Opportunities for HRC Funding
2016 Round
Investment Processes
HRC Overview
Mission: Benefiting NZ through health
research
• Supporting health research for 25 years with
celebrations being held during the year. Established
as a Crown Entity by HRC Act 1990
• Responsible to Minister of Health
• Funding mainly from Vote Science & Innovation
through MBIE
Impact of HRC-funded Research (2014)
• Supported 773 full-time researchers. As many researchers
work part-time on HRC contracts, this translates to 2,678
individuals.
• 17% of NIs supported are emerging researchers (240),
including 102 Research Fellows and 92 Postgraduates. 56%
of First Grant recipients were engaged on HRC projects.
• HRC-funded researchers had a high international profile,
with an average citation of 14.5 per publication.
• HRC-funded researchers were involved in 189 international
collaborations in 28 countries, with 203 positions on
contracts held by the collaborators.
Funding Leaderboard (2003-2014)
Organisation
Grand Total
UofA
$ 307,229,327
UofO
$ 301,701,662
MU
$ 51,138,181
UNISER
$ 49,368,627
MIMR
$ 43,449,628
AUT
$ 33,313,548
HRC
$ 21,379,962
MRINZ
$ 18,685,121
ADHBCT
$ 13,738,165
Te Atawhai o te Ao
$
9,443,148
Update of HRC Refresh Process
• Lessons for HRC from the Refresh
• HRC in a complex landscape
• How to do more with the reality of less - and for how long?
• HRC's aspirations for health research in NZ and what we
are doing about it
• What does the future of HRC look like?
HRC Secretariat
Dr Kathryn McPherson, Chief Executive
•Jaylene Wehipeihana, Acting Group Manager, Māori Health Research
•Dr Vernon Choy, Group Manager, Investment Processes
•Melanie Duncan, Group Administrator
•Dr Katie Evans, Project Manager, Biomedical Research
•Dr Deming Gong, Project Manager, Public Health Research
•Lucy Pomeroy, Project Manager, Clinical Research
•Dr Tania Pocock, Group Manager, Research Policy, Strategy & Evaluation
•Dr Nuhisifa Seve-Williams, Project Manager, Pacific Health Research
• Vivien Lovell, Group Manager, Business Systems
Finance & Corporate Services, Ethics, Communications, Research
Partnerships
Research Investment Streams
Research Investment Streams
End-users
involved
Research for NZ Health
Delivery
Immediate impact on health
policy, clinical-decision-making
&/or service delivery
Applied
Health and
Wellbeing in NZ
Understanding
health and
preventing illness &
injury
Basic
Improving
Outcomes in Acute
& Chronic
Conditions in NZ
Rangahau
Hauora Māori
Building Māori
knowledge &
capability
to address
Māori health issues
HRC & National Science Challenges
• Investment signals & guidelines updated to include
National Science Challenges (NSC)
– HRC “encourages research that can contribute to a NSC, as well as
research on other health priorities, provided it is in scope for one of
our investment signals”
• HRC funding will complement the challenges
– Research will not be excluded because not in NSC scope
– Research will not be prioritised because in NSC scope
– Applications assessed using existing HRC criteria
• Read guidelines & investment signals for detail
HRC & National Science Challenges
• HRC will ensure NSC get maximum value from HRCfunded research
– Successful applicants in scope for NSC will be
encouraged to engage with NSC leads
– HRC will monitor and report outcomes for HRC-funded
research in scope for each NSC
– HRC will identify opportunities for HRC-funded research
to contribute to high-level outcomes sought by NSC
Avoid Falling into Wrong RIS
• 2016 SACs may penalise proposals in wrong RIS
– Max score of 1 for ‘Impact’ criterion if ‘out of scope’
• Read Investment Signals
Applying for Research Funding
Researcher Initiated Proposals
•
•
•
•
•
Programme - $5M, 5 y
Project - $1.2M, 3 y (2, $0.8M; 4-5 y, $1.2M
Feasibility Studies - $0.15M, 1 y
Emerging Researcher First Grant - $0.15M, 3 y
Explorer Grant - $0.15M, 2 y
• Career Development Awards
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Programmes
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Projects
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Requirements for Programme Director
• PRG Director with ≤1 year remaining; or
• PRG director in the last 5 years; or
• First NI on ≥2 PRJ grants from HRC or equivalents that are
current or expired after 14 Oct 2014; or
• First NI on 1 HRC project begun after 14 Oct 2013, leading
≥ 2 First NI on PRJ grants from HRC or equivalents that are
current or expired after 14 Oct 2014.
• ≥ 0.2 FTE to this PRG; and
• Employed by a NZ organisation and residing in NZ
What a Programme Should be?
• Not just 3-5 separate Projects
• Good integration or relationship between objectives
and Projects
• Different Projects within the Programme should relate
logically to overall theme
• Good collaboration between senior investigators
• Assessed by Science Assessing Committee and Programme
Assessing Committee based on different criteria
Project EOI Forms (GA216S, RHM216S)
• Section 1: General Information (online, HRC Gateway)
- Type of Research
- Role (NI FTE required)
- Lay summary (including methods, eg, RCT)
• Section 2: Proposed Research
• Section 3: CV (online), must be the same as Section 1
• Section 4: Research Classifications (online)
EOI Form: GA216S
Section 2 Proposed Research
•
•
•
•
•
Rationale for Research
Design & Methods
Research Impact
Responsiveness to Māori
Expertise & Track Record
Project Full Application
• Must be substantially similar to EOI
• Adjustments to lay summary allowed (based on EOI
feedback)
• NIs can be substituted, HRC must be informed
How to Submit Your Application?
