Partnership Projects

Status: Open

Find out information about the aims, funding, key dates, resources and contacts for the NHMRC Partnership Projects scheme.

Aim

The NHMRC Partnerships for Better Health – Partnership Projects scheme is designed by the NHMRC to more effectively integrate evidence into health policy and service delivery.

It helps create partnerships among decision makers, policy makers, managers, clinicians and researchers. The scheme provides funding and support to create new opportunities for researchers and policy makers to work together to define research questions and undertake research and also to interpret and implement the findings.

Partnership Projects will answer a specific research question to influence health and well-being through changes in the delivery, organisation, funding and access to health services.

Partnership Projects should focus on the design and uptake, at the population or community level, of interventions that are known to be efficacious at the individual level and should have demonstrable application for health services or for health policy, at least for the partner organisations involved and preferably more generally, including for population-level application.

Projects may be of any duration up to five years and the maximum amount of NHMRC funding that may be requested for a single application is $1.5 million.

Changes to DVCR Co-Funding

For NHMRC grants, applicants will now be required to submit a formal DVCR Co-funding request. The formal DVCR Co-funding request replaces the previous support of the Strategic Research Fund (SRF), which was managed directly between your Faculty Research Office and the DVCR Office and was not directly visible to academics as internal co-funding for their successful grants.

The DVCR Co-funding is to support MQ researchers to successfully complete their proposed NHMRC projects by providing up to 20% co-funding on funds to remain at Macquarie. The goal is for the DVCR Co-funding is to facilitate MQ applicants in providing a ‘top-up’ of NHMRC salary costs (PSP’s), which are lower than MQ equivalent salary rates.

These changes align the principles of DVCR Co-funding with other external funding schemes and assist the University in rationalising the allocation of internal funding used to leverage competitive, external funding opportunities. As Macquarie researchers continue to excel in the NHMRC funding scheme, we need to find a mechanism to ensure all successful NHMRC grants can be supported. As context, since 2015, our application volume for NHMRC funding has nearly doubled year on year. We know that health and medical researchers at Macquarie will be more active than ever in the coming years in applying for NHMRC funding to support their research, hence the need to make changes to meet the growing volume of awards.

Changes to Eligibility for DVCR Co-Funding

Eligibility for the DVCR Co-Funding Scheme i is now contingent upon on-time submission of grant applications by your mandatory compliance and eligibility check. Many applications for external funding require cash and in-kind contributions from the host institution in order to be considered for funding. This funding includes project support funds, funding for research associates, scholarships, and major equipment and in most cases is processed via the DVCR Co-Funding scheme. View further information on deadlines, processes and FAQs

Applications led by Macquarie University researchers must be submitted to the Research Services Grant Development Team 4 weeks prior to the external deadline, if requesting an optional strategic review and 2 weeks prior for a mandatory compliance and eligibility check. Please refer to the fellowships and grant opportunities webpage for information on deadlines and processes.
Applications that do not have a Pure record and/or do not have all the appropriate approvals in Pure (Head of Department/School [HoD/HoS] and Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation [DDRI]) will not be submitted to the external funding body. It is the lead applicant’s responsibility to ensure the approvals in Pure are complete prior to submission.

Note: NHMRC locates all their Scheme documentation in GrantConnect. You will be required to set-up a username and password to access.

For applications submitted in 2024

Please note that our grant review processes have changed. Strategic reviews are optional, while compliance and eligibility checks are mandatory.

If you wish to receive a strategic review of your NHMRC application, you must book via the online booking calendar.

Compliance and eligibility reviews for your NHMRC application is mandatory and you must book via the online booking calendar.

There are sufficient booking times available for all applicants, but we recommend booking early to ensure you have an ample choice of dates.

2024 Round 1

NHMRC opening date in Sapphire: Wednesday 10 January 2024
Strategic review (optional): Wednesday 6 March 2024, select your date and time in the strategic booking calendar
NHMRC minimum data deadline: Wednesday 20 March 2024
Compliance and eligibility check (mandatory): Wednesday 20 March 2024, select your date and time in the compliance and eligibility booking calendar. By the date and time you select you must also have a penultimate draft of your entire application in Sapphire and DVCR Co-Funding requests must be submitted by Pure.
Applicant submits final application in Sapphire: 11:59pm Monday 1 April 2024
Research Services submission to NHMRC: Wednesday 3 April 2024
Outcomes expected: 2024

2024 Round 2

NHMRC opening date in Sapphire: Wednesday 21 March 2024
Strategic review (optional): Wednesday 10 July 2024, select your date and time in the strategic booking calendar
NHMRC minimum data deadline: Wednesday 24 July 2024
Compliance and eligibility check (mandatory): Wednesday 24 July 2024, select your date and time in the compliance and eligibility booking calendar. By the date and time you select you must also have a penultimate draft of your entire application in Sapphire and DVCR Co-Funding requests must be submitted by Pure.
Applicant submits final application in Sapphire: 11:59pm Sunday 4 August 2024
Research Services submission to NHMRC: Wednesday 7 August 2024
Outcomes expected: 2025

2024 Round 3

NHMRC opening date in Sapphire: Wednesday 25 July 2024
Strategic review (optional): Wednesday 30 October 2024, select your date and time in the strategic booking calendar
NHMRC minimum data deadline: Wednesday 13 November 2024
Compliance and eligibility check (mandatory): Wednesday 13 November 2024, select your date and time in the compliance and eligibility booking calendar. By the date and time you select you must also have a penultimate draft of your entire application in Sapphire and DVCR Co-Funding requests must be submitted by Pure.
Applicant submits final application in Sapphire: 11:59pm Sunday 24 November 2024
Research Services submission to NHMRC: Wednesday 27 November 2024
Outcomes expected: 2025

Notification of Intent (NOI)

Complete this new Notification of Intent to inform your Faculty and the University Research Services teams of your intention to submit an application.

Once reviewed by the appropriate research support team the NOI will generate a Pure Application record.
After completing this NOI, you will be provided with regular updates about your funding scheme and sent valuable resources that will assist you in developing a highly competitive research grant application.

NHMRC information

Funding Guidelines
Grant Proposal Template
Administering Institution Partner Waiver Request Form - Waiver Form must be completed and submitted by the Partner Organisation (who is also a NHMRC Administering Institution). When the Partner Organisation has obtained approval from the NHMRC, Macquarie University Research Services will need to see a copy of that approval before we can submit your application to the NHMRC. If your Partner Organisation is a listed NHMRC Administering Organisation and fails to seek approval from the NHMRC to be a Partner Organisation, their in-kind and/or cash contribution will not be counted in the total contributions of all Partnership Project partners and that means the requested funds from the NHMRC will be decreased accordingly.

It is now a Macquarie University requirement that all partner letters MUST include "I certify that I have read, understood and complied with the Funding Rules, and if the Grant is successful I agree to abide by the terms of the NHMRC Funding Agreement regarding all funding schemes under the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and enter in a Multi-Institutional Agreement"

MQ resources

Certifications

These are built into Sapphire. No need to have separate certifications from CI's and AI's.