Content
Historical Information
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) on applying for NHMRC funding under the Capacity Building Grants in Population Health Research Program
» Download: Program Framework - Updated 240206 (PDF, 139kb)
6.1 |
What is the NHMRC doing to increase population health research capacity in Australia? |
Research Committee has implemented a number of measures to develop capacity in population health research.
- Since the merger of the Public Health Research and Development Committee and the Medical Research Committee into the one Research Committee of NHMRC in 1997, population health researchers have had access to all NHMRC funding schemes. These schemes have been reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for population health researchers; for example, Part-time Practitioner Fellowships have been introduced and Career Development Awards can be undertaken on a part time basis in recognition that population health researchers often have policy and practice commitments. In many cases, the conditions of award have been made more flexible to account for the varied career paths in population health. Research Committee has also ensured that applications from population health researchers are reviewed by their peers in these research areas.
- Several new people support programs have been established particularly for public health researchers. For example, the Sidney Sax Fellowships provide training in population health research for new postdoctoral researchers.
- Research Committee has also established the Capacity Building Grants in Population Health Research Program. The program is to build capacity of individual researchers within supportive teams across the full range of population health and health services research. Three application rounds have been conducted, the first in 2002, the second in 2003 and the third in 2004. A call for applications for a merged fourth and fifth round opened on 14 January 2006.
Three application rounds have been conducted, the first in 2002, the second in 2003 and the third in 2004. The fourth round will open in 2005.
6.2 |
Can a named Chief Investigator on a current NHMRC grant also be a Lead Applicant on a Population Health Research Capacity Building grant? |
Yes.
Applicants may be a named CI on NHMRC Project or Program Grant (both old and new) and also be a named Lead Applicant on a Capacity Building Grant.
NOTE - the time commitment for a Lead Applicant should be consistent with participation at a Lead Applicant level. It is anticipated that the percentage of NHMRC research time each lead applicant is able to commit to the capacity building grant is commensurate with that required to produce excellent mentoring, training and skills development. The Expert Assessment Panel will look at this aspect in detail on a case by case basis.
6.3 |
Can someone be named as a Lead Applicant on more than one Capacity Building grant? |
Yes.
NOTE - the time commitment for a Lead Applicant should be consistent with participation at a Lead Applicant level. It is anticipated that the percentage of NHMRC research time each Lead Applicant is able to commit to the capacity building grant is commensurate with that required to produce excellent mentoring, training and skills development. The Expert Assessment Panel will look at this aspect in detail on a case by case basis.
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6.4 |
How are scores for Record of Achievement aggregated over all Lead Applicants? |
Scoring for Record of Achievement (30% of overall score) will follow the process below:
Under Selection Criteria 1, each of the Lead Applicants will be assessed by each member of the Expert Assessment Panel against each scoring subcategory within Selection Criteria 1 (as shown below).
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An example of scoring is given below for clarification.
Application No. X has 4 Lead Applicants (LA): LA A, LA B, LA C and LA D.
Each of the (say) 5 Expert Assessment Panel members will score LA A against Selection Criteria 1A, B and C.
SC |
Poss max. |
EAP1 |
EAP2 |
EAP3 |
EAP4 |
EAP5 |
Total for subcategory |
1A |
(12) |
10 |
10 |
8 |
4 |
10 |
(42/60 = 0.7)*12 = 8.4% |
1B |
(12) |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
(40/60 = 0.66)*12 = 8.0% |
1C |
(6) |
4 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
(20/30 = 0.66)*6 = 4.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total = 8.8+8.0+4.0 = 20.4% |
Then all averages are added together for each of the Lead Applicants and divided by the total number of Lead Applicants (in this example, 4).
Average for Selection Criteria 1 for |
LA A |
20.4 |
|
|
LA B |
22.6 |
|
|
LA C |
18.4 |
|
|
LA D |
12.0 |
|
Selection Criteria 1: Ave for all LAs |
|
18.35% |
(out of possible total of 30) |
6.5 |
What are the eligibility requirements for Lead Applicants and Team Investigators? |
In January 2006 a call for full applications for Capacity Building Grants in Population Health Research (CBGPHR) was advertised. The NHMRC has received many queries about whether Lead Applicants and Team Investigators can include persons who are not Australian citizens/residents.
The advice provided in response to these queries was that all Team Investigators should be Australian citizens/residents and that the inclusion of any Lead Applicants who do not have Australian citizenship/residency would need to be justified.
Concern has been expressed about the above policy as previous Rounds of CBGPHR allowed some persons who were not Australian citizens/residents to be included in applications. Given the precedent established in previous Rounds the following principles will apply for CBGPHR applications for Rounds 4&5:
It is expected that the majority of applicants under a CBGPHR Round 4&5 application will be Australian-based Australian citizens or residents. However, overseas participant(s) or travel may be considered in exceptional circumstances where the proposal is well justified with reference to the aim of this call for research. Some examples might be:
- Where an applicant can justify that a non-Australian citizen/resident at the Team Investigator level is an important part of the capacity building team (and there aren't other candidates in Australia with their expertise and experience). The Team Investigator would need to have appropriate immigration documentation to allow them to study/work in Australia, and should be based in Australia for the duration of their employment under the CBGPHR grant. It would be expected that the individual has expressed a desire to build a future career in Australia following the completion of the grant.
- Where the application can justify that there isn't sufficient expertise in Australia to provide training necessary for the named Team Investigators, the applicant may opt to include an non-Australian citizen/resident Lead Applicant who visits Australia on a short term basis to provide this training. This "overseas" Lead Applicant would be eligible to only claim travel-associated costs (like other Lead Applicants, they would not be paid a salary from the grant). These costs must be paid through an NHMRC Administering Institute.
