On Wednesday 16 October, Minister for Health, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP will launch Research Australia's 2019 poll results at Parliament House in Canberra.

Research Australia is inviting interested parties to join them for a light breakfast to hear the key outcomes of this year's opinion poll.

This survey paints a solid picture of how Australians feel about health and medical research and the importance they place upon it.

Date: Wednesday 16 October 2019

Time: 8.30 am - 10.00 am

Venue: Private Dining Room 1 & 2 Parliament House, Canberra

RSVP: Register your attendance & dietary requirements by 10 October 2019.

Nominations are now open for the National Awards for Disability Leadership, which recognise outstanding achievements by individuals, including academics and researchers, who have significantly contributed to advancing the status of disabled people.

The Awards reflect what is important to disabled people and the ways that change is being effected and pursuing equality for the disability community. 

Nominations close on 18 October. Contact Dr Marina Delpin, Manager, Researcher Training, Development, and Communication, of your intent to apply.

The Awards will be delivered across seven categories for outstanding achievement or outcomes by disabled people, reflecting the diversity of the community, and the intersectional nature of their lives in:

1. The Arts – using artistic expression to advance the status of disabled people.
2. Change Making – achieving lasting change to the status quo (policy, programs, legislation) which results in greater equality for disabled people.
3. Rights Activism – using human rights mechanisms, including implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to advance the status of disabled people.
4. Innovation – being innovative, working outside the box, developing new systems, technology or tools to achieve outcomes in the status of disabled people.
5. Social Impact – using the public domain, through mainstream and social media, or other digital interfaces, to achieve visibility of disabled people.
6. Inclusion – designing processes, systems or programs which illustrate the diversity of disabled people as equal contributors to achieving outcomes.
7. The Lesley Hall Award for Lifetime Achievement – awarded to an individual who has shown commitment to the disability rights movement and worked overtime to achieve significant outcomes for disabled people.

The National Awards for Disability Leadership are brought to you by a collaboration of Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, Disabeld People's Organisations Australia, and the Disability Leadership Institute.

For more information and to nominate, visit the Disability Leadership Institute website.

The SmartSat CRC is a partnership between universities, other research organisations, and industry that has been funded by the Australian Government to develop know-how and technologies in advanced telecommunications and IoT connectivity, intelligent satellite systems and Earth observation next generation data services.

The SmartSat CRC invites expressions of interest for higher degrees by research (Masters & PhD) scholarships commencing in 2020.

Successful candidates will be enrolled with one of the SmartSat CRC university partners, which includes Flinders University, and will work on applied Research and Development which align with their research programs.

Topics can include:

• Advanced communications & IoT connectivity
• Advanced satellite systems, sensors & AI
• Next-generation earth observation remote sensing analytics & data services
• space cybersecurity systems and space governance.

Applicants should have a first-class honours degree, or equivalent, in a related discipline. Scholarships are available for Australian residents. Non-residents will be considered, subject to project specific requirements. Australian citizenship may be required for projects with specific industry partners.  

Refer to the SmartSat CRC website for more information.

The Bond University Sustainability of Healthcare Awards and Colloquium aim to promote and raise awareness of best practice in high-value health care and recognising the achievements of those in the community who are advocates and pioneers in this area.

Each award category winner will receive a $5,000 bursary to use towards their sustainable healthcare project. Awards are open to individuals and organisations predominantly based in Australia.

Nominations will close on 18 October 2019. Please contact Dr Marina Delpin, Manager, Researcher Training, Development, and Communication if you are intending to apply.

Sustainable Healthcare aims to improve health outcomes while using resources wisely. Sustainable health interventions should be evidence-based, effective, minimise waste, affordable and able to be implemented in the long term without accumulating adverse consequences for society or individuals.

The 2019 Sustainability of Healthcare Awards categories are:

• Health Literacy Award – for increasing public understanding of sustainable health
• Practice Award – for sustainable health intervention that is being implemented
• Research Award – for increasing understanding of causes or interventions for sustainable health
• Educational Award – for increasing understanding in students of sustainable health
• Policy Award – for driving improvements at regional or national level

All nominees and award winners will be recognised at the event for their contribution to Sustainable Health Care, and winners will be given the opportunity to speak about their submission to the wider audience.

In 2019, the Sustainability of Healthcare Awards and Colloquium will include a day time session beginning at 1 pm, featuring international keynote speakers Dr Vinay Prasad, Associate Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, USA, and Dr John Brodersen, Associate Research Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, as well as interactive forums and discussion panels based around overdiagnosis, overtreatment and the sustainability of healthcare. The Sustainable Healthcare Awards will then begin from 5.30 pm.

