Join a 1 hour forum with the Australian Research Council (ARC) at Flinders on Monday 4 November 2019.

The discussion at the forum will focus on the outcomes of Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) 2018 and the Engagement and Impact Assessment (EIA) 2018, in particular, a high level overview of Flinders’ results and general feedback from the ERA 2018 and EIA 2018 evaluations will be discussed. (Please note that they will be unable to provide detailed comment on why a particular unit received the rating it did.)

During this forum the ARC would value feedback from staff on the submission processes and on any other aspects of ERA and EIA staff may wish to share.

The public forum will be held from 10.15 am to 11.15 am in the Alere Conference room, Student Hub. Register at ienrol - research to ensure your place.

As there will be a number of different ARC staff attending these visits, the ARC would appreciate in advance notice of any issues or questions staff wish to raise, particularly anything technical. This will give the team time to prepare and ensure the visit is most beneficial for Flinders.

It would be appreciated if staff could advise any relevant questions or issues by emailing Research Development and Support via research.data@flinders.edu.au by COB Friday, 25 October 2019.

This session is not able to be livestreamed or recorded.

Book now at ienrol research to access Flinders’ researcher training and development opportunities. Workshops, information sessions, seminars and drop-in sessions aim to provide ongoing development and support to all researchers.

Key workshops in the next two weeks include:
   ARC Discovery Project Information Session;
   Importing your research outputs into your ARC grant - using the ARC's new RMS;
plus scheduled drop-in sessions that enable you to meet and work directly with our RDS teams.

Click on the links below to view the course details.

ARC Discovery Project Information Session, Friday 18 October 2019

Drop-In Sessions: Social and Behavioural Research Ethics, Friday 18 October 2019

Importing your research outputs into your ARC grant - using the ARC's new RMS, Tuesday 22 October 2019

Drop-In Sessions: ARC grants, Wednesday 23 October 2019

Drop-In Session: NHMRC and Health grants, Wednesday 23 October 2019

Drop-In Sessions: Industry, Government, International & Internal grants, Tuesday 29 October 2019

Drop-In Sessions: ARC grants, Tuesday 29 October 2019

Drop-In Session: NHMRC and Health grants, Wednesday 30 October 2019

Further courses scheduled for later in the month and beyond are available at ienrol research.

Over the coming year, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is replacing its Research Grants Management System (RGMS) with Sapphire. 

As a first step, NHMRC is planning a pilot of Sapphire for the Development Grants 2020 Round, pending final testing. The 2020 round will open on 23 October 2019.

The Development Grants scheme provides financial support to individual researchers and/or research teams to undertake health and medical research within Australia at the proof-of-concept stage that specifically drives towards a commercial outcome within a foreseeable timeframe.

The pilot will give Development Grants applicants an opportunity to provide feedback and input on Sapphire. The NHMRC will engage closely with participants throughout, and you will be well supported with resources to assist in navigating Sapphire, such as user guides, how-to videos, and access to the Sapphire Help Centre. 

NHMRC will announce confirmation of the pilot at a later date, once final testing is complete.

Action for Researchers to take:

The NHMRC will be using your primary email address from RGMS for your user login for Sapphire. Your profile information contained in RGMS has been migrated into Sapphire. You should note that if you apply for a Development Grant you will be required to keep your profile up-to-date in both RGMS and in Sapphire. 

To prepare for the pilot the NHMRC is asking applicants for Development Grants to contact the sapphire.helpdesk@nhmrc.gov.au to register to be a part of the pilot.

Once Sapphire is launched researchers will be sent an email that will enable them to log-in and access your account. 

The Service One project team has been busy building new features and services into Service One, to help enhance the delivery of staff services around the University.

The latest update includes three Library services in Service One which aim to connect researchers with the powerful tools that will assist with their research endeavours.

These include:

• Keeping up with research – provides guidance on setting up alerts to journals, journal articles, new works by favourite authors and article and author citations. 
• Journal selection tools – helps to decide which journals may be suitable for Publishing and how to use journal metrics to assist with your decision
• Increase the reach of my research – ensures your published research outputs have impact and are correctly connected and traceable to you

Find these Library services by clicking on Research Services in Service One.

