AAMRI Member Report

Snapshot of Australia’s Medical Research Institutes

As the peak body for medical research institutes across Australia, AAMRI captures a snapshot of its member medical research institutes through a biennial survey.

Since 2014, AAMRI collects data on workforce, revenue & expenditure, success in competitive grant schemes (e.g. NHMRC), research outputs, commercialisation and translation activities. More recently we have added the effects of COVID-19 on medical research institutes.

The 2022 AAMRI Member Report

This is the fourth iteration of the AAMRI Report. You can read the full report online: AAMRI Member Report 2022.

Key findings from the 2022 Report:

There has been a significant increase in the gap between the costs of carrying out vital medical research and the funding institutes received.

  • The funding gap for the real cost of carrying out research in 2020 was $381 million.
  • Independent medical research institutes received less than 40% of the funding needed to cover the gap in research costs.
  • For every dollar an institute spends on research, a further 63 cents is needed to cover the indirect costs of research.

Significant work remains to address workforce equity, diversity and inclusion.

  • Women in senior positions in medical research institutes increased by 3%.
  • In a sector made up of over 60% women, the most senior roles are still dominated by men.

The medical research institute sector’s ability to translate research outcomes into real world treatments remained strong.

  • 19 spin out companies were generated from 12 institutes.
  • 19 institutes reported significant commercial deals with industry.

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The 2020 AAMRI Member Report

In 2020 we created a short animation, covering the highlights, key figures and some interesting facts from the 2020 report.

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Although the data collection was completed prior to COVID-19 entering Australia in large numbers, we were all acutely aware that our sector, and Australia, will not look the same again for some time to come. Therefore, we took this opportunity to create a pre-pandemic snapshot while also providing commentary on the current situation in 2020.


The 2018 AAMRI Member Report

The 2018 AAMRI Members Report was released on 14th September, 2018 and summarises the key findings from the 2017 survey.

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The 2016 AAMRI Member Report

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In 2016 AAMRI also released another short report called Shining Lights, which is a celebration of our members’ contribution to Australia via health and medical research, and the economic and health outcomes this research brings.