Key dates for MRFF 2024 Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care

  • Proposals open in Sapphire: 14 February 2024
  • UQ R&I NOI Close: 10 July 2024
  • Minimum data requirements in Sapphire: 5pm ACT time 10 July 2024
  • Applications due to UQ R&I: 17 July 2024
  • Applications close: 5pm ACT time 7 August 2024

Overview

Consistent with the MRFF Act, the objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1 (Priority Area 3.1, Targeted Call for Research): conduct implementation research focused on addressing inequalities in access to high-quality care for older Australians from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds including, but not limited to: o people from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities 
o people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds 
o people who live in rural or remote areas 
o people who are financially or socially disadvantaged 
o people who are veterans of the Australian Defence Force or an allied defence force, including the spouse, widow or widower of a veteran 
o people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless 
o people who are care leavers (including Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations) 
o parents separated from their children by forced adoption or removal 
o people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) communities 
o prisoners and ex-prisoners.

- Stream 2 (Priority Area 3.1, Incubator): conduct small-scale development projects to develop innovative new approaches for providing optimal care for vulnerable people. 

The amounts available for a single grant in each Stream are as follows: 
- Stream 1: There is no minimum grant amount and the maximum amount available for a single grant is $3.0 million 
- Stream 2: The minimum grant amount is $200,000 and the maximum grant amount for a single grant is  is $1.0 million

How to Apply

Internal notice of intent process

All researchers intending to submit an MRFF application are required to submit an internal Notice of Intent. NOIs will be collated centrally and distributed to Faculties and Institutes in order to provide maximum support to the UQ research community.

Step 1. Sapphire updates and scheme reading

  • Register for Sapphire and update your full profile 'My Profile and CV'. The Grant Opportunity will be run through the new National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants management system, Sapphire, which replaces RGMS. If any team members are new to Sapphire and need a login/password, start early. The NHMRC require at least three working days to create new Sapphire accounts. 
  • Familiarise yourself with the key MRFF, NHMRC and The University of Queensland (UQ) documentation.

Step 2. Completing the application

Step 3. UQ R&I internal review and feedback

  • Ahead of internal review, ensure all online components are complete and valid in Sapphire and CIA has initiated the Certification process. Application errors will be signalled and can be corrected during the Certification stage.
  • To initiate internal review, email your completed Funding Application Coversheet to UQ R&I at mrffgrants@research.uq.edu.au.
  • Internal review by UQ R&I/feedback provided (compliance/eligibility/grantsmanship).

Step 4. Final submission

  • Final submission by UQ R&I to NHMRC.

Letters of Support

Signing for all letters of support from UQ is co-ordinated through the Research Office. All Letters of support for MRFF applications, including those led by other institutions, must be accompanied by a completed Funding Application Coversheet (see below) and authorisations of any enumerated contributions or additional UQ staff beyond the lead CI listed in the letter.  We strongly recommend working with your local school/institute research professionals to complete this process.

To provide time for review and signature, we ask that UQ researchers submit draft letters to mrffgrants@research.uq.edu.au no later than two weeks before the external closing date.

Partner Letters

We would encourage applicants to provide drafts of partner letters of support for review by the Research office before organising their final signature to ensure eligibility and compliance. A template Letter of Support is provided below.

Non-UQ Lead Applications

  • The administering organisation should provide you with a draft letter of support. UQ information from the CEO letter below may assist you in completing the letter.
  • Complete a generic Funding Application Coversheet, and get it countersigned by your Head of School/Institute.
  • Submit both to mrffgrants@research.uq.edu.au, along with evidence for any additional co-contributions.

Readership and researcher support

Before applying, we recommend you:

Key documents

Before applying, please review the full suite of documents available from GrantConnect, the Australian Government grants information system and:

NHMRC

UQ