New features that have been added to Service One are:

• Provide feedback link
• Knowledge articles for requestors to find information and help themselves
• Info about what's new in Service One 
• Personalised email signatures for providers
• More detailed 'My Requests' page for requestors
• Email alerts to providers for lower volume services
• Button to alert providers when a requestor has commented on a ticket

The other new service that is provided in the latest update is a ResearchNow query. There are 3 streams of support now available:

• ResearchNow Support;
• Research Outputs;
• Research Profile.

There is an increased number of defined descriptors in each of these 3 streams of support that can prompt and assist you in describing a query type once a field has been selected.

The team love to hear from you, so for more information or to give your feedback, you can visit the Service One blog, or try out the new 'Provide Feedback' link in Service One.

The Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Inc (ACSPRI) 2020 Summer Program courses are up on the ACSPRI website ready for researchers to get a head start for 2020.

They have an array of qualitative and quantitative  of courses ranging from the fundamentals to the very advanced. Early bird registration will be open until 4 December 2019. Book by this day to get a significant discount. (Flinders is a member organisation of ACSPRI.)

Week 1 will be held at the Australian National University from 20-24 January.

Week 2 will be held at the University of Melbourne from 3-7 February.

Week 3 will be held at the University of Melbourne from 10-14 February.

Their courses are small group intensives, with no more than 20 in each class. They are hands on, held in a classroom or computer lab, and in the more advanced courses researchers are encouraged to bring their own project or research data with them.

For more details about any of the courses visit the ACSPRI website or contact them on 03 8376 6496 or email: info@acspri.org.au for more information.

Searching for Conferences and Papers is a new feature of Research Professional. All Flinders staff have access to Research Professional via the Okta dashboard.

In Conferences and Papers, you will find an editorially curated database of calls for papers for conferences and special issues of scholarly journals from all over the world, helping you find new ways to disseminate and publicise your work.

Searching and browsing in Conferences in Papers is easy and can be searched by discipline terms, free-text, or through an advanced search which allows searches to be tightly defined by criteria such as:

• Special issues,
• conferences (including name search),
• abstract or manual submission deadlines,
• event dates,
• country, or
• keyword.

If you'd like to learn more about Conferences and Papers, you can find details on the new feature in the Research Professional Help materials. If you have any queries about Research Professional contact reseach.grants@flinders.edu.au.

Expressions of Interest for Round 3 of the BioMedTech Horizons program, administered through MTP Connect, the Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical Industry Growth Centre, are now open.

Grants of up to $1 Million for medical device projects targeting innovative solutions to address unmet clinical needs in three key focus areas are available.

The three key focus areas are:

• Digitally enabled medical devices in mobile health, health information technology, wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and digitally enabled personalised medicine
• Digitally enabled implantable medical devices addressing unmet needs in any therapeutic area
• General medical devices in the areas of regenerative medicine, women’s health, cardiovascular, orthopaedics, neuroscience, general surgery and oncology

The investment for this program from the Australian Government of $45 million from the Medical Research Future Fund and aims to support proof-of-concept to commercial development of biomedical and medical technologies (biomedtech).

Funding delivered through this program is designed to:

• develop new medical innovation and technology in Australia to benefit Australians
• grow our biomedtech sector so that Australia’s world-class research is developed into real treatments, drugs and devices
• boost employment and  grow business in the biomedtech sector

Applications close 5.00 pm 16 December 2019. The Flinders' internal closing date for a completed final draft application is 5 December 2019. For application advice and assistance, contact the Research Development and Support NHMRC and Health team on nhmrc@flinders.edu.au.

For more information, visit the BioMedTech Horizons program website.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has expanded its early stage drug discovery capacity to create the  National Drug Discovery Centre (NDDC). 

The NDDC will increase Australian medical researchers’ access to the latest in advanced robotic ultra-high throughput screening, addressing a critical early challenge in the drug discovery pipeline.

The NDDC is currently inviting applications from Australian medical researchers to fast-track their scientific breakthroughs into new medicines to treat disease.