- Australian-based, Team Investigators who are Australian residents/citizens are eligible to spend a short period of time outside Australia as part of their role on the grant as long as this "posting" can be justified as a necessary part of their capacity building. This posting should be capped at a maximum of 2 years (out of the 5 years, or pro rata). Costs may be recovered against the grant for the Team Investigators salary (and travel expenses of up to $12,500 per individual across the duration of the grant).
- Where a lack of capacity is identified with recruiting Team Investigators who are Australian residents/citizens, applicants can consider supporting training at a more junior level than Post Doctoral (ie. PhD scholar) for individuals already based in Australia. The CBGPHR would not support training at a level more junior than PhD scholar, with the exception of building capacity in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce. Applications relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health may contact Gail Garvey for further clarification at gail.garvey@newcastle.edu.au or (02) 4921 5632.
6.6 |
Can Team Investigators apply for and hold NHMRC Project / New Investigator grants? |
Yes
One of the outcome measures for the success of this funding approach will be evidence of increasing independence of the team investigators. Success in gaining project funding during the period of the grant is encouraged. Team Investigators who are successful in gaining salary support on a project may negotiate to stay/not stay within the framework of the capacity building grant. Any salary money awarded in the capacity grant for that investigator would become available for redirection to support the capacity grant.
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6.7 |
Can you provide me with a GUIDE TO BUDGET REQUESTS for Capacity Building Grants in Population Health Research? |
- There is a ceiling on these of up to $500,000 per year, up to a maximum of 5 years. The proposed budget must be commensurate with the size and scope of the proposal and preference is given to both larger and smaller sized applications. Unless requested otherwise, the recommended budget will apply for each of the five years.
- There is an expectation that the grants will be of a five-year duration.
- Specific milestones are required and reporting methods are to be identified by applicants. Funding of successful applications will be contingent on these milestones being met during the duration of the grant.
- Successful Lead Applicants in Rounds 1, 2, and 3 are eligible to reapply under Rounds 4 & 5, however they must be able to demonstrate that the proposed capacity building project is new and the funding sought is not duplicative of funding gained separately for the same purpose.
- Lead Applicants are not eligible to seek funding for their own salaries through the grant, however some expenses may be sought. These expenses would need to be justified in the proposed budget as being directly associated with achieving the proposal's outcomes and would also need to be cost effective.
- The Grants are primarily intended for salary support (See PSPs below as a guide)
- Additional expenditure of up to $12,500 per team investigator may be sought for a variety of purposes including travel and small items of equipment.
Information has been provided on NHMRC PSPs as a guide to the applications salary allocations. Personnel Support Packages (PSPs) are designed to cover all salary and salary on-costs (eg payroll tax, workers compensation, leave loading, compulsory and contributory superannuation) as well as some additional support for minor operational maintenance (this might include postage, phone/fax, printing, stationery, computer hardware and software). Five levels of PSPs are available:
Personnel Support Package |
$ per annum |
|---|---|
PSP1 - Technical support - non-graduate personnel |
45,500 |
PSP2 - Junior graduate research assistant |
56,750 |
PSP3 - Experienced graduate research assistant/ Junior postdoctoral research officer |
62,250 |
PSP4 - Experienced postdoctoral researcher |
73,750 |
PSP5 - Senior experienced postdoctoral researcher |
79,250 |
PSP6 - Senior researcher approaching or departing from NHMRC Fellowship scheme |
93,750 |
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Additional requests may be made for:
- Additional resources to employ postgraduate scholars. Not that postgraduate scholars employed using Capacity Building funds will not be deemed to be NHMRC Postgraduate Scholars, but the NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship Stipend page (http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/fellows/funded/outcomes/stipends/stipend06.htm) can be used as a GUIDE to scholarship stipend rates (and justify any variation from these rates where necessary).
- Where necessary to the scope of the application, salary enhancement may be sought (and must be justified), for example, for team investigators requiring a professional (clinical) loading.
6.8 |
What do I do if I'm having technical problems with the Full Application form? |
- I can’t make copies of Sections 4 & 5
- I am a non-Word version 2003 computer user and am having difficulties duplicating Sections 4 & 5 of the Full Application Form
- I can’t insert text into section 7
- The drop down menus in Sections 1, 2 and 3 don’t work
We recommend that you go to the weblink: www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/apply/strategic/pophealth.htm and download the new application documentation (Revised Full Application Form 240206).
If you have already partially completed the old version of the Full Application Form, you may wish to transfer that information by “cut and pasting” into the new application documents.
6.9 |
Additional information for Selection Criteria 1Aiii “Ten Best Career Publications" |
Due to an administrative error, a field was omitted from Section 4 of the Full Application Form that would allow Lead Applicants to provide information regarding their ten best career publications for all Lead Applicant’s listed in Table 4a. This information is required to assess Selection Criteria 1Aiii “Ten best career publications irrespective of year”.
This question has been included in the revised application documentation (see Section 4 Lead Applicant details form) at: www.nhmrc.gov.au/funding/apply/granttype/strategic/pophealth.htm .
Applicants are advised to use this document when applying for this grant.
6.10 |
How do I obtain any additional advice? |
From your Research Administration Office (RAO)
OR
from Gillian Treloar (02 6289-9129)
OR
from Professor Justin Beilby (08 8303 5193) for enquiries about the program objectives and scope.
Advice provided by NHMRC will be circulated to all RAOs.
6.11 |
What is the revised closing date for Rounds 4&5? |
As the policy on eligibility criteria has been amended (see FAQ 6.5) and technical difficulties have been experienced with the Full Application forms.
Closing date: for submission of Full Applications has been extended by one week to Thursday 23 March, 2006.
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