AAMRI Convention, 6 December 2017 A time of change at NHMRC Professor Anne Kelso AO CEO, National Health and Medical Research Council

Rt. Hon. W. M. Hughes, K. C., Commonwealth Minister for Health Miss M. J. Reid, Stenographer

1937

1937

1937

Report to NHMRC, 21 October 1938 WORK CONTEMPLATED FOR 1939. It is impossible to put forward a detailed plan of research. For the last five years I have followed the course of (a) investigating such local epidemics or epizootics of virus disease as offered useful opportunities for work, and (b) of following up “leads” obtained in current work. (A) It is impossible to predict what virus infections may be prevalent, but both influenza and measles have been absent from Victoria from some years, and on their next appearance I hope to make a study of the viruses responsible. (B) We intend to continue the current investigations on the nature of immunity to viruses of the central nervous system, and on the essentially similar problem of influenza immunity, but what lines the work will take will depend on unpredictable circumstances. (F.M Burnet)

Changes at NHMRC – 80 years on New Grant Program: New schemes Transition Peer review Gender equality in NHMRC funding New Research Grants Management System Medical Research Future Fund

New Grant Program

NHMRC Project Grants, 1980 – 2017

New Grant Program – objectives of reform Encourage innovation and creativity across all fields of health and medical research Provide opportunities for talented researchers at all career stages and across all disciplines Minimise burden on researchers, freeing up time for research …. while retaining core focus on improving human health and wellbeing through research

NHMRC’s New Grant Program Investigator Grants Synergy Grants Ideas Grants Strategic and leveraging grants Support the research program of outstanding investigators at all career stages Support outstanding multidisciplinary teams to work together to answer major questions that cannot be answered by a single investigator Support innovative research projects addressing a specific question Research that responds to national priorities: Centres of Research Excellence Partnerships Development Grants Targeted Calls International schemes Clinical trials and cohort studies Salary + research support package Research costs ($5 million) One per investigator Two per investigator No caps

New Grant Program – features Cover full breadth of health and medical research Support research at different scales Support people and projects Offer flexibility for strategic thinking and collaboration Foster creativity and innovation Support investigator-initiated and priority-driven research Streamline fellowships

Investigator Grants – streamlining of fellowships Current NHMRC Fellowship Corresponding Investigator Grant Senior Principal Research Fellowship Australia Fellowship Leadership Level 3 Principal Research Fellowship Practitioner Fellowship Level 2 Leadership Level 2 Practitioner Fellowship Level 1 Senior Research Fellowship Levels A and B Career Development Fellowship Level 2 Leadership Level 1 Career Development Fellowship Levels 1 and 2 Translation of Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship Emerging Leadership Level 2 Early Career Fellowship Translation of Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship Emerging Leadership Level 1

New Grant Program Cover full breadth of health and medical research Support research at different scales Support people and projects Offer flexibility for strategic thinking and collaboration Foster creativity and innovation Support investigator-initiated and priority-driven research Streamline fellowships

Issue: Effect of NPG on collaboration (1) Most people achieve more if they collaborate. Effective collaboration is demonstrated through co-publication. Teams are more likely to be competitive for Ideas Grants than individual investigators. NHMRC wants to encourage collaboration by providing flexible funding. NHMRC will increase emphasis on research outcomes, rather than inputs (such as being named on a research grant), in track record assessment.

Issue: Effect of NPG on collaboration (2) Investigator Grants: provide flexibility to form collaborations as required to progress a research program Synergy Grants: support multidisciplinary teams Ideas Grants: assessment of feasibility will be based on expertise of team, including Associate Investigators Strategic and Leveraging Grants: include team-based schemes Direct Research Costs: can be used to contract expertise that might ordinarily be an AI or Chief Investigator

Issue: Eligibility of current Fellows to apply for Investigator Grants NHMRC Fellows can apply for an Investigator Grant in the penultimate and final years of their fellowship: allows two attempts spreads application burden (and competition). Depending on other grants held, Fellows may apply for Ideas Grants. Only a minority of Investigator Grant holders will receive the highest Research Support Packages. Possibility being considered of allowing Fellow to apply earlier provided fellowship is relinquished beforehand.