Successful applicants from Australian research institutes and universities will benefit from accessing the latest in advanced robotic high-throughput screening by an experienced and fully staffed team at a highly subsided rate (of up to 90 percent off actual costs).

Applications for the first round of subsidised screens are due at the NDDC by 7 November 2019.

Note that the NDDC confidentiality agreement is to be signed and submitted before starting the application process. Flinders' Research Development and Support can arrange for a single agreement between Flinders University and the NDDC. If you are applying, please contact Flinders' Research Contracts team via Service One as soon as possible. Additionally, a completed Flinders' Research Certification form is required at time of application.

For more information on the facilities and the services offered, as well as access to the application portal, visit the NDDC webpage on the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute website.

To raise awareness about this initiative, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute held information sessions around the country about how to access the latest technologies at their fully-staffed facility. A recording of their Melbourne information session and the pdf version of the slides are available on their website.

The fifth annual NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR) Australian Dementia Forum will be held in Adelaide from 31 May to 2 June 2020, around the theme of Dementia Research: Innovation, Discovery and Translation.

The theme aims to encourage the research community to celebrate the discoveries and innovation achieved through recent targeted efforts like the Boosting Dementia Research Initiative. The Forum will also look forward to the task of translating research outcomes into practice and improving the life of those living with dementia, their families and carers.

To present your research at ADF2020, the Forum organisers are inviting abstracts, to be submitted by Friday 14 February 2020.

Abstracts may be submitted for an oral, rapid or poster presentation. Oral and rapid presentations will also be considered for poster presentations.

For more information and to submit an abstract, visit the Forum website.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) has released the guidelines for the Discovery Program - Discovery Projects, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), and Discovery Indigenous.

The ARC has also updated the timelines for the Australian Laureate Fellowships, Future Fellowships, and the Discovery Program. DECRA has opened for applications in RGMS.

The updated timeline is available for viewing at the ARC page on the Flinders Research Support website.

The Grant Guidelines for the Discovery Program (2019 edition) are now available on GrantConnect. 

There have been some significant changes in the guidelines including:

• changes to the assessment criteria weighting for all ARC Fellowship schemes - see page 7 of the Discovery Program Grant Guidelines Changes 2019,
• separating out the Benefit criterion in all schemes,
• increases to project costs for the DECRA and Future Fellowships schemes - up by 10K per annum,
• changes to start date - the project must now commence within 12 months after the scheme-specific Grant Commencement Date.
• Data Management plan – not required in the application form but all successful applicants will now be required to prepare a data management plan before the project commences, and
• ethics clearances – a plan for ethical clearances must be in place before the project starts to ensure that clearance is approved before the particular component of the project requiring ethics begins.

If you have any queries about any of these changes, contact the ARC Grants Team - Maya Roberts, Melissa Gregory, and Michele Lang, via arc@flinders.edu.au. For all ARC timelines and Flinders' internal process information visit the ARC page on the Flinders Research Support website.

The Department of Defence’s 2020 Strategic Policy Grants Program is now open for applications.

Flinders was successful in securing two grants from the last round. The program aims to deliver outcomes that support Defence policy objectives to improve and increase the strategic policy workforce’s capability to deliver high-quality policy advice to Defence and Government.

The Program will prioritise funding proposals that support the following outcomes:

• Increase the amount and quality of discourse, debate and research on Australian Defence strategic policy issues of priority interest and strategic relevance to generate new insights, concepts, understandings and policy solutions; 
• Deliver professional development opportunities to the strategic policy workforce with a view to enhancing their subject matter, tradecraft and leadership knowledge, skills and abilities.

Please contact research.grants@flinders.edu.au for a copy of the grant guidelines and application form.

