided to you by Research Services staff.