For more information, to register to attend the Colloguium, and to access the nomination form, visit the Bond University website.

The 2020 Conference of the Metrology Society of Australasia will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 3 – 5 March 2020.

A call for abstracts is currently open for oral presentations and workshops. The deadline for abstract submission is Friday 11 October 2019 with acceptance notification by Tuesday 5 November 2019. Abstracts can be submitted by email to melbourne2020@metrology.asn.au.

Abstracts are sought for presentations and workshops in the various fields of metrology including but not limited to:

• Traceability and the SI
• Environment and climate change
• Laboratory practice, accreditation and proficiency testing
• Evaluation of measurement uncertainties
• Chemical and biological measurement
• Temperature metrology
• Mass metrology
• Flow metrology
• Electrical metrology
• Pressure metrology
• Dimensional metrology
• Photometry and radiometry
• Acoustics and vibration metrology

For more information, visit the Conference website.

ienrol research lists all training and development opportunities related to developing skills core to the research process and doing research at Flinders University. You can book to attend workshops, information sessions, and/or seminars that aim to facilitate the ongoing development of all researchers.

This regular posting in Inspiring Research will update you as to what’s on offer in the coming weeks, listing current opportunities that you can participate in and book into now.

Click on the links below to view the course details.

Drop-In Sessions: Industry, Government, International & Internal grants, Tuesday 1 October 2019

Drop-In Session: NHMRC and Health grants, Wednesday 2 October 2019

ResearchNow health check - preparing your profile for the global go-live, October 2019, Thursday 3 October 2019

ResearchNow health check - preparing your profile for the global go-live, October 2019, Thursday 3 October 2019

Drop-In Sessions: ARC grants, Wednesday 9 October 2019

Drop-In Session: NHMRC and Health grants, Wednesday 9 October 2019

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

The Research Manager Dashboard has been improved and is now live. It provides real-time updated financial information, with each Chief Investigator designated a dashboard.

Now accessible online through TechOne Financials, the Research Manager Dashboard will ensure that relevant information is available for your research project when you need it.

The following benefits are also expected:

• A simplified view of the portfolio of your research projects that is clear and intuitive to follow,
• A streamlined “whole of life” view of your research project budget view allowing for clearer point in time view of the available budget for research projects,
• An updated “Action Indicator” to help you focus on the projects that need your immediate attention. 

The aim of this first review was to simplify and streamline the Research Manager Dashboard used for monitoring research projects in TechOne Financials.

As a result of the work undertaken to review the prior Dashboard with input from Research staff, the Research Manager Dashboard has been redesigned in this way as an interim measure to better meet the demands of ongoing research project management. 

These incremental improvements are in response to your feedback. There are further opportunities being explored in the grants research area of work. The continuous improvement approach is a journey, and as such, the Finance and Procurement portfolio are encouraging continued feedback and support.

For more information or guidance on TechOne Financials, please visit the Finance and Procurement Services webpage. 

For training contact finance.systems@flinders.edu.au.

The Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee (SAC HREC) is a joint committee of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network and Flinders University.

The SAC HREC has identified high priority clinical areas where further representation is needed and have opened a call for expressions of interest. 

This is an excellent opportunity for clinicians to engage in professional development, improve their knowledge of human research ethics, improve the quality (and thus turnaround time) of their own human research ethics applications, and network with other clinical and non-clinical members.

The SAC HREC understands that many clinicians are extremely busy and have developed a range of engagement options to suit clinicians with much of the committee's work handled out of session via email. Members are expected to attend a minimum of 6 meetings per year, which are held every 3 weeks on a Monday afternoon. This will be reverting to monthly meetings as of 2020.

High priority areas where the SAC HREC is seeking greater immediate representation include:

• Mental Health
• Respiratory and Sleep Medicine
• Paediatrics
• Pharmacology
• Medical Oncology

Other areas where the SAC HREC lacks adequate/optimal representation for its current (and developing) needs include:

• ICCU
• Nephrology
• Infectious Diseases
• Dermatology
• Haematology
• Immunology
• Diabetes and Endocrine

Clinicians interested in applying are asked to submit an Expression of Interest with a copy of their CV to Health.SALHNOfficeforResearch@sa.gov.au or to Petrina Kasperski.

Flinders Library and IDS are pleased to announce that Flinders now offers a site license for Covidence.

Covidence is a cloud-based software tool designed to facilitate the systematic review process. Covidence is a core component of the Cochrane review process, an industry-standard approach to systematic literature reviews.

Who can use Covidence?

Any researcher already using the limited free version, or any researcher who wants to undertake a systematic literature review / Cochrane review.