Online Submission System, HRC Gateway
• All NIs must have an account on HRC Gateway
• To get an account, click on ‘Sign up for HRC Gateway’
After Sign In
• Update your profile information
• Create applications to any open HRC funding round
• Access applications that list you as a NI
– You will be emailed when your name is added to a new
application
• Follow the progress of your applications
• See your My Tasks tab on Home page
Research Contract Obligations
HRC Funding and Ethical Approval
• Required for release of funding
• Cannot be extended from one contract to another
• Should be specifically linked to HRC contract
number
• More information www.hrc.govt.nz
• Lana Lon, Project Manager Ethics
– llon@hrc.govt.nz
Research Contract Obligations
• Final reports from past 5 years required at full application
• Media/News items (Suzy Botica: sbotica@hrc.govt.nz)
Final Reports & Future Impact
– Includes discoveries & achievements, workforce development,
outcomes & impact, dissemination & knowledge transfer
– Help identify newsworthy findings & demonstrate the benefits
of funding health research & continued investment
– Note all outputs specific to contract – reported to Ministry
(Publications, impacts on policy, conference, media)
– HRC retains final payments until satisfactory report received
– Compliance could influence future funding success
Update of HEARD Upgrade
• HEARD will get a much-needed upgrade this year. The new
project will overhaul the old software, and incorporate the newand-improved contract reporting software into HRC Gateway.
• This mean that users will be able to log in to contract reporting
through HRC Gateway using their existing log in.
• The new contract reporting will have new functionality to make it
easier for users submitting reports, and RO monitoring reports.
• Any questions, please contact Vivien Lovell, vlovell@hrc.govt.nz.
Career Development Awards
Career Development Awards
Name of Award
Value ($)
Term
(Years)
Clinical Practitioner Research Fellowship
Salary+50K/Year 5
Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship 0.5M
4
Clinical Research Training Fellowship
250K
3
Foxley Fellowship
Salary+20K/Year 1-2
Girdlers’ New Zealand HRC Fellowship
£45K/Year
2
Please refer to CDA Guidelines and CDA Peer Review
Manual for details (www.hrc.govt.nz)
Clinical Practitioner Research Fellowship
Founding
Round
Number of
Applicants
Number of
Funded
Success Rate
(%)
2015
3
1
33.3
2014
2
1
50.0
2013
10
2
20.0
Sir Charles Hercus Health Research
Fellowship
Funding
Round
Number of
Applicants
Number of
Funded
Success
Rate (%)
2015
15
3
20.0
2014
10
3
30.0
2013
13
3
23.1
Clinical Research Training Fellowship
Funding
Round
Number of
Applicants
Number of
Funded
Success
Rate (%)
2015
23
7
30.4
2014
22
8
36.4
2013
18
7
38.9
Foxley Fellowship
Funding
Round
Number of
Applicants
Number of
Funded
Success
Rate (%)
2015
0
0
0
2014
2
1
50.0
2013
0
0
0
Girdlers’ New Zealand HRC Fellowship
Funding
Round
Number of
Applicants
Number of
Funded
Success
Rate (%)
2015
NA
NA
NA
2014
1
1
100
2013
NA
NA
NA
Major Changes
• Eligibility of Clinical Practitioner Research Fellowships
- Must have no more than 20 years out of PhD or
post-graduate medical studies
• Eligibility of Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowships
- Must have held a PhD for 4-8 years
• Project/Programme Application Form
- CV (as part of profile) and Research Classifications
submitted on HRC Gateway
- Budgets submitted separately
Tips for Writing Your Application
• Read application guidelines, investment signals and Peer
Review Manual/CDA Peer Review Manual (www.hrc.govt.nz)
• Start writing well in advance of deadlines, and revise, revise
and revise
• Write for a more general scientific reader, and make it easy
to follow by assessors who may not have specific expertise
in your research area
• Make your objectives very clear, realistic and achievable
Tips for Writing Your Application
• Include design and power calculation details at EOI stage
• Highlight any preliminary data or experience with researchspecific techniques
• Consider carefully which investment stream your
application is submitted to. Ensure your application is
written to address RIS goals
• Demonstrate appropriate responsiveness to Māori
Tips for Writing Your Application
• Have a team with appropriate FTE, skills & collaborations (e.g.
biostatistician, clinician, etc.)
• Make the role of each NI very clear, and all items requested in
budget justified appropriately
• Demonstrate engagement with stakeholders and end-users
• Incorporate EOI feedback into full applications
• Programme is not just 3-5 separate projects that are not
building on each other.
• Check spelling, structure and grammar, and allow time for
review, peer review and rewriting
Tips for Rebuttal to Reviewer Comments
• Some rebuttals were viewed as a missed opportunity to
respond in more detail to comments raised by reviewers
• Focus on all the issues raised by the reviewers rather than
comparing reviewers
• Need to respond completely to all of the reviewer’s
comments/points regardless of the tone of expression
• Care may need to be taken to remain objective in dealing
with difficult reviewers. Avoid “emotional” rebuttals
Any queries?
• Contact your Research Office
• Peer Review Manual/CDA Peer Review Manual
2015
• Guidelines
www.hrc.govt.nz
info@hrc.govt.nz
Level 3, ProCare Building, 110 Stanley Street, Auckland
Email: firstinitialsurname@hrc.govt.nz