Please read these notes carefully before completing your application.
The AMRF’s research funding area is limited to all recognised tertiary institutions and district health boards (DHBs) in the greater Auckland and Northland region of New Zealand. However, this Jean Cathie Fund is available to applicants throughout New Zealand. Applicants must be associated with a nationally recognised tertiary institution, medical or health research institute or Te Whatu Ora.
The Jean Cathie Research Fund was established with the specific goal of supporting research into the debilitating condition tinnitus. The fund is managed by Perpetual Guardian and through a partnership with the AMRF that was initiated in 2013, the AMRF now accepts and assesses applications for a project grant in the specific field of tinnitus research.
One grant when funds permit.
* For project grant applications, the PI must have tenure, or an employment contract for the term of the grant requested. If the PI's current contract does not cover the term of the grant, they should submit a letter of support from the host institution stating that if successful, they will be offered a contract for the duration of the new grant.
* You may only apply for one grant type within a funding round.* It is an expectation of the AMRF that an individual may only be a PI on one active AMRF grant at a time. The individual may also be a co-applicant on one or more active grants at the same time.
* The AMRF only accepts one re-submission of a previously unsuccessful project application. It is an expectation that the applicant addresses all concerns raised by the referees and medical committee in their re-submission. An applicant who has been unsuccessful twice can submit further proposals in their chosen field of research, but it will need to be based on a new or substantially revised hypothesis.* The start date of the grant must be after the decision date of that round. Please check the grant rounds dates (including the decision date) on the How to Apply page on our website.
* The AMRF views applications that request direct top up funding of larger awarded grants from other funding agencies as a low priority unless the applicant can demonstrate that the AMRF proposal is using data obtained in the larger study to undertake further research. This new body of research in the AMRF application needs to stand alone and be readily identifiable as a project funded by the AMRF. The AMRF will consider joint funding on new applications.* When you write your application, please remember that your research proposal will be reviewed by both discipline-specific referees and also by members of the Medical Committee with a broad range of experience in health research. Please structure your proposal in a clear and succinct way and if possible seek feedback from a colleague outside your immediate research area.
* *Research benefiting commercial entities*: Where an application includes research that could benefit a commercial entity, all conflicts of interest (financial or otherwise) must be disclosed.Justification for why the research team is seeking AMRF public good funding for the proposed project rather than (or as well as) it being commissioned and funded by the commercial entity must be provided. Details about what components of the proposal constitute hypothesis-driven academic research should be provided, if applicable.
* *Animal experimentation*:Since May 2024, the AMRF is a signatory of ANZCCART’s Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in New Zealand and we are working to fulfil the commitments of the Agreement as they apply to the Foundation. If the research involves the use of laboratory animals, the AMRF requires that you use the PREPARE guidelines (Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals: Recommendations for Excellence) for planning animal experiments, and the ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) for improving the reproducibility and reporting of research involving animals. Not all the guidelines may be relevant to your project, but you can use them to ensure that you plan your experimental design carefully and include all the relevant information in your application(s) crucial to the peer review process at the application stage, as well as providing all the experimental details, results and analysis required for publications that arise from the work. *Note:* Where animal research constitutes a component of your research project it is an expectation of the AMRF that information pertaining to it is included in your media summary.
* If the research involves a clinical trial, the AMRF recommends that you familiarise yourself with the SPIRIT 2013 Statement (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials). Not all the guidelines may be relevant to your project, but you can use them to ensure that you plan your trial carefully and include all the relevant information in your application(s) crucial to the peer review process at the application stage, as well as providing all the trial details, results and analysis required for publications that arise from the work.* Please use the standard New Zealand MSI Curriculum Vitae template. This can be download from the link within the application form. Each applicant should complete only Parts 1 and 2a, include no more than five pages in total, and list references only from the last five years.
* The salary component is the equivalent to the appropriate level of the non-medical Lecturer/Research Fellow scale at your host institution. It is essential to quote the correct salary rate and grading. Applicants must accommodate salary increases within their budget and should adjust their salary to include anticipated increases due to the annual rate of inflation (3% p.a. is recommended). The AMRF will not cover unbudgeted salary increases.
* Please ensure you set the correct ACC levy for your host institution.* Please include or leave empty Kiwisaver/superannuation as appropriate.
* The AMRF will only cover the salary/salaries of the PI and/or co-applicant(s) who are dependent on them securing some or all of their salary from external funding agencies (so called “soft” funding). Where an applicant has secured partial funding from their host institution or another funding agency, the AMRF will cover the remaining salary up to 1 FTE. If partial salary support is requested then full disclosure of their research/employment activities and source of funding for the remaining fraction of the FTE is required.* Requests for items of equipment (maximum value $5,000) should include a justification for the equipment and a quotation. Items under a value of $2,000 should be classed as consumables.
* The AMRF will allow costs of domestic travel where this is a key element of the project.* Costs of rental accommodation, heating, lighting and what might be termed the usual office facilities and accessories.
* Computers.* Major items of equipment costing more than $5,000.
* Costs of attending conferences either within NZ or overseas. Travel to conferences to report on the research must be applied for separately through a Travel Grant application (available to Auckland-based researchers only).* For project grant applications, the AMRF will not accept applications from undergraduate or postgraduate students (honours, Masters, PhD or MD students). PhD or MD students (not undergraduate, honours or Masters) can be named as a co-applicant, but cannot be a PI or co-PI.
* For project grant applications, they are not available for the support of Masters or PhD stipends. (Support for Masters and PhD candidates is available through the AMRF Doctoral Scholarship Programme, available to Auckland-based researchers only).* Experimentation or questionnaires involving human subjects requires approval from an HRC accredited ethics committee. Experimentation with animals requires approval from a registered animal ethics committee. Either attach the approval(s) to the application, or indicate that approval is being sought.
* All appropriate regulatory approvals must be in place before the grant can be activated.* If the project involves a clinical trial, please indicate if the trail is registered and with which clinical trial registry. Please also provide details of your data safety monitoring committee if applicable.
* Applications will not be considered unless the Applicant Agreement is completed.The AMRF is supported by private donations and therefore has an obligation through the news media, and its own newsletters to members and supporters, to report research that it supports. By becoming a recipient of an AMRF grant, you automatically agree to the mention of your name to media and stakeholders.
The AMRF raises awareness of its aims with the general public, by inviting AMRF funded researchers to discuss their research with local interest groups (Rotary, U3A etc). By becoming a recipient of an AMRF grant, you automatically agree to be included on a list of available guest speakers.
Log into the AMRF Portal at funding.medicalresearch.org.nz and create a new application. Ensure all the required details are entered and all necessary documents have been attached.
Clicking ‘Submit’ on your application form sends it to your host institution. They will then complete their requirements, before officially submitting it to the AMRF. Your host institution compliance process takes time so please adhere to internal deadlines to ensure your application reaches the AMRF by 5 pm on the closing date.
Please refer to the Application process help page for details of what happens to your submitted application.
Additional information can be found in the Grant Proposal template.
| EMAIL ADDRESS | [mailto:amrf@medicalresearch.org.nz,amrf@medicalresearch.org.nz] |
| POSTAL ADDRESS | Research Programme Manager Auckland Medical Research Foundation P O Box 110139 Auckland 1148 |
| TELEPHONE | +64 9 923 1701 |
| COURIER | Third Floor, 81 Grafton Road Grafton Auckland 1010 |