RESEARCH GRANTS 2008

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Closing date: 5:00pm Tuesday 8 May 2007

The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia invites applications for research funding in 2008.

Grants will be available to ophthalmologists, trainee ophthalmologists or for work being done in University Departments of Ophthalmology. The contribution to the project by the ophthalmologists involved should be substantial and detailed. Applications for grants are encouraged from new investigators. Grants are available for one or two year periods.

The ORIA research committee encourages projects which have clearly defined aims that can be achieved in the one or two years of funding. The committee encourages pilot projects that will produce data to enable subsequent submission to other bodies for larger grants.

Grants awarded by the ORIA Board over recent years have ranged in amounts from $9,000-$70,000. Last year around $703,000 was distributed to fifteen projects. The amount of money available each year varies and the ORIA can consider funding individual grants in the future up to $50,000 for one year, or up to $70,000 for two years. (Successful applicants who receive funding for a two year project, are eligible to apply for a grant in 2008).

Each grant is sent out for peer review by experts in the field before a final decision of the ORIA's Research Advisory Committee. Successful project funding will be announced at the Annual General Meeting of the ORIA held at RANZCO in Perth, Western Australia, November 2007. Funding commences in January 2008.

All queries should be directed to
Ms Anne Dunn Snape
Tel: 02 8394 5218 Fax: 02 9690 1321

website: oria.org.au

APPLICATION

There is no prescribed application form.
Your application must be prepared in single-spaced typescript on A4 paper with 2.5cm margins. Failure to comply with all application specifications including deadline dates may render your submission invalid.

Applications for research grants must include:

1 Name(s) of chief investigator and co-investigators Only one application will be funded per investigator. (If an investigator's name appears on two applications, both applications will be ruled ineligible.)

2 Name of institution and contact name of grants/research administrator.

3 Address to which correspondence should be directed, fax number, email, business telephone number, mobile phone number. Details should be provided for both chief investigator and the administering institution.

4 Qualifications and experience of the chief investigator and co-investigators. A three page CV for each investigator including publications over the last ten years, clearly indicating those publications where the ORIA has contributed funding towards the work. Only published papers or those accepted for publication should be included.
• Include a list of grants received from all sources in the last five years.
• Include in this three page CV the contribution that will be made by each investigator to this project. (Half a page maximum) Any more than three pages will not be considered.

5 Details of the project in a maximum of 5 pages (plus one additional page for references) including points 6-9. If the background and research plan is longer than 5 pages, the extra pages will be removed prior to being sent to the reviewers and this may have a negative impact on the assessment.

6 A short title of the project.

7 Lay title and description of the project. (up to 80 words).

8 Background and a detailed research plan. Specific aims or hypotheses and potential significance of the project should be included. If re-submitting a proposal from 2007 investigator may wish to comment on changes made, particularly in light of the feedback received from the committee.

9 Timeline for the project. Grants are for a one year or two year period of funding commencing in January 2008. Given the committee's desire to fund cases with defined outcomes in the funding period it is in the investigator's interest to clearly define what can be achieved in the one or two years in which funding is provided.

10 Amount requested, - ON A SEPARATE PAGE - with a full breakdown of the budget including, salaries, administrative or on-costs, travel and equipment.
A detailed justification for each component of the budget is required. For equipment, single items over $5,000 should be accompanied by a quotation.
• GST should not be included.
• Funding will not be available for travel to conferences.
• Salaries should be calculated, with appropriate on costs, from the applicable NH&MRC or university pay schedule. The pay schedule used for such calculations should be indicated and detailed.

11 Nature and extent of resources already available and outline any supplemental funding for this project.

12 Particulars of applications made, or to be made, to other bodies for assistance for this project. The Research Committee reserves the right to confirm details of other funds provided or applied for. (If the same grant is successfully funded elsewhere the ORIA wishes to be informed and grant monies may be withdrawn.)

13 Where the work will be carried out and what facilities will be available. Confirmation of these details may be requested. If the investigator is applying from overseas, the majority of the project work should be conducted in Australia with both the investigator and the project being connected to an Australian institution.

14 Projects involving experimentation on humans or animals require approval of the Ethics Committee of the appropriate institution. A signed completed Institutional Ethics Committee approval form must be submitted before any funds will be distributed.

15 The application will be sent out for external review prior to being considered by the Research Advisory Committee. Investigators can nominate a non-reviewer and this will be considered.

16 It is a request of the ORIA that successful investigators will provide a detailed final report on the project by 30 June 2009. The report should include details of any publications arising from this research and five reprints of such publications should be included. A final budget indicating how funds were expended shall also form part of your report. (Failure to do this may have a negative bearing on the future applications.)

17 In submitting an application for funding, it should be expected that the title or other relevant information may be submitted to other bodies associated with the ORIA, and participation in limited publicity activities eg, photos, interviews, updates for publication in newsletters may be requested.

18 Applications close 5 00 pm, Tuesday May 8, 2007, and are to be received strictly as outlined. Any applications received after this date cannot be considered.

19 In forwarding your application, you will need to:

Send an electronic version of your application to
, as well as,

Sixteen bound copies of the application to;

The Secretary
Research Advisory Committee
Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia
94-98 Chalmers Street
SURRY HILLS NSW 2010