Synergy Grants

Status

OPEN NOW ON SAPPHIRE

Funding body

National Health and Medical Research Council

Internal deadlines

Stage	REQ'D?	SUBMISSION
Faculties/IFM/IISRI/A²I² to work with applicants to review, workshop and develop proposals	M	Nov 2021 - Mar 2022
All applicants to contact their Faculty/ IFM/IISRI/A²I²Research Office to check their submission process For Faculty of Health applicants, visit Faculty of Health Research Grant Portal	M
Faculties/IFM/IISRI/A²I² to collate and forward list of approved applicants (Deakin and Not Deakin-led)	M	17 Nov 2021 List emailed to Deakin Research - Grants
Applications Open on Sapphire	M	16 Feb 2022
Minimum data due on Sapphire	M	16 Mar 2022 Minimum data requirements must be met on Sapphire by this date. Applications that miss this deadline will not be able to proceed with their application to the NHMRC.
Final application on Sapphire and certification forms		09 Mar 2022 Complete application on Sapphire Email application reports to Deakin NHMRC Submissions Email DU Certification form to Deakin NHMRC Submissions

_{O - Optional /}_{M - Mandatory}

Overview

Synergy Grants will provide a fixed amount of $5 million over five years to support outstanding multidisciplinary teams of investigators to work together to answer complex research questions, that cannot be addressed by a single investigator.

These diverse teams will consist of 4 - 10 Chief Investigators and each Chief Investigator can only be named on one Synergy Grant.

Eligibility and Limits

The Synergy Grant scheme will be open to all researchers, other than those who currently hold a Program Grant.

A Chief Investigator can only apply for and hold one Synergy Grant at a time.

However, there are limits on the number of Investigator, Synergy and Ideas grants that can be applied for/held concurrently. Please refer to Grant Guidelines and NHMRC eligibility website.

Funding

Synergy grants are awarded at a fixed rate of $5 million over 5 years.

Funds may be spent on Direct Research Costs (DRCs) and Personnel Support Packages (PSPs).

Peer Review

Assessment of applications will focus on each investigator’s record of research achievement as well as the collective collaborative potential and diversity of the team and its research proposal.

Synergy Grants will be assessed on:

- Track Record (40% score) - the value of an individual’s past research achievements, not prospective achievements, quantitatively scored using evidence-based components. Assessment of Track Record will be based on consideration of Publications (20%), Research Impact (15%) and Leadership (5%).

- Knowledge Gain (30% score) - the quality of the proposed research and significance of the knowledge gained. It incorporates theoretical concepts, hypothesis, research design, robustness and the extent to which the research findings will contribute to the research area and health outcomes (by advancing knowledge, practice or policy).

- Synergy (30% score) - the quality of a diverse team’s multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to solve a major health and medical research question, as well as the capacity-building/workforce development outcomes

For further information, visit NHMRC Synergy Grants website.

How to apply

Contact your Faculty/IFM/IISRI/A²I² research office to register your intent to submit. Applicants must work with their Faculty/Institute/SRIC and/or School to develop a high calibre application
The Faculty/IFM/IISRI/A²I² research office will forward a list of approved applicants to proceed to NOIS to DR-Grants
Read the Grant Guidelines and Peer Review Guidelines. Check your eligibility.
Plan and draft your grant proposal early. CIs should gather/update their individual Profile information on Sapphire.
New Sapphire users should register for a Sapphire account early. All CIs and AIs will require a Sapphire account.
Commence your application on the NHMRC Sapphire system.
Contact the DR-Grants NHMRC team if you have any queries.
Organise relevant DU Certification form

Documents and information

NHMRC documents

Please visit the NHMRC Synergy Grants website for more information

NHMRC Eligibility Tool

Applicants will need to register and log into GrantConnect to download the applicable scheme documentation once released by NHMRC