Peer review for New Grant Program

Peer review is… “the evaluation of scientific quality by experts in the field” imperfect subjective inconsistent subject to bias conservative hard work to do “well” time-consuming and expensive hard to evaluate “The most important question with peer review is not whether to abandon it, but how to improve it.” Richard Smith, Peer review: a flawed process at the heart of science and journals. J R Soc Med 99:178 (2006)

Peer review – three main elements Selection of peer reviewers Assessment criteria Review process Consultation on peer review for New Grant Program

New Grant Program – assessment criteria Track Record Assessment Knowledge Gain INVESTIGATOR GRANTS Track Record Assessment Knowledge Gain Synergy (team diversity and collaboration) SYNERGY GRANTS Knowledge Gain Innovation and creativity Significance Feasibility IDEAS GRANTS

Peer review process – NHMRC Project Grants Approval of Outcome Shortlisting Assigners seek 2 independent assessments 2 external + 2 panel member assessments Re-scoring by 2 panel members (1SP and 2SP) Short-listed applications discussed and scored by grant review panel

Peer review process – NHMRC Project Grants Applicant and peer reviewer burden Rigour, transparency and fairness Other factors: - length of peer review process - number of applications Approval of Outcome Shortlisting

Long-term goals for NHMRC peer review Support the objectives of each grant scheme Streamline and harmonise processes to reduce duplication between schemes (e.g. review track record once per year or round) Run shorter review cycles to enable more than one round per year Obtain more independent assessments to improve rigour Reduce time required for panel meetings and discussions

Peer review – challenges Maintaining confidence in the process Meeting community and government expectations Managing increasing research complexity (e.g. interdisciplinary teams, complex technologies, specialisation) Ensuring sustainability balancing rigour/quality versus burden on reviewers rising demand budget pressures – costs of delivery Identifying the most important research

Next steps in implementation of New Grant Program

Next steps in implementation of New Grant Program Develop funding rules Targeted consultations with sector and RAOs (early 2018) Government approvals (2018) Publish (mid-2018) before new schemes open in late 2018 Design peer review for Investigator, Ideas and Synergy Grants Consultation on peer review consultation paper (22 September – 4 December 2017) public fora in major capital cities (September – November 2017) targeted consultations on possible peer review models (Q1, 2018) Advice from expert advisory groups on track record, innovation and diversity (December 2017)

Issue: How should institutions prepare? Reduce emphasis on being a grant CI for appointments and promotions – focus on research outcomes. Encourage researchers to form strong multidisciplinary teams based on the needs of their research. Mentor early and mid-career researchers to be competitive without relying on the track records of senior investigators. Mentor researchers in high-quality peer review and recognise peer review contributions. Recognise that better success rates will not be achieved until application numbers fall.

Gender equality in NHMRC funding

Analysis of NHMRC Program Grants (2003 – 2018) by Prof Deb Verhoeven (UTS): Most common CIA name for men (David, n=51) and women (Suzanne, n=6) 84% of men in male-only teams

NHMRC Fellowship applications and awards (2017) ECF Early Career Fellowship CDF Career Development Fellowship SRF Senior Research Fellowship PRF Principal Research Fellowship SPRF Senior Principal Research Fellowship

NHMRC Project Grants – Funding rates of male and female Chief Investigator A 34 additional female CIAs funded in 2017

New Research Grants Management System

NHMRC before RGMS

NHMRC after RGMS Research Grants Management System (RGMS) Introduced in 2009, and nearing end of its useful life Nearly 19,000 active users and more than 36,000 registered users Powerful but not intuitive or user friendly Some quotes from social media: You know you've been working too long on NHMRC grants when you know how to use RGMS. Does the NHMRC RGMS “work” on anything? Perhaps it’s useful for deterring those pesky applicants? Widespread clapping at mention of RGMS replacement.

New Grant Management Solution Intuitive and user friendly, reducing the burden on applicants and assessors Greater functionality within an integrated solution comprising: Core replacement for RGMS workflow (OmniGrants) Two new supporting software applications Outcome Reporting Accelerator (ORA) assists patents and commercialisation reporting Grants Management Accelerator (GMA) assists application and assessor assignment Iterative and consultative development with reference group Roll-out for New Grant Program and NHMRC-managed MRFF schemes in 2018

Medical Research Future Fund

MRFF funding through NHMRC Where possible, we will run equivalent NHMRC and MRFF schemes together or in parallel using the same processes, e.g.: Clinical fellowships as Investigator Grants Clinical trials. Priority areas for MRFF grants can be supported through our normal processes in parallel with open NHMRC calls. Use of a common application portal, new RGMS and funding agreements will simplify processes for applicants and institutions. MRFF funding will increase the total pool of funds in areas of overlap, e.g. by supporting additional clinical fellowships.

Changes at NHMRC – 80 years on New Grant Program: New schemes Transition Peer review Gender equality in NHMRC funding New Research Grants Management System Medical Research Future Fund

Royston Guest

Thank you