Covidence can also be used in the classroom as a tool to help demonstrate the systematic review research method and critical appraisal of studies.

What does Covidence do?

Covidence assists with multiple steps in the systematic review process, including:

• Importing data from bibliographic management software tools
• Screening and selecting studies
• Resolving disagreements
• Extracting study data
• Assessing study quality/risk of bias
• Exporting data to multiple file types
• Creating PRISMA diagrams

Covidence is available to all researchers at Flinders from 1 October 2019. More information is available on their website.

How do I get access to Covidence?

Covidence will be available via the Flinders Library’s A-Z database page. Users log in with their Flinders email address and password.

How much does it cost to use?

Covidence is available at no cost to all Flinders researchers.

The Australia Africa Universities Network (AAUN) will be holding a symposium at the Parramatta South Campus, Western Sydney University on 22 November 2019.

The AAUN network is calling for presentations at the Symposium from researchers and research teams on the work that they are doing in, or in collaboration with Africa.

This symposium will focus on:

• Health research (including maternal, child, and women's health)
• Food security
• Water resources

The Executive Director, Worldwide University Network, and Chairman of AAUN, John Hearn, will be in attendance at the symposium.

If you are interested in participating in the symposium, contact Dr Annette McLaren, Senior Policy Advisor and Project Manager in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research and Innovation), Western Sydney University via email A.Mclaren@westernsydney.edu.au.

Are you a postgraduate student with an interest in public policy, the environment, science and technology, natural resources, foreign affairs, social policy, law, statistics or economics? Would you like to apply your research skills in the parliamentary environment?

The Parliamentary Library offers two summer research scholarships for postgraduate students each year. Scholars work alongside specialist researchers in the Parliamentary Library in Canberra for a period of six weeks (January–February 2020) to produce a report on a topic of relevance to the Library’s research program.

The Parliamentary Library is a unique research environment: it provides high-quality information, analysis, and advice to senators and members of the House of Representatives in support of their parliamentary and representational roles, as well as to their staff, the staff of committees, and the Governor-General.

The Summer Research Scholarship allows scholars to understand and work within this important national institution. The scholarship also gives recipients the opportunity to:

• build research expertise
• contribute to scholarship on the Parliament and its work
• receive training and access the Library’s specialist collections and databases
• interact with subject-matter experts and
• be guided by a mentor who will provide advice during the scholarship.

Upon successful completion of the scholarship, an honorarium of $1,800 is paid.

Download the information kit at www.aph.gov.au/library.

Applications must be submitted by 16 October 2019 to parliamentary.librarian@aph.gov.au. 

The Governors of The Ian Potter Foundation approved the establishment of four funding pillars that align with the Foundation's Vision for a Vibrant, Healthy, Fair and Sustainable Australia, at their September 2019 Board meeting. 

From Round 1, 2020 (opening in November 2019) all grants will be made based on revised funding guidelines, which align with each of these funding pillars.

The four pillars are

• Vibrant – Arts and Culture
• Healthy – Medical Research Equipment and Public Health Research Projects
• Fair – Early Childhood Development and Community Wellbeing
• Sustainable – Environment

Not-for-profit organisations can apply for grants that meet the funding guidelines of the above areas. Major grants remain by invitation only.

Check the Funding Rounds page on the Ian Potter Foundation website to see when each funding area will next open.

Joint and Operations Analysis Division (JOAD) and the Defence Innovation Partnership have launched the second Modelling Complex Warfighting (MCW) Strategic Research Initiative (SRI) call to academia.

The MCW SRI expressly seeks to revolutionise how they undertake Operations Research (OR) in Defence Science Technology to better handle the interaction of complex geopolitical, social, technological, economic and cultural factors for design of the Future Force. Force design is the process by which Defence conceives and produces a plan for its future capabilities.

The MCW SRI aims to address the force design and future defence force employment problems under four broad research themes:

• Conquering Uncertainty,
• Innovative Simulations,
• Knowledge Synthesis, and
• Modelling Complexity.

More information on the MCW SRI can be found at DST website.

Expressions of interest are to be submitted by 18 October 2019. The Flinders internal closing date for a completed final draft Expression of Interest is 4 October 2019. Mr Tony Kyriacou, Defence Partnerships Director, and Mary Lyons, Senior Research Grants Officer (IGII) can provide application advice and assistance.

The projects will be for a period of 12 months commencing in January 2020. For more information on the call for expressions of interest, visit the DST website.

JOAD undertakes rigorous, scientifically-based analysis of Defence operations and capabilities to provide independent, impartial and timely advice. Their Mission is to develop and employ trusted analytical methods and decision support tools that give Defence and national security decision superiority across all aspects of force design, operational planning, command and control, and support to the Australian Defence Force on operations.

