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:
   Australian Research Council visit - an ERA and EIA focused forum;
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.

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

Australian Research Council visit - an ERA and EIA focused forum, Monday 4 November 2019

Drop-In Sessions: ARC grants, Monday 4 November 2019

Drop-In Session: NHMRC and Health grants, Wednesday 6 November 2019

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

The National Health and Medical Research Council Development Grants 2020 is now open in Sapphire.

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.

Support for the commercial development of a product, process, procedure or service that, if applied, would result in improved health care, disease prevention or provide health cost savings is provided under the scheme. Research must, via a commercial business plan, have detailed feasible strategies for commercialisation that takes into account the regulatory pathway, protectable intellectual property, commercial barriers and potential routes to market.

If you anticipate applying for the Development Grant round please register to access Sapphire. After registering you will be sent an email that will enable you to log-in and access your account, including your Profile.

The NHMRC is running a pilot during the Development Grant 2020 round. See our previous article for further information on the pilot and how to get involved.

The NHMRC will update Sapphire’s web page with latest news and other relevant information. We encourage you to check back regularly to keep yourself informed. 

Minimum data is due by 20 November 2019 and applications close in Sapphire on 11 December 2019, with the deadline for applicants for certification in Sapphire of 10 December 2019. If you are intending to apply, contact the NHMRC team in Research Development and Support (RDS) for the RDS deadline for compliance review. 

For more information, visit the NHMRC website. Information on Flinders investment and support, and RDS application process, visit the Flinders NHMRC Scheme page.

An expansive data resource is now available to researchers in Flinders’ Colleges of EPSW and NHS, as the University becomes the first national partner to join the Raine Study – a cohort of 2,900 women, their parents, children and now grandchildren studied across a rich array of health and wellbeing factors for 30 years.

As an institutional member, researchers in these Colleges have free, easy access to this rich collection of data together with priority approval and review, for up to ten (multi-paper) projects every year.

The Raine Study is one of the largest studies across the gamut of life-stages to be undertaken anywhere in the world. Its data has contributed to more than 500 papers around the globe and many ground-breaking insights on health and quality of life.

For more information and details on how to access the databank, see the article from Flinders in Touch.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) scheme is now open. A fixed total budget of $2.5 million for 5 years is available for successful applicants.

The CRE 2020 provides support for teams of researchers to pursue collaborative research and develop capacity in clinical research, health services research and public health research. 

The objective of the CRE scheme is to improve health outcomes and promote or improve translation of research outcomes into policy and/or practice. The CRE scheme will also support researchers in capacity building activities, including in specific areas of need identified by NHMRC.

The intended outcomes of the CRE scheme are to: 

• support the conduct and development of innovative, high quality, collaborative research
• promote effective translation of research into health policy and/or practice
• foster and build capacity in the health and medical research workforce
• provide opportunities to expand and improve collaborations between research teams. 

Minimum data is due by 20 November 2019 and applications close in RGMS on 4 December 2019, with the deadline for applicants for certification in RGMS of 3 December 2019. If you are intending to apply, contact the NHMRC team in Research Development and Support (RDS) for the RDS deadline for compliance review. 

Applicants should note the following changes to the CRE 2020 Guidelines: 

All successful CRE applications will be awarded a fixed total budget of $2.5 million. Applicants are no longer required to submit detailed application budgets.

The CRE in Population Health Research stream has been renamed the CRE in Public Health Research to create consistency with NHMRC’s Broad Research Areas terminology. Renaming this stream does not affect the scope of research funded under the stream.

The applicant team interview has been removed from the peer-review process.

Additional funding may be available to support health and medical research on the health effects of radio frequency electromagnetic energy.

For more information, visit the NHMRC website. Information on Flinders investment and support, and RDS application process, visit the Flinders NHMRC Scheme page.

Research Development and Support (RDS) is welcoming expressions of interest (EOI) from potential mentees and mentors to participate in the Flinders University Researcher Mentoring Scheme, February – December 2020. EOIs are due Friday 22 November 2019. 

This whole of University initiative is a strategy to support our early-career researchers (ECRs) and those transitioning to mid-career status. 

The scheme provides training and support to ECRs (mentees) to develop and maintain an effective, outcomes focused one-on-one mentoring partnership with a senior Flinders academic (mentor). Matching is based on a mentee’s articulated aims, goals and needs. The scheme is underpinned by ECR-focused researcher development opportunities run throughout the year.

The annual Scheme has positively impacted on ECRs’ well-being and research profile, including grant income, publications and engagement. Mentees have reported that the scheme has enhanced their ability to plan their research career, set goals, lead, manage and collaborate within and across their discipline.

My mentor’s research area is very niche and she has built an international reputation in the area – so I have some great insights into strategy to get research noticed, build capacity, and identify strategic opportunities to take advantage of.  

I got some great mentoring on strategic networking both within and outside the university, which I had no idea about. I think the best part is having someone to talk to about whatever is going on… someone who can be objective.  

The eligibility criteria and application documents to participate as a mentee or mentor are available from Dr Marina Delpin, Scheme coordinator, RDS. Please contact Marina to discuss any queries you may have about the mentoring scheme. 

The Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation (AFRAN) Inc. is an incorporated association that aims to actively promote the development of cooperation between France and Australia in the areas of research and innovation.

The Association’s main goal is to provide Australian and French students, researchers, R&D managers, industry players, innovators and policy makers with an online networking and collaboration platform, a series of networking events and fora, and support to initiate and grow bilateral research collaboration and innovation with global impact.