Preference will be given to applications proposing activities that support the following priority areas;

1. What is meant by “defending Australia and its national interests” and who gets to decide?
2. How does Australia create and sustain national power? How can Defence contribute to the hard, soft and smart aspects of national power? How can Australia use national power (especially the Defence part) to shape our position and role in the world?
3. How may economics and economic coercion affect Defence’s mission to defend Australia and its national interests?
4. What are Australia’s international and Defence relations options in a multi-polar world and more dynamic Indo-Pacific?
5. What opportunities and mechanisms are available to Australia to enhance regional defence and security engagement in the Indian Ocean?
6. What are potential future directions in the Australia – US alliance?
7. What are the emerging trends in Homeland Security (for example: cyber, unmanned and autonomous systems, critical infrastructure, terrorism, environment / climate change, foreign interference) and what is their impact on Government’s and Defence’s future planning and role?
8. What are the opportunities and challenges posed by disruptive and converging technologies to the mission, design, structure and operations of Defence and the Australian Defence Force?
9. What are the legal, ethical and moral ramifications of the employment of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems and Biotechnological Weapons the militaries in a strategic environment where other potential state or non-state actors are actively employing these systems?
10. What is national resilience, and how can it be factored into Government and Defence policy responses?
11. What is Australia’s strategic personality, and what does that mean for government and Defence?

There are no maximum or minimum amounts that can be applied for, but a total of  $2,000,000 million will be available for Program, with all applications subject to selection criteria, including value for money considerations. For reference, the two successful projects from Flinders in the last round received around $125,000 each.

All applications should have direct relevance to Department of Defence strategic policy interests and challenges for Australia's future defence and security needs. 

The application closing date is 30 November 2019 at 11:30 pm (ACT Local Time). The Flinders internal closing date for a completed final draft application is 18 November 2019. Your full application must be submitted to research.grants@flinders.edu.au by the internal review date to receive a full compliance review where they will check matters including application eligibility budget and other compliance matters.

For application assistance and advice, contact Mr Tony Kyriacou, Defence Partnerships Director or Sarah Jay, Research Grants Officer, (IGII).

As the funding comes from the Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group, it would be worth considering how you can reference the Defence White Paper in your applications to ensure alignment with broader policy considerations.

Researchers considering applying for an Australian Research Council Discovery Project are encouraged to attend the upcoming Information Session.

To be held on Friday, 18 October 2019 from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm in Lecture Theatre 1, Flinders Medical Centre, the session will feature a panel facilitated by Maya Roberts, Senior Research Grants Officer (ARC), Research Development and Support. The panel will include Professor Jim Mitchell, CSE, Professor Mike Nicholls, Dean (Research) CEPSW, and Associate Professor Janni Petersen, CMPH.

The panel will discuss:

• scheme overview, funding levels, and key eligibility considerations,
• how to plan/write a Discovery Project,
• how to address the assessment criteria,
• the assessment process, and
• Flinders support and process including timelines

Register for the session via ienrol.

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is embarking on a new initiative that supports world-class academic investigators who have made notable contributions to immunotherapy and have the greatest potential to propel the field forward.

CRI’s newest program, the CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR Program—Scientists Taking Risks—will provide long-term funding to mid-career scientists providing them the freedom and flexibility to pursue high-risk, high-reward research at the forefront of discovery and innovation.

Rooted in CRI’s exceptional track record of identifying and supporting people who have had a major impact on the cancer immunology enterprise, these new grants will not be tied to a specific research project, but rather would support outstanding researchers based on the quality and promise of their overall work. The Lloyd J. Old STAR program will provide up to $1.25 million over a five-year period to support mid-career scientists: tenure-track assistant professors (minimum 3 years) and associate professors (maximum 3 years).

Candidates for the Lloyd J. Old STAR program must meet the following eligibility requirements:

The applicant must have an M.D., Ph.D., or M.D./Ph.D. (or equivalent)

Applicants must belong to one of the following categories as of 1 July 2019:

• Tenure-track assistant professor with a minimum of 3 years in this position (appointed on or before 1 July 2016)
• Tenure-track associate professor with a maximum of 3 years in this position (appointed on or after 1 July 2016)

Adjunct or acting positions are not eligible. The closest equivalent to tenure-track in Australia is permanent employment. CRI has no citizenship restrictions, and research supported by the award may be conducted at medical schools and research centers in the United States or abroad.

Applicants are expected to commit a minimum of 80% of their time to conducting research.

