AAMRI Update: NHMRC Investigator Grants

The new NHMRC grant program (commencing 2020)

The new grant program commencing in 2020 will consist of four schemes:

  • Investigator Grants – consolidates separate fellowship and research support into one grant for high-performing researchers at all career stages
  • Synergy Grants – $5 million grants for outstanding multi-disciplinary research teams
  • Ideas Grants – support for innovative and creative research projects, for researchers at all career stages
  • Strategic and Leveraging Grants – includes targeted calls for research, development grants (for commercialisation), Centres for Research Excellence, Partnership projects and centres, International Collaborative Grants and clinical trials and cohort studies

A summary of what we know so far about the new NHMRC grant schemes can be found here.

NHMRC Investigator Grants

The Investigator Grants are the largest scheme (~40% Medical Research Endowment Account) in the new NHMRC grant system. Details of how the Investigator Grants will be structured were announced by the NHMRC on 18th August, 2017 and are summarised in the table below. These grants can provide salary for outstanding investigators at all career levels as well as a research support package (RSP). Investigator Grants will also be available with part-time (10-90%) or no salary component.

Specific grants for time spent overseas will not be offered in the new system. Instead, for Emerging Leadership Investigator Grants (EL1-2), 50% of the grant time can be spent overseas as long as the final two years of the grant are spent in Australia. For Leadership Investigator Grants (L1-L3) on a full-time salary, 20% of the grant time can be spent overseas. For Leadership grant recipients with part-time salary component (0-90%), non-NHMRC time may be spent overseas.

Transitional arrangements and eligibility were also announced on 18th August, 2017.

This table was updated at 2.30pm pn 23 August to correct eligibility criteria relating to EL2 and L1 Investigator Grants.

CategoryLevels
& Salary
(AUD)
Equivalent
Current NHMRC Fellowship
Research
Support
Package (RSP)
Allocation
Method for RSP
Eligibility*Maximum
No of terms
Emerging LeadershipEL1 $76KEarly Career Fellowship

Translation of Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship
ELT1 $50KFor EL1 & EL2:

Automatic
allocation
according
to EL level and seniority
Open to all those who have not previously held an NHMRC Investigator grant or NHMRC Fellowship

Must be less than or equal to 10 years post-PhD or equivalent
1
EL2 $108KCareer Development Fellowship Levels 1 and 2

Translation of Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship
ELT2 $200KOpen to all except previous holders of EL2, L1, L2, L3 Investigator Grants or CDF level 2 and above in the current system

Must be less than or equal to 10 years post-PhD or equivalent
1
LeadershipL1 $141KPractitioner Fellowship Level 1

Senior Research Fellowship Levels A and B

Career Development Fellowship Level 2
For L1-L3:

LT1 $300K

LT2 $400K

LT3 $500K

LT4 $600K

For L1-L3:

Peer review
Open to all except
previous holders of
L2 or L3 Investigator
Grants or Practitioner Fellowship Level 2, and Principal Research Fellowship and above in the current system
2
L2 $165KPrincipal Research Fellowship

Practitioner Fellowship Level 2
Open to all except
holders of L3
Investigator Grants or Senior Principal Research Fellowship and above in the current system
2
L3 $175KSenior Principal Research Fellowship

Australia Fellowship
Open to all5 (minus number of times L1 & L2 held) - see table footnote*

*Maximum numbers of terms apply at ALL levels of Investigator Grants, which are outlined in the final column of this table. Leadership level Investigator Grants (L1-L3) can be held for a maximum number of 5 terms in total, with a maximum of 2 terms at L1, and 2 terms at L2. Term limits do not include fellowships held under the current Grant Program. During the transition, eligibility for Investigator Grants will also be affected by NHMRC fellowships held under the current NHMRC grant system.