MRFF 2024 Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles Grant Opportunity

Key dates for MRFF 2024 Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles

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 (Targeted Call for Research): design, implement and/or evaluate the effectiveness of integrated and multidisciplinary delivery of maternal and child health services in the first 2000 days of life (pregnancy to age 5) for equitable health and development.
Research proposals in this Stream must focus on one of the following Topics:
o Topic A: The organisation undertaking the majority of the research is based in any area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM1-7)
o Topic B: The organisation undertaking the majority of the research, the Chief Investigator A, 50% or more of all Chief Investigators, and all research participants, are primarily based in a regional, rural, remote or very remote area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM2-7)
o Topic C: The proposed research focuses on First Nations health and includes demonstrated leadership by First Nations individuals and communities in the design and implementation of the research
o Topic D: The proposed research focuses on the health of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and includes co-leadership by individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the design and implementation of the research.

- Stream 2 (Targeted Call for Research): pilot approaches for improving health outcomes by promoting adoption of healthy lifestyles in adolescents and young adults.
Research proposals in this Stream must focus on one of the following Topics:
o Topic A: The organisation undertaking the majority of the research is based in any area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM1-7)
o Topic B: The organisation undertaking the majority of the research, the Chief Investigator A, 50% or more of all Chief Investigators, and all research participants, are primarily based in a regional, rural, remote or very remote area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM2-7).

- Stream 3 (Incubator): conduct small-scale developmental projects to create screening or prevention approaches to reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic disease post-birth, after a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and/or gestational diabetes.
Research proposals in this Stream must focus on one of the following Topics:
o Topic A: The organisation undertaking the majority of the research is based in any area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM1-7)
o Topic B: The organisation undertaking the majority of the research, the Chief Investigator A, 50% or more of all Chief Investigators, and all research participants, are primarily based in a regional, rural, remote or very remote area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM2-7)
o Topic C: The proposed research focuses on First Nations health and includes demonstrated leadership by First Nations individuals and communities in the design and implementation of the research

- Stream 4 (Targeted Call for Research): develop, implement and/or evaluate new co-designed and scalable lifestyle interventions to reduce the risk of chronic conditions in adults from Priority Populations.

The amounts available for a single grant in each Stream are as follows:
- Stream 1: There is no minimum grant amount and the maximum grant amount available for a single grant is $3.0 million
- Stream 2: There is no minimum grant amount and the maximum grant amount available for a single grant is $2.0 million
- Stream 3: The minimum grant amount is $200,000 and the maximum grant amount is $1.0 million
- Stream 4: There is no minimum grant amount and the maximum grant amount available for a single grant is $2.0 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

Log into Sapphire and complete 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:

Contact your faculty or institute research manager for advice on peer readership programs.
Join the UQ R&I Mailer to stay up to date with round developments.
Access the UQ R&I Grants Library, a helpful resource of past successful proposals.
If offered, attend UQ R&I information sessions and access PowerPoint presentations from presentations and slides.

Key documents

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

Grant Connect GO6797
MRFF Webpage
MRFF Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Strategy 2020-21 to 2023-24