International funding

The NIH, a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is the US’s medical research agency and the largest source of funding for medical research in the world. NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers which each have a specific research agenda often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.

NIH uses activity codes to differentiate research programs. For example, the RO1 NIH Research Project Grant Program, NIH’s most commonly used grant program, supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed research program between 3-5 years. There is no specific dollar limit unless this is specified in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The R03 NIH Small Grant Program provides limited funding for a short period of time to support a variety of projects including pilot or feasibility studies. The R03 is limited to two years, with direct costs of up to $50,000 a year.

Useful NIH links

• Searching for NIH Funding
• Foreign Applicants – remember to check eligibility criteria first. Section III.1.A of each FOA describes the type of institutions/organizations that are eligible to apply and Section III.1.B provides information on the type of individuals that are eligible to apply.
• Submission process – the majority of competing applications now require electronic submission. Electronic submission requires institutions to register through Grants.gov and eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system. Flinders is registered on both systems. (Principal investigators also need to ensure they are registered with eRA Commons.)

The Education and Science Office, Embassy of Australia, has produced an informal guide to key United States Defence Research Agency Funding for Australian Researchers, which provides general guidance on how to apply for funding from the four key US defence research agencies below:

• Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
• Army Research Office (ARO)
• Office of Naval Research (ONR)
• Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Funding opportunities for all of the above agencies are listed on Grants.gov and also on each agency website (apart from AFOSR).

The Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) is funded through the Department of Defense (DoD) and funds research programs in various areas including autism and cancer. The CDMRP uses the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP). Application submission is a two-step process requiring both:

• pre-application submission through the eBRAP and
• application submission through Grants.gov, with application status available on eBRAP.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal funding agency with an annual budget of $10 billion (FY 2025). It is the major source of federal backing in many fields such as mathematics, computer science and social sciences.

NSF rarely provides support to foreign organizations. NSF will consider proposals for cooperative projects involving US and foreign organizations, provided support is requested only for the US portion of the collaborative effort.

Proposals to NSF must be submitted electronically via either the NSF FastLane System or Grants.gov.

Useful NSF links

• Funding - How to Prepare Your Proposal - US National Science Foundation (NSF)
• NSF Programmes Supporting US Scientists make International Linkages: An Informal Guide for Australian Scientists

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant opportunities focus principally on solving key health and development problems for the underprivileged.

The Australian-American Fulbright Commission promotes mutual understanding through educational and cultural exchange between Australia and the United States, primarily through the administration of Fulbright scholarships. Please note that these scholarships are not considered grants to Flinders University, and are paid to the individual rather than the institution.

National Geographic offers conservation, exploration and research grants.

The Wellcome Trust supports research around the world, across a broad range of disciplines, to understand life, health and wellbeing and to deliver equitable health solutions. Their 2023/24 annual budget was 1.5 Million pounds, with a ten-year goal of expenditure of 16 billion pounds. 

The Academy of Social Sciences in Australia administer the Social Science Collaborative Research Program (delivered in partnership with the Embassy of France in Australia) and the Pacific Social Sciences Academic Grants (supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-France Indo-Pacific Studies Program). These programs provide up to $5,000 AUD funding for research activities.

The Australian Academy of Science administers the Early and Mid-Career Researcher Mobility Grants support Australian researchers to travel to France and other European countries to work with leading researchers at major science and technology organisations for between 14 and 28 days. 

FASIC (French-Australia Science Innovation Collaboration Grants) is a French Australian Hubert-Curien Partnership for cooperation in science, technology and innovation. These programs are meant as a catalyst and aims to support launch and critical early-stage development of bilateral research projects between France and Australia.