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Research grants
In alignment with this strategy, the College provides opportunities for our members to undertake research with the assistance of research grants.
Enquires
Enquiries about funding rules should be addressed to the ACIPC Research Scholarships and Grants Committee by emailing the ACIPC Office, office@acipc.org.au.
Grants
Early Career Research Grant
The aim of the Early Career Research Grant is to support early career researchers (ECR) undertake research relevant to infection prevention and control. ECRs are researchers who are within five years of the start of their research careers. See the Eligibility Criteria for more detail.
Seed Grant
The aim of the Seed Grant is to support members who wish to undertake high quality pilot, exploratory, or small-scale infection prevention and control research. This grant aims to address a gap between early concepts and large-scale funding provided by larger bodies such as the National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC). The grant is also aimed at providing support to researchers who have not yet had success with specific national category 1 competitive funding NHMRC and ARC grants.
Priority Areas
Applications that address one of the three priority areas will be highly regarded, however, those that focus on other topics are also eligible to apply:
- Low and Middle-income settings
- Indigenous Health
- Aged Care
Grant applications
Grant applications must be submitted as a single PDF document with the grants application cover page and the required information attached.
Visit the Research Grant Applications page for more information.
Research grant funding rules
These rules apply to the Early Career Research Grant and the Seed Grant.
Submission
Applications must be submitted to the ACIPC office, office@acipc.org.au, by the specified closing date.
Withdrawal
Applicants may withdraw their application at any time in writing to the ACIPC office.
Incomplete, false or misleading applications
All details in the application must be current and accurate at the time of submission, particularly concerning any current grants and other applications. Examples of false or misleading information include, but are not restricted to:
- providing a dishonest statement regarding the proposed time commitments to the research in the application;
- providing incomplete or inaccurate information regarding other sources of funding;
- providing fictitious track records;
- falsifying publication records, such as describing a paper as accepted for publication when it has only been submitted.
If, at any time, ACIPC believes omissions or misleading information in an application was intentional, we may refer the matter for further action. This may include recourse to recover funds and relevant actions under the College’s constitution regarding ACIPC membership status.
Funding
Currently the College offers up to $12,000 across successful Early Career Research Grants and up to $15,000 across successful Seed Grants.
- Proposals may be funded in whole or in part.
- Funding may be offered to multiple proposals.
- The amount of funds offered to any application is at the discretion of ACIPC.
- Any funding is based on our assessment and is at the discretion of ACIPC.
- Grant proposals requesting smaller sums of money are welcomed.
- Funding may be provided in a staged process to successful applicants pending satisfactory progress reports and ethics approval.
- ACIPC funding is inclusive of staffing on-costs but does not include institutional (such as academic) levies or overhead fees.
Where we offer part funding, we will contact you to determine the impact and any adjustments required to the research project.
Privacy
Documents containing personal information are handled and protected by ACIPC in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.
Eligibility criteria
Failure to comply with all the eligibility criteria will render an application void.
- The chief investigator (CI) must have been a member of the College for 12 months prior to the closing date.
- The majority (50% or more) of all investigators must have been members of the College for 12 months prior to the closing date.
- Data collection for the proposed research must be undertaken in countries generally considered to be included in the Asia-Pacific region.
For the Early Career Research Grant
- An early career researcher (ECR) is a researcher who is within five years of the start of their research career at the time of application. This means you have been awarded a Ph.D., or equivalent research doctorate, typically within the last five years. However, an extension to this time may be approved owing to career interruptions, such as maternity leave.
- The CI must not have previously held the position of CI for a successful ACIPC research grant application in the past three years.
- The CI must not be in receipt of or be a named CI on any current NHMRC, MRFF, or ARC early career-related grant.
For the Seed Grant
- The CI and any of the named applicants must not be in receipt of or a named CI investigator on a current NHMRC project, program or fellowship grant or ARC discovery, linkage or fellowship grant.
Evaluation process
The research, grants and scholarships committee will oversee the process for awarding and administrating grants. Grants will be reviewed on a peer-review-based process. The committee may engage external reviewers as part of this process or at any stage.
Where members of the research, grants and scholarships committee are applicants, they will be recused entirely and will not be involved in any related discussions. The inclusion of at least two external reviewers will be mandatory where one or more members of the research, grants and scholarships committee or an ACIPC Director are applicants. A majority decision from the remaining members of the research, grants, and scholarships committee and external reviewers will determine successful applicants.