Membership is currently free, and members are able to:

• Access to a supportive community of high profile academic, researchers, policy makers and industry leaders.
• Effective tools to build research networks and develop new opportunities.
• Comprehensive access to critical information and expertise for research development, informing decision-making and supporting innovation, e.g. Latest bilateral research and innovation policy developments, international funding opportunities, job and internship opportunities.
• Targeted knowledge on bilateral research expertise and industry capability.
• Visibility of French-Australian research and innovation collaborations through publicity of member actions through its website, newsletters and networks.
• Dedicated AFRAN seed-funding opportunities to members’ initiatives (e.g. workshops, scientific cafés, local AFRAN community meetings).

To join, visit the AFRAN website.

Join Professor Alison Kitson, Vice President and Executive Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and Foundational Director and Knowledge Translation Lead for the Caring Futures Institute, at the BRAVE lecture, Handle with care: caring for older people - getting the fundamentals right to be held at the Victoria Square campus from 5.30 pm on Tuesday 12 November 2019.

Alison will present on fundamentals of care and other important care-related issues.

Established in October 2018, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has gained widespread public interest, generating over 4000 telephone calls to the commission information line, and receiving over 6500 public submissions.

It could be argued that this major inquiry investigating the quality of Australian residential and in-home care is long overdue with media reporting and government reviews in the last decade highlighting systematic failures and an increase in notices of non-compliance issued, and sanctions imposed on providers.

With an interim report due from the Commissioners by 31 October, and a final report now due in April 2020, Alison and her team have reviewed the transcripts from the Royal Commission in order to analyse and synthesise the evidence of the community’s experiences of the fundamentals of care.

With this information, they will inform new practices, policies, and recommendations of care/care models for the aged care sector.

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. 

You are invited to hear from Professor Caroline McMillen, Chief Scientist for South Australia and share your thoughts on her vision for the Science Technology, Engineering Maths and Medicine (STEMM) Research and Innovation (R&I) Value Chain in South Australia at the State of Science Presentation and Consultation.

This event will be held on Wednesday 6 November from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm at the UniSA City West Campus.

Professor McMillen began as Chief Scientist for South Australia 12 months ago and over this time has been meeting, speaking and listening to stakeholders across the STEMM R&I Value Chain in South Australia. This process and feedback has led to the development of ‘The State of Science, Research and Innovation Discussion Paper’.

Professor McMillen would like to share this discussion paper and gather your feedback to help shape and the development of a new science and innovation strategy for South Australia.

This strategy, referred to as EXCITE, aims to grow the STEMM R&I Value Chain in South Australia to deliver economic and social outcomes that will assist in driving the South Australian Government’s economic Growth Agenda. Key enablers of Excellence, Collaboration, Innovation and Translation, and an Enabled Future Workforce are seen as central tenets to the South Australian Excite Strategy with the strategy to include a number of strategic actions.

For more information and to register to attend, visit the Eventbrite page.

With the growing importance of the 'local' in global issues, the organisers are proud to host an action-oriented conference focusing on localisation and collaboration to address major challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Localising the sustainable development goals conference will be held from 18 - 19 March 2020 at the Queensland State Library.

Local action is essential to the success of the global Sustainable Development Goals. This conference will look at how different local stakeholders – including large businesses and SMEs, state and local governments, civil society and community organisations, universities, and schools – are using (or can use) the SDGs to drive local action towards better outcomes for their communities and their world.

For more information and to register your interest, visit the conference website.

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.

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.

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.

Ageing Well International (AWI) in partnership with the Australian Centre for Asian Business are inviting interested researchers to Meet the Network.

Since the launch of AWI in October 2018, the network has grown to more than 250 business representatives who are actively engaged in international markets. Come join us to hear an update from these businesses and receive an update from the University of South Australia and Metcalf Group (SA) on their progress in China and the SE Asia market.

Meet the Network will be held on Wednesday 30 October 2019, from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm at MinterEllison, Level 10, 25 Grenfell Street, Adelaide. Register to attend the free event at eventbrite.

The event is hosted by MinterEllison and will be a great opportunity to catch-up with SA's Ageing Well Network.

Hear from the following AWI Network Members

• Bruce Gurd, Director, Australian Centre for Asian Business, University of South Australia
• Richard Lee, Associate Professor, Asia Business, University of South Australia 
• Leonie McKeon, Business Development Manager, Metcalf Group (SA) 
• Julie Cowell, Business Manager, Metcalf Group (SA)

Bruce Gurd will present on aged care trends in Shandong Province and how the University of South Australia is planning to extend their current research project to China. Their current project is with aged-care organisations in Australia on improving the health and well-being of elderly residents, particularly focusing on food intake and nutrition.

The Re:produce workshop, 10-11 December 2019 at Customs House, Brisbane, is an opportunity for Early- and Mid- Career Researchers (EMCRs) to access two days of hands-on training in key areas of the reproducibility of science.

EMCRs can apply for funding to attend this workshop, which encourages open discussion on the challenges related to the reproducibility of their research and find ways to navigate the tools available to make their research more open and verifiable.

Lack of reproducibility of scientific claims has been a recurrent topic in many branches of science and the source of public debate in recent years. Many solutions have been proposed to address specific problems, but navigating them and finding effective tools and methods to implement can be a daunting task for researchers and their institutions.

Mobility grants from the Australian Academy of Science are available to support the attendance of a range of EMCRs at this event. The grants close on 31 October 2019.

The grants can be used to cover costs associated with attendance at the event, such as caring responsibilities, travel, accommodation and other support required to facilitate attendance. If you are applying for a mobility grant, please alert Dr Marina Delpin, Manager: Researcher Training, Development and Communication, Research Development and Support. 

For more information, visit the event page.