The Michelson Prizes are scientific awards of US $150,000 given annually to young investigators who are applying disruptive concepts and inventive processes to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy research across major global diseases. 

The 2020 Michelson Prizes will focus on transformative research in human immunology, with trans-disease applications to accelerate vaccine and immunotherapeutic discovery. They will be looking for high-impact and highly innovative research that has the potential to be applied across many diseases and to significantly expand our understanding of the human immune system.

Applications close on 31 October 2019. The Flinders internal closing date for a completed final draft application is 17 October 2019. For application advice and assistance, contact Lucy Sheehan-Hennessy, Research Grants Officer (NHMRC and Health).

If you are a young researcher with an innovative research project, please visit the Michelson Prizes website to learn more about applying. 

A free event is being held at Tonsley for those interested in CRC-P grants. To be held on Wednesday 9 October from 10.30 am, the first part of the day will be an information seminar and the second part will allow those close to finalising a bid to receive feedback via bid clinics.

The CRC Association welcome attendance not only from those who are close to finalising a bid but also from early-career researchers just beginning to familiarise themselves with the program and everyone in between. SMEs are especially encouraged to attend.

This Information Day will provide you with an opportunity to hear from Tony Peacock, CEO of the CRC Association; and Martin Dent, CRC Projects Program Manager in the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science; as well as receive specific feedback regarding potential ideas for bids. We will also be joined by special guest, Professor Graham Wren, Director of Major Projects and Special Adviser to the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Strathclyde.

The CRC-P Program is a federally-funded grant program that provides industry-led collaborations with short term (up to three years) matched funding of up to $3 million to develop important new technologies, products, and services. CRC-Ps are funded on a biannual basis.

CRC-Ps must:

• be a short term, industry-identified and industry-led collaborative research project to develop a product, service or process that will solve problems for industry and deliver tangible outcomes
• benefit SMEs and increase their capacity to grow and adapt in changing markets
• include education and training activities.

If you, as a business or research group, are considering a bid, attending this event will give you valuable insights on an effective submission.

To register for the information seminar and/or a bid clinic time slot, visit Eventbrite.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is inviting grant proposals for the Grand Challenges Explorations: Innovations for Improving the Impact of Health Campaigns.

This Grand Challenge seeks innovative solutions that accelerate the improvement of coverage, reach, efficiency, and effectiveness of campaign-based delivery of health interventions. Initial grants of USD $100,000 will be awarded, and applications are only two pages, with no preliminary data required.

Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any type of organisation, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies.

The application deadline is Wednesday, 13 November 2019 11:30 am PST. The Flinders internal closing date is 30 October 2019. For application advice and assistance, contact Rupali Saikia, Research Grants Officer (IGII).

For more information, visit the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website.

The Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) initiative has awarded grants to 1485 investigators in 71 countries, targeting a diverse set of global health and development challenges.

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.

The Australian Research Data Commons Combined Characterisation-Neuroscience Symposium is a national event to discuss and shape the data-driven science across instruments, experiments, and neuroscience in Australia.

The one-day symposium will focus on how to enable interoperability and collaboration between researchers in a data-driven world.

To be held at the Shine Dome, 15 Gordon St, Acton ACT on Wednesday 9 October 2019, from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm

The Symposium aims to bring together Australian and International experts to map the strategic link between imaging facilities, the standards and best practices they apply, and the research communities using instrument data to create data collections.

For more information and to register to attend, see the Symposium's eventbrite page.

If you’re an Early- or Mid- Career Researcher working in an academic or research organisation in regional Australia, mark your calendar for February 2020.

The Australian Academy of Science, through the Theo Murphy Initiative, will have an event coming up that has been designed with regional researchers in mind. 

The Empowering Regional Research conference will be held on 12-13 February 2020 at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW.

The event will create a space where researchers from diverse disciplines can explore collaborations and engage in conversations around the unique challenges faced by those working in regional and remote areas. Attendees will also have the opportunity to join professional development workshops designed to develop key skills that can help EMCRs build successful careers regardless of the sector.  

More information about the event coming soon from the Australian Academy of Science.

Flinders Library are holding a series of informal events around Flinders University Campuses to promote Open Access, including Pop-up Library chats in the Colleges and a free lunchtime screening of the film Paywall: the business of scholarship.

We encourage you to join us and we welcome your curiosity in finding out how we can help you demystify & get the most out of Open Access publishing options for your research. 

Follow the Flinders Library on twitter @FlindersLib and facebook for Open Access Week updates.

Want to know more about the film?

See the entry for the film on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8657152/

Want to know more about Open Access?