Joint International Calls

The NHMRC and e-Asia invites applications for projects commencing in 2025 that address the topic of Infectious Diseases and Immunology (including Antimicrobial Resistance).

Key Dates

• Applications Open: 18 December 2024
• Minimum data due in Sapphire: 19 March 2025 4.00pm Brisbane time
• Application due to UQR&I: COB 19 March 2025
• Common applications close with e-ASIA JRP: 31 March 2025 5.00pm Indochina time (UTC+7)
• Full applications close with NHMRC: 2 April 2025 4.00pm Brisbane time

Eligibility

The CIA must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia, or have an appropriate work visa in place. The CIA must also be based in Australia for at least 80% of the funding period.

Applications must include a minimum of three collaborating partners from supporting member organisations participating in a call topic. Participating member organisations are listing on the NHMRC website.

NHMRC requires that collaborations must include a Principal Investigator from at least one of the participating member organisations from the following countries:

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam

Application Process

1. Send a UQ NHMRC e-ASIA 2025 Application Certification Form to grants@research.uq.edu.au to initiate review.
2. The Lead Principal Investigator must submit the Common Application to e-ASIA by 31 March 2025 and a full application to NHMRC by 2 April 2025.
3. NHMRC conducts eligibility checks and peer review of submitted applications.
4. NHMRC submits a shortlist of eligible applications to the e-ASIA Joint Review Meeting.
5. The e-ASIA Joint Review Meeting compiles a final ranking list and recommends projects for funding.
6. NHMRC approves funding recommendations.

Key Documents

NHMRC

NHMRC documentation, including Guidelines and the Grant Proposal Template, is available from GrantConnect (GO7403)

e-Asia

The e-ASIA Joint Research Program guidelines and application form are available from the e-ASIA JRP website.

UQ

• UQ NHMRC e-ASIA 2025 Application Certification Form (DOCX, 69.8 KB)
• UQ Research Office Scheme Summary for Applicants (PDF, 131.6 KB)

Key Dates:

• Applications opened: 22 August 2024
• CIHR application registrations due: 06 November 2024
• CIHR full applications due: 11 December 2024
• Application due to UQ RO: 22 January 2025
• Applications due to NHMRC: 05 February 2025
• Proposed peer review: February - April 2025
• Anticipated proposal outcomes: May 2025

NHMRC and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are considering a bilateral call for a new phase of funding for the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA), which is funded by CIHR and partners. 

NHMRC will support Canadian-Australian collaborative teams undertaking research that advances the field of research in any of the recognised forms of dementia, specifically in Indigenous populations, focusing on either:  

• The development, implementation, evaluation and/or scaling of Indigenous-led, and/or culturally appropriate and Indigenous-grounded approaches to risk reduction, early detection, diagnosis and assessment of age-related neurodegenerative diseases; and/or 
• The development, implementation, evaluation and/or scaling of Indigenous-led, and/or culturally appropriate and Indigenous-grounded approaches to different models of care for age-related neurodegenerative diseases in Indigenous Peoples and communities.

CIHR is providing a Partner Linkage Tool that is intended to facilitate connections between researchers and knowledge users. This is not a mandatory tool. The table will be updated weekly until the application deadline. If you would like to use this tool, please complete a short survey. The information you provide will appear on a public CIHR web page. Please note that potential applicants are not required to use the linkage tool or contact those who have submitted their information. 

This scheme is currently closed.

Key Dates 

• JPIAMR opens the call: 10 January 2024
• Webinar for applicants: 24 January 2024
• Preproposals close with JPIAMR: 14 March 2024
• Invited full proposals close with JPIAMR: 9 July 2024
• Applications for NHMRC funding close on Sapphire: 11 July 2024

The Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR) will launch in 2024 an international call on Interventions moving forward to promote action to counteract the emergence and spread of bacterial and fungal resistance and to improve treatments. This call is intended to create and reinforce the collaboration between research partners coming from different countries and different fields of expertise to promote interventional research on antimicrobial resistance.

The NHMRC intends to invite Australian researchers who are listed on successful preproposals to apply for NHMRC support of the Australian component of the research under the following topics:

• Topic 1: Design novel or improved interventions to prevent, mitigate and /or treat fungal infections, which are resistant to treatments and/or are at risk of developing resistance.
• Topic 2: Improve and/or, compare and/or evaluate strategies, technologies, treatments, methods, protocols or data collection based on existing interventions, aiming to prevent or reduce the emergence or spread of antibacterial or antifungal resistance or to treat/cure infections caused by resistant bacteria/fