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

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

3. 1937

4. 1937

5. 1937

6. 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)

7. 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

8. New Grant Program

9. NHMRC Project Grants, 1980 – 2017

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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.

18. Peer review for New Grant Program

19. 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)

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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. Next steps in implementation of New Grant Program

27. 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)

28. 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.

29. Gender equality in NHMRC funding

30. 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

31. 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

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

33. New Research Grants Management System

34. NHMRC before RGMS

35. 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.

36. 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

37. Medical Research Future Fund

38. 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.

39. 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

40. Royston Guest

41. Thank you