The decision on the awarding of grants is final. There is no right of appeal unless a procedural issue that could have adversely affected the decision made is identified. The applicant must submit an appeal in writing to the ACIPC Board of Directors within seven days of notification of the outcome of the grant process.
Chief investigator (CI) and associate investigator (AI)
The CI is the project leader who will take the lead role in the conduct of the research and is responsible for the completion and lodgement of the application. An associate investigator (AI) provides intellectual input into the research and whose participation warrants inclusion of their name on publications.
Authorship
All investigators must consent to be named investigators on this project. The College may contact any named investigator to validate their role in the study.
Ethical considerations
Research funded by ACIPC that involves human participants must be reviewed and approved by a human research ethics committee (HREC) or an institutional low risk review process in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated March 2014).
Progress reports and financial report
Annual progress and financial reports will be required for each financial year by 1 September. More frequent reports may be requested. At the completion of the grant, a final report and financial acquittal will be required within six months after the period of funding ends. Failure to report within the timeframes may affect eligibility to apply for and receive future funding.
Dissemination of research results
The College expects the results from the funded research to be shared in a peer reviewed journal and/or conference proceedings.
For any peer reviewed publication, the initial submission must be to Infection, Disease and Health for right of first refusal. Failure to adhere to this requirement will result in all named investigators being excluded from being able to apply for any future research grants for a period of five years. The results from the funded research must also be submitted for consideration as an oral abstract at the ACIPC Annual Conference.
Acknowledgements
All publications and presentations must acknowledge ACIPC as a funding source.
Duplicate and multiple applications
For applications that meet the eligibility criteria for both grants, there is no need to submit two applications. Indicate on the application you wish to be considered for both grants.
Applicants are able to submit more than one application provided the proposals are not related. However, the College will not award more than one grant to an individual CI in any one year.
Budget and applications for other funding
Applicants are able to seek funding from other organisations and institutions in addition to applying for this grant. This should be clearly indicated in the budget and application form.
Where funding from other organisations or institutions is indicated in the budget, the applicant should make it clear whether or not this funding is confirmed or whether they intend to apply. In the case of the latter, the applicant should note the feasibility of the project in the absence of being awarded additional funding or support.
Research priorities
The research, grants and scholarships committee may specify IPC research priorities. When this occurs, how the proposal aligns with our research priorities will be considered under the assessment criteria. Any current research priorities of the College will be documented on the research pages of our website.
Assessment criteria
The assessment criteria and weight applied to each is provided below.
Early Career Researcher Grant
- Quality of the project (45%)
- Significance of the project (35%)
- Chief investigator track record (10%)
- Research team track record and support for the CI (10%)
Seed Grant
- Quality of the project (40%)
- Significance of the project (30%)
- Chief investigator track record (20%)
- Research team track record and collaboration (including external) (10%)
Quality of the project
Reviewers will consider the strength of the proposed study design, setting, participants, data collection, data analysis, feasibility, budget and timeframe of the study.
Significance of the project
Reviewers will consider the aims of the research in relation to IPC and how the results will advance IPC knowledge. This will include how the results impacts practice, policy, and future research. Reviewers will consider the plan for disseminating results. If the College has specified research priorities, how proposals contribute to our priorities will be considered.
Specific to the Early Career Research Grant, applicants should articulate how they plan to develop collaborations and build research partnerships as part of their project.
Specific to the Seed Grant, consideration will be given to the scalability of the project.
Chief investigator (CI)
Reviewers will consider the CI’s support of infection prevention and control activities, including:
- research experience and skills
- track record and the potential to succeed
- prizes, awards and conferences
- publication record
- impact of research to date
- involvement with the College
Specific to the Early Career Research Grant, applicants should articulate how this grant will be used to advance their research career.
Specific to the Seed Grant, applicants should articulate how this grant will enhance infection prevention and control capacity in the workforce.
Research team and collaboration
Reviewers will consider:
- the research experience and skills of the research team;
- existing collaborations between the investigators;
- how the skills of the research team address and support the project;
- collaboration with industry or other partner organisations.
The support provided for the CI will be strongly considered for the Early Career Research Grant. One page detailing the support and supervision to be provided by one of the research team members is to be included in the application (see advice for grant applicant page). This must be signed by the person providing the support/mentorship.