Guide to applicants for Victorian cancer research grants-in-aid
On this page: Closing date | How to apply | Type of research | Duration | Salary requests | New investigators | Criteria | Eligibility | Additional information | Enquiries
Opening Date: 7 December 2011
Closing Date: 14 March 2012
Applicants should note that the submission process for 2012 will again be via the NHMRC. The final funding decisions for grants-in-aid commencing 2013 remains with Cancer Council Victoria.
All applicants and RAOs should familiarise themselves with the contents of this document
How to apply for a Cancer Council Victoria Grant-in-Aid
Applications are submitted via the NHMRC using RGMS. The Supplementary Questions document must be forwarded to CancerCouncilGrants@cancervic.org.au. Individual institutions often have earlier closing dates for the submission of NHMRC applications to their RAO.
What sort of research can be funded?
Cancer Council Victoria supports research in Victorian universities, hospitals and medical research institutes through the award of Grants-in-aid.
The work to be funded must relate to the causes, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer. All our research is funded from public donations. Donors have an expectation that their donation will be used to fund research that has a clear cancer-relevant focus. Applicants are asked to give details of the direct relevance to cancer and applications may be deemed ineligible if relevance is not substantial.
There are no specific categories of research that have been nominated as having a higher or lower priority than others. However, the Cancer Council reserves the right to support particular research needs as they emerge.
Duration and level of funding
Grants-in-aid are offered each year to support research over a period of 1-3 years, up to $300,000 over three years with a maximum in any one year of $100,000.
Consistent with the grant-in-aid nature of the funding, an award may not necessarily be for the amount of money sought - a judgement is made about the extent to which the Cancer Council is able and ought to, support the work described in each application.
Salary requests
Salary requests for CIA will not be permitted unless the CIA satisfies the new investigator criteria
Salary requests for CIB, CIC, CID etc will be permitted, provided the salary is not being requested to support someone who is a group leader or head of laboratory.
All requests for salary must be justified. Applicants are asked to include this justification in Q.11 (Budget).
New investigators
New Investigators should feel confident that applications will be carefully considered and assessed on their merits.
New investigators may request their own salary. New investigator applications will receive a 0.5 boost in ranking provided the following three conditions have been met: a) their application satisfies the NHMRC's criteria for new investigators, b) the 'new investigator' option in NHMRC's RGMS has been selected, and c) the named chief investigators (including CIB, CIC etc) have not previously held a Cancer Council Victoria grant-in-aid.
CIAs who are new investigators but include other chief investigators on their applications that have previously held NHMRC and/or Cancer Council Victoria grant-in-aid funding, may still apply for their own salary. However, their application will not be eligible for the 0.5 boost in ranking. The request for CIA salary as a new investigator will need to be justified in Q.11 of the Supplementary Questions document (Budget).
Criteria for decision
In general terms, the criteria for award of grants-in-aid are relevance to cancer, excellence, the value of the research and a capacity to successfully complete the research proposed in the application. The track record and standing of the key personnel, and the infrastructure support available at the host institution will be important, but will not be the sole determinant.
Cancer Council Victoria grants-in-aid are highly competitive. Applications will be judged on feasibility of the research team to conduct the aims specified in the Cancer Council application, both within budget and timeline. The Committee will also assess whether funding the reduced aims and timelines is the best use of its limited funding.
Specific-state criteria
The Cancer Council Victoria scoring system comprises of the NHMRC ranking (75% weighting) and the Cancer Council ranking (25% weighting).
The Cancer Council ranking will focus on two criteria: value for money for cancer control and capacity of the researchers to successfully complete the research proposed. Please address these criteria in Q.8 (specific state criteria) of the Supplementary Questions document.
Eligibility
What are the limitations on funding for researchers and institutions?
The first-named chief investigator must have an appointment at a host institution in Victoria.
A named chief investigator may only hold one Victorian research grant-in-aid. However, the same chief investigator may hold both a Victorian grant-in-aid and be the Victorian investigator on up to three previously awarded multi-state grants. Before submitting your application, please check the list of researchers currently funded by Cancer Council Victoria.
The list and sequence of all named chief investigators on the Cancer Council Victoria application must be the same as that of the NHMRC RGMS application.
Additional information
The decision makers
The final decision is taken by the Cancer Council's Board acting on advice from the Cancer Council's Medical and Scientific Committee. The Medical and Scientific Committee includes representatives of all institutions and disciplines having a stake in cancer research in Victoria. The Medical and Scientific Committee in turn receives recommendations from the Standing Research Sub-Committee, which is made up of leaders in the cancer research community in both medicine and science. Most are members of the Medical and Scientific Committee, but others are co-opted where the sub-committee needs to be enhanced in respect of a particular research specialty.
What is the role of the host institution?
The host institution guarantees that the infrastructure and research environment necessary to support the research will be available. Its explicit support for, and commitment to, the application is therefore essential before any application can be considered.
The host institution also provides the administrative framework through which applications are received and payments made.
Should the application be successful, the host institution is required to enter into a funding agreement with Cancer Council Victoria. The conditions in the agreement cover the standard grants contract areas including acknowledgment, intellectual property, reporting requirements etc.
Other funding sources
What is the effect of funding from other sources?
Due to increasing competition for cancer research funding, the Cancer Council will examine very closely other sources of support that may be available for the research.
Funding will not usually be given in respect of research that will be the subject of substantial funding from another source for any part of the same period for which the Cancer Council funding is sought.
Applicants are eligible to apply to the Cancer Council and other funding agencies for funding commencing in the same year for the same research, but the Cancer Council will ensure that funding is not duplicated.
In assessing whether the research is already, or will be, covered by funding from another agency, the substance of the research rather than its title will be examined.
Tobacco industry
Funding will not be granted to any researcher who is receiving or who is an applicant for funding from the tobacco industry or any of its agencies or subsidiaries.
Funding will be withdrawn from any researcher or research for which an application is made to, or funding received from, the tobacco industry or any of its agencies or subsidiaries during the currency of the grant.
Appeals process
The following document outlines our Grants-in-Aid appeals process (44kb).
Full information about process, forms and timelines for all state Cancer Councils are available:
http://www.cancervic.org.au/grantprocess
Enquiries
For enquiries about the NHMRC application process contact:
NHMRC's Research Help Centre
Telephone: 1800 500 983
Email: grantnet.help@nhmrc.gov.au
For enquiries about applications to Cancer Council Victoria contact:
Josie Italia
Research Grants Officer
Research Management Unit
Cancer Council Victoria
Tel: (03) 9635 5028
Email: Josie.Italia@cancervic.org.au
Schedule
Intending applicants need to be aware of the following dates:
| Closing date for RGMS applications and Supplementary Questions | 14 March 2012 |
| Assessment of applications via the NHMRC assessment process | May - June 2012 |
| Applicant response | June - July 2012 |
| NHMRC Grant Review Panels review and rank applications | August - Sept 2012 |
| Cancer Council Victoria meets to decide funding outcome | November 2012 |
| Cancer Council Victoria advice to successful applicants | Late November 2012 |
| Cancer Council Victoria grant payments to commence | January 2013 |
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