Ideas Grants

Ideas Grants support focussed innovative research projects addressing specific question(s).

Intended outcomes of the Ideas Grants Scheme are to fund innovative and creative research of researchers at all career stages and to provide funding for any area of health and medical research from discovery to translation.

Key scheme information:

Funding duration of between one and five years, based on the requirements of the proposal.
Funding is provided in alignment with NHMRC's Direct Research Cost Guidelines (DRCs) and can include Salaries (PSPs) and other Research Costs.
Applications can include between one and ten Chief Investigators (CIs) and up to ten Associate Investigators (AIs).

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National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Grants and Tenders

Eligibility

Researchers at all career stages, including early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs), may apply.
Limits apply to the number of NHMRC grants that a CI (CIA-J) may concurrently apply for and/or hold under both NHMRC Investigator and Ideas Grant schemes. Please review the specific grant guidelines for more information and the NHMRC Eligibility Tool.
At the time of acceptance and for the duration of a grant, the CIA must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen (with Special Category Visa), or a permanent resident of Australia and must be based in Australia for at least 80% of the funding period.
Applications that meet structural priorities may be funded in order of merit, supplementary to applications within the budget for the grant opportunity.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine eligibility to apply.
Eligible budget items, Salary Requests and permitted use of funds are outlined in NHMRC's DRC guidelines. Requests must be in alignment with the grant proposal and provide adequate justification for the budget request.
Equipment requests for items costing more that $10,000 will be considered when fully justified.

Application timeline

Specific dates are published on ResearchLink or the NHMRC calendar.

	Milestone	What is required
8 weeks before deadline	Applications open in Sapphire	Applicant to start Sapphire application. Notify nhmrc@flinders.edu.au that they are applying. Engage College-based Research Development and Support (RDS) as needed.
4 weeks before deadline	Minimum Data in Sapphire	Applicant must have lodged minimum data in the Sapphire system to continue with their application.
4 weeks before deadline	Compliance review deadline for RDS	Submit your application to Sapphire and the NHMRC grants team in RDS will check your eligibility and review application components against the grant guidelines for compliance.
2 weeks before deadline	Completed application in Sapphire	A completed application must be lodged in Sapphire so that the NHMRC grants team can make final checks and submit.
2 days before deadline	Sapphire certification deadline	Applicant must certify the application in Sapphire to submit their application to NHMRC.
Deadline for submission 4:30pm	Applications close in Sapphire	All applications will be submitted in Sapphire by the NHMRC grants (RAOs) team before the NHMRC deadline.

Application process

Before applications open

Discuss your plans to apply for an Ideas Grant with your College Research Support team and notify the RDS NHMRC grants team to ensure that you receive information about upcoming rounds, grant development and review.
Attend Researcher Training and Development information sessions run throughout the year (see information about upcoming sessions and recordings of previous sessions here).
Register on GrantConnect to obtain all of the NHMRC documents and updates.
Create or update your NHMRC Sapphire account, including your "my profile" data for application submission.

When applications open

Review your eligibility to apply/hold an Ideas Grant using the NHMRC Eligibility Tool and most recent grant guidelines.
Begin your NHMRC Ideas Grant application in Sapphire and complete minimum data prior to the deadline.
Submit a ResearchNow application to obtain College approval for the submission of your application.
Discuss any support for internal or external quality or scientific review with your College Research Support team.
Meet the RDS internal review deadlines to ensure that your application satisfies the NHMRC eligibility requirements and to ensure that you have time to consider compliance reviews and incorporate feedback.
The RDS NHMRC grants team submits your application on behalf of the University to the NHMRC through Sapphire.