Sapphire is NHMRC's new technology solution for supporting end-to-end management of all Medical Research Endowment Account grant opportunities (GOs) as well as Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) GOs administered by NHMRC on behalf of the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Sapphire is used by researchers, reviewers, Administering Institutions, Eligible Organisations (EO) and NHMRC staff to undertake a range of grant-related activities from application, through assessment, to the award and grant administration.
Sapphire has been developed and implemented in stages over a number of years, to serve as a reliable and functional system for the future.
The last major module in Sapphire's development – Post Award Release 3 – is planned for implementation by late 2022 and will support all remaining post-award functions, including financial reporting and acquittals.
Sapphire replaced NHMRC’s legacy Research Grants Management System (RGMS), which was decommissioned from general use in January 2022.
Accessing Sapphire
Existing Sapphire account holders
Sapphire account holders can access Sapphire via the login page.
No previous accounts
If you have not previously used RGMS or Sapphire you will need to register for a Sapphire account through the registration form.
- Note
- New account requests can take up to three business days to process.
Previous RGMS account holders
If you previously had an RGMS account you will need to activate your Sapphire account before logging into Sapphire for the first time. Visit Sapphire's Activate my account. Your Sapphire 'user name' is your primary email address.
Continuous improvement and feedback
NHMRC would like to thank all stakeholders, including applicants, Research Administration Officers and peer reviewers for their ongoing contributions and feedback.
In response to the feedback, a number of key improvements have already been implemented to enhance Sapphire (refer to Sapphire – Recent updates for a list of key changes). Upcoming releases will focus on consolidating existing functions and those remaining to be implemented as part of the Post Award Release 3 module.
We encourage users to provide feedback on their experience with the system, online tutorials and Help by completing the online feedback form or by contacting the Research Help Centre via help@nhmrc.gov.au. This feedback will help NHMRC resolve any urgent issues and inform improvements to Sapphire.
Updating profile information
Researchers are responsible for confirming that their profile in Sapphire is complete and up to date, especially at the following times:
- prior to submitting an application
- prior to being considered for peer review
- as part of reporting obligations (this needs to be done annually by the end of June each year, including linking outputs and outcomes to the relevant NHMRC grant ID).
To check or update your Profile, log in to Sapphire, select 'My Profile' and review all the information.