Published in the Research School of Physics Event Horizon
Vol45 Issue11 16–20 March 2020

Dear Colleagues,

The NHMRC has opened the 2021 Ideas Grants scheme in Sapphire for applications.

The Ideas Grants scheme supports focussed innovative research projects addressing a specific question. It is the primary replacement for the former Project Grants scheme, but with different aims. Ideas Grants will provide funding for up to five years for creative research by investigators at all career stages, including early and mid-career investigators, in any area of health and medical research, from discovery to implementation. Applications can be from single investigators or teams, and it is expected that the CIA will have the capability to lead the team in achieving the project aims.

If you have not notified the Research Office about your participation in an ANU-led or external application, please contact us as at the earliest convenience at nhmrc.rm@anu.edu.au.

Important Notes & Changes

• Applications will be accepted through NHMRC’s new grants management system, Sapphire. Applicants will be provided with further instruction and support for navigating the new system.
• A new eligibility rule has been introduced to outline that applicants must not submit the same application to both the Ideas Grant and Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grant schemes, otherwise both applications will be deemed ineligible.
• If any Chief Investigator named on an Ideas Grant application also applied for a 2021 Investigator Grant and is successful, then the Ideas Grant application will be pulled from further consideration and will not be eligible to receive funding.
• The former ‘Feasibility’ criterion has been renamed to ‘Capability’, and the focus of this criterion has been reframed as follows:

Capability is not an assessment of traditional track record elements, such as number of publications, grants held, or conference invitations. The CIA must demonstrate their ability to lead the project, including managing the project’s resources, personnel, budget and administrative requirements, in order to execute the project. Associate Investigators (AIs) can be included to strengthen the overall technical capability of the team (e.g. specialists such as statisticians), but they must not be essential for the leadership of the project. Consideration should also be given to the gender balance and development of new researchers within the applicant team.

For further information and resources, including the funder guidelines and an annotated grant proposal template, please visit our SHM intranet page: http://intranet.science.anu.edu.au/services-resources/funding-schemes/ideas-grants

Key Dates:

• Scheme opens in RGMS 11 March 2020

• College Research Office Deadline 8 April 2020

• College Executive Hard Deadline* 29 April 2020

• Funding body deadline – closes in Sapphire 6 May 2020

  * see College Executive Hard Deadline policy here.

Kind Regards,

Samantha Donohoe

Senior Research Management Officer

Joint Colleges Administration | Science; Health and Medicine

The Australian National University, Jaeger 8 Building, 142 Mills Road, Canberra ACT 2601

Phone: +61 2 612 (54376) | Email: science.jaeger.rm@anu.edu.au or arc.rm@anu.edu.au

ARC Grant Application Resources | ANU CRICOS Provider: 00120C

Please note that I am out of the office on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.