A guide to applicants for the Douglas Goodfellow Repatriation Fellowship

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*Please read these notes carefully before completing your application*

Objective

The Auckland Medical Research Foundation’s (AMRF) vision is to improve the health and quality of life for all New Zealanders. We aim to achieve this by providing genuine advances in health, science and medicine through funding the highest quality medical research of all kinds.

Funding area

The AMRF’s research funding area is limited to all recognised tertiary institutions, district health boards (DHBs) and Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) with sites in the greater Auckland and Northland region of New Zealand. The principal investigator/grant holder must be affiliated with a host institution within this area, and the majority of work should be undertaken within this area, but co-applicants can come from, and part of the research can be performed, outside our catchment area - either nationally or internationally.

How to apply

Use the on-line application form provided, after first creating an account. The application must be created and submitted from the applicant's portal account.

Purpose of the grant

The Douglas Goodfellow Repatriation Fellowship is a special award to assist an established researcher with an excellent track record in medical or health research to return to New Zealand to further their career at an institution in the Auckland/Northland area. Fellows will be expected to carry out innovative research at the highest level. This fellowship is a personal award, and once awarded, is non-transferable to another person

Aims of the grant

1. To support outstanding and creative researchers in their chosen discipline(s) of biomedical, clinical, health services and public health research;

1. To foster the expansion of the scale and scope of New Zealand medical research;

1. To contribute to the development of excellent research teams, foster mentoring and collaboration and provide opportunities for talented researchers; and

1. To undertake research that is of major importance, potentially high impact and of significant benefit nationally and internationally.

Value of grant

* Salary commensurate with the experience and ability of the applicant and in line with the host institution’s salary scale

* Salary for a research assistant (or similar)

* Up to $25,000 working expenses per annum if required

* Suitable relocation expenses

Tenure of grant

Tenure is two years, but may be extended for a further year on application.

Number of grants awarded

The AMRF offers one Douglas Goodfellow Repatriation Fellowship when funds become available (often every 3 years).

Eligibility

* To apply you must be a New Zealand resident, permanent resident or citizen. Applications from non-New Zealand residents or citizens will not be accepted.

* You must hold a doctoral or medical degree or equivalent, conferred by any recognised national or international university.

* The Fellowship must be hosted by a university, hospital or other research institution in the Auckland/Northland region which is recognised by the Board.

* Applicants should have an exceptional record of achievement in medical or health research and have demonstrated the potential to make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s research effort and outcomes.

* The start date of the Fellowship must be after the award date (decision date) of that round. Please check the grant rounds dates on the How to Apply page on our website.

* The AMRF only accepts one resubmission of a previously unsuccessful Douglas Goodfellow Repatriation Fellowship 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.

Writing guidelines

* Applications should be written and submitted by the applicant personally.

* 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.

* The AMRF supports the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s expectation that scientists will account for the possible role of sex as a biological variable (SABV) in vertebrate animal and human studies (or any material originating from animals or humans, e.g. organs, cells, tissues). The AMRF recommends that you familiarise yourself with the SABV policy. Strong justification from the scientific literature, preliminary data, or other relevant considerations must be provided for applications proposing to study only one sex. Additional useful information can be found within the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines, which are a comprehensive set of guidelines for reporting of sex and gender information in study design, data analyses, results and interpretation of findings. 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.

* If the research involves a clinical trial, the AMRF strongly 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. You should complete only Parts 1 and 2a, include no more than five pages in total, and list references only from the last five years.

Budget guidelines

* The salary component is the equivalent to the appropriate level 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 (we recommend a minimum of 3% p.a., but please check with your host institution for the correct value). 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 provides up to $25,000 p.a. for working expenses for every year of Fellowship awarded. These working expenses can be used to support research costs associated with your project. In the budget ‘Justification’ section of the application form, clearly identify what you plan to use your working expenses for and provide strong justification for requesting them. List individual items where necessary or group them within a heading. The AMRF will consider funding*:

Expenses associated with “wet lab” work (reagents, plasticware, chemicals, kits etc)

Animal purchase and board

Equipment/Instrument usage costs

Small items of equipment (costing less than $5,000) where there is a strong justification for the need for this item to undertake the research

Expenses associated with clinical work, that is not included as part of the normal standard of care

Computers, laptops, tablets if these items are essential for field work and are not supplied by the host institution

Costs of data extraction, data storage devices, website creation and hosting, etc.

Compensation for participants (koha)

Non-conference travel where it is an essential part of the research

Stationery, freight, postage etc.

Publication charges

Statistician costs

* If you want to cover an item that is not included in the list above, please contact the Research Programme Manager on 923 1701 to discuss the suitability.

Note

The AMRF reserves the right not to award the full value of the working expenses if they deem the use is not well justified or that the ‘expense’ comes under another component of the Fellowship.

General

* Following a robust peer review process, the Medical Committee may choose to shortlist candidates and invite them to attend an interview (via video conferencing). All applicants will be notified of the interview date shortly after the application closing date. Applicants will then be notified whether the interview step will go ahead by mid-October.

* The Fellow will be recognised as an employee of the host institution which will administer the Fellowship.

* Applicants will be encouraged to join or contribute to an established research group, although this is not a prerequisite.

* Other awards may not be held in conjunction with the Fellowship nor may Fellows undertake additional remunerated employment without the knowledge and consent of the Board of the Foundation and the host institution. However it is expected that the individual will seek on-going research and salary funding during the second (and third) year of the fellowship.

* The Fellowship is designed to assist outstanding researchers achieve longer-term positions in New Zealand. There is an expectation that applicants will use the Fellowship to apply for an academic position at an institution in New Zealand or gain a research position supported by agencies that fund medical or health research at the conclusion of the Fellowship. It is expected that recipients of this Fellowship will have a significant commitment to on-going research.

The AMRF will not fund

* The AMRF will not fund any element of overhead recovery, including salary buyout.

* The AMRF does not fund costs of rental accommodation, heating, lighting and what might be termed the usual office facilities and accessories.

* The AMRF does not provide retrospective funding.

* The AMRF does not fund major items of equipment costing more than $5,000.

Regulatory approval

* 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.

Publicity declaration

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.

Submission procedure

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.

Our contact details

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 Hospital Auckland 1148
TELEPHONE	+64 9 923 1701
COURIER	Third Floor, 81 Grafton Road Grafton Auckland 1010

If you can't find the information you need, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page to send an inquiry to the Auckland Medical Research Foundation.