Applications close 15 January 2020. The Flinders' internal closing date for a completed final draft application is 2 January 2020. For application advice and assistance, contact Amanda Wright, Research Grants Officer (NHMRC and Health).

For more information, visit the CRI website.

Water is our most precious resource. It plays a crucial role in the very biggest issues that we face as a global community.

Drivers for future water quality and quantity requirements on the planet include: climate change, population growth, food access, energy generation, sanitation standards, health care, and environmental preservation. Additionally, water is a key priority for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. But what changes are needed if we are to meet the Earth’s future requirements?

Are global water reserves able to sustain the world’s burgeoning population? How will climate change affect our planet’s water resources? Is it possible to meet our water-food-energy requirements in this changing context, whilst also protecting the environment?

Professor Craig Simmons, Director, National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, and Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Hydrogeology will present on these topics and more at this free event, Liquid assets - Addressing current and future global water needs to be held at the Victoria Square campus from 5.30 pm on Tuesday 22 October 2019.

Professor Simmons will discuss how we can address these problems and prepare for 2050, 2100 and beyond. He will demonstrate the important role groundwater and environmental research, management and policy are playing to provide solutions to current and future global water issues.

Water is everything. Without it we are nothing. Now is the time to act. 

To register to attend, visit the Registration page.

Through its education and research programs, Flinders encourages new ways of thinking, and supports experimentation and daring, with the mission to contribute on an international scale through ‘changing lives and changing the world’. So we invite you to share and collaborate with us on our BRAVE journey. We will impart our knowledge and new discoveries, elevate discussion and inspire debate; all with the view to facilitate the betterment of our society. To find out more about the BRAVE series, please visit the Flinders website.

Be BRAVE, be bold, be at Flinders.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant Opportunity and the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) priority round is now open for funding in 2020/2021 - with applications due 27 November 2019.

Investigator Grants consolidate separate fellowship and research support into one grant scheme that provides the highest-performing researchers at all career stages with funding for their salary (if required) and a significant research support package.

These grants provide the investigator with the flexibility to pursue important new research directions as they arise and to form collaborations as needed, rather than being restricted to the scope of a specific research project.

To provide our research community with key information, and details of the application process and Flinders' support to applicants, an NHMRC Investigator Grants Information will be held on Tuesday, 15 October 2019. Please enrol to attend via ienrol - Research.

Full application guidelines and templates for the can be found under the Grant Opportunity (GO) documents via GrantConnect. In addition to the guidelines, the following resources from the NHMRC are also available on GrantConnect available to assist applicants to prepare applications:

• Investigator Grant 2020: Key Changes
• 2020 Eligibility Web Tool
• Key Characteristics of Investigator Grant 2019 Applications

The Investigator Grants: MRFF Priority Round grants aim to ensure the next generation of talented Australians have the capacity to make and progress great medical discoveries and promotes opportunities for active clinical researchers to work in partnership with professional colleges and industry. It will support the research program of outstanding early- to mid-career clinical researchers that contribute to the MRFF priority research areas (see link below).

The MRFF Priority round is open to outstanding early- to mid- career researchers contributing to the MRFF priority research areas. The Commonwealth Government is investing $32 million over the next two years to support MRFF funded Investigator Grants. Applications for this funding will be submitted and peer-reviewed through the 2020 NHMRC Investigator Grant round.

Further information on Priority Areas and Grant Guidelines for this MRFF funding round are available on GrantConnect. Applications for the MRFF Priority funding are restricted to applicants at the EL category (EL1 and EL2).

Applications close 27 November 2019 and must be submitted through the NHMRC Research Grants Management System (RGMS). Further information on the scheme can be found on the NHMRC website.

For application advice please contact the NHMRC Grants Team - Gareth Rees, Amanda Wright and Lucy Sheehan-Hennessy on nhmrc@flinders.edu.au. For all NHMRC timelines and Flinders' internal process information, visit the NHMRC page on the Flinders Research Support website.

Do you want financial support for short or long-term stays in Dresden for scientific, professional and cultural exchange with Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden)? Are you an academic or PhD student working in diabetes or depression research projects? Or are you a professional staff member who will provide support to promote collaborative partnerships and/or joint projects between TU Dresden and Flinders?

