In the May 2011, the Australian Government announced the Budget Measure: Strategic investment in mental health research priorities through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) - $26.2 million over the next five years, at no net cost to the Budget.
The Government’s announcement stated:
Coordinating research and translating it into actual services are vital to improving the quality of mental health services nationally and to improve outcomes for the one in five Australians with mental illness. Currently there is no strategic research capacity in the mental health sector to address critical policy and investment issues.
The NHMRC is committed to the development of evidence for better treatment and health services in mental health. It has named mental health as a strategic priority for the coming years and has been working actively to embed mental health research into its activities and to consult with the sector.
Consistent with its strategic plan and responsive to the Government’s priorities, NHMRC will dedicate $26.2 million over a five year period (a minimum of $5 million per year) from the Medical Research Endowment account for such activities. This will not preclude applications for mental health related research projects to the NHMRC’s normal competitive process.
How NHMRC is implementing the Strategic Initiative
With the advice of Research Committee, NHMRC is planning to allocate $26.2 million as follows:
- A Targeted Call for Research (TCR) in Mental Health – $13 million
- Two Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) at $ 2.5 million each, subject to competitive applications being received; and
- Fellowships – up to $8 million
As provided in the May 2010 Budget announcement, this funding is fully devoted to mental health.
Current Status
1. Targeted Call for Research (TCR) in Mental Health
Through consultation, NHMRC’s Research Committee has agreed that the focus of this TCR would be on Prevention of, and early intervention in, mental illness in children and young people.
A working group to establish a framework for the TCR met earlier this year and agreed that this was an area of strategic need for high quality research. The working group members were: Professors Caroline Homer (Chair), Jane Gunn, Jon Currie, Ian Hickie, Philip Mitchell, Helen Christensen, Linda Richards, Vicki Anderson, Paul Fitzgerald and Kathy Griffiths
The TCR aims to focus on research that will inform policy and practice to improve the quality of mental health services available to individuals up to the age of 25 years and their families and carers.
More information on Mental Health Targeted Call for Research
2. Centre of Research Excellence
Funding of up to two new CREs in mental health will aim to support teams of researchers to pursue collaborative research and develop capacity in clinical, population health and health services research.
Areas identified as research priorities for the CREs include prevention of, and early intervention in, mental illness for children and young people, brain development and factors contributing to mental illness, animal models of mental illness, innovative approaches to suicide prevention, determinants of engagement and lack of engagement with mental health services and improving Indigenous mental health services.
The round for applications for CREs is now open and can be accessed via the NHMRC website. The round closes on 30 January 2012.
More information on Centres of Research Excellence (CRE)
3. Fellowships
NHMRC’s Research Committee has supported the allocation of approximately $8 million from the budget initiative towards new Fellowships.
These Fellowships will provide individual researchers with greater opportunity to obtain funding for mental health research and will increase leadership and build capacity in this field.
Additional information will be provided in 2012.