If you are any of these, support is now available through the Scientific and Administrative Staff Mobility 2020 program and the PhD Student Mobility 2020 program.

Over the past five years, Flinders and TU Dresden have conducted leading-edge international health and medical research, promoted staff and student mobility exchanges, and health professional education opportunities. This, and other collaborative engagement partnerships with TU Dresden, has now led to the creation of the Scientific and Administrative Staff Mobility 2020 program. Applications for the program close 6 December 2019.

Funding is available for €89 per day for up to 22 days, or €2,000 per month to cover living expenses plus €1,350 once for travel costs. Applications are sought for:

• The development of new or continuation of ongoing projects in the field of diabetes or depression
• Preparation of applications for third-­‐party funds for joint projects
• Initiation of joint projects within the partnership, e.g. in research support, fundraising, student & staff exchange, etc.
• Professional and cultural exchange on administrative level, e.g.via job shadowing

Applications are to be submitted, with the following documents, via email to Mr Felix Klee, Department for Development and International Affairs, Carl Gustav Carus School of Medicine at TU Dresden, felix.klee@tu-­dresden.de:

• Letter of motivation/project outline (short description of your current position, proposed outcomes, expected benefit from the stay, proposed schedule for the planned stay, previous connections to TU Dresden);
• Declaration of consent signed by your manager; and, if possible,
  
• Letter of invitation of the corresponding partner at TU Dresden

For more information, see the guidelines and application information below:

Staff Mobility 2020 guidelines and application information

PhD Student Mobility 2020 guidelines and application information

If you are intending to apply, please contact your College RDS Staff to advise them. 

The Australian Government is inviting applications through an open competitive process to apply to deliver services under the Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Program: Fostering Integration Grants in 2019-20.

The objective of the grant opportunity is to facilitate the participation, integration and social cohesion of both newly arrived migrants and culturally diverse communities in Australia.

The program aims to facilitate this by:

• encouraging the social and economic participation of migrants by developing skills and cultural competencies to integrate into Australian social, economic and civic life, and build community resilience
• promoting and encouraging the uptake of Australian values and liberal democracy and amplifying the value of Australian citizenship
• promoting a greater understanding and acceptance of racial, religious and cultural diversity
• addressing issues within Australian communities that show potential for, or early signs of, low social integration.

Priority will be given to small not-for-profit organisations who directly represent a specific culturally diverse community, and/or organisations who are strongly connected to the culturally diverse community and have a physical presence in that community. 

Preferred organisations may include culturally diverse community-specific organisations or mainstream organisations who are strongly connected to the culturally diverse community and have a physical presence in that community. 

Larger and well-established organisations are eligible to apply but should consider whether they have effective links with the target community to enable them to successfully deliver the project, and/or supporting or partnering with smaller organisations in their applications

Applications close at 11:00 pm AEDT on 5 November 2019. The Flinders' internal closing date for a completed final draft application is 22 October 2019. For application advice and assistance, contact Dr Sarah Jay, Research Grants Officer (IGII).

Information about applying for this round can be found on the Community Grants Hub website and GrantConnect.

Team Defence Australia will be taking an Australian delegation/pavilion to the Undersea Defence Technology 2020 conference, 26-28 May 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Flinders University was invited to participate in the 2019 conference, along with a range of Australian industry including the Australian Submarine Corporation. It is anticipated that Flinders will be invited to participate in the delegation in 2020. Interested researchers are encouraged to contact Tony Kyriacou, Defence Partnerships Director, if they are interested in participating.

The 2020 conference has opened its call for papers, with abstracts of 250-500 words due on 2 December 2019.

Papers/speakers are being sought from the following six core pillars, and Flinders' researchers are encouraged to consider submitting an abstract:

1. Platform Design
2. Sensors & Processing
3. Weapon & Payload Systems
4. Unmanned, Remotely Piloted & Autonomous Systems
5. Operational Drivers & Imperatives
6. Exploitation of Commercial & New Technologies

More information on the six core pillars is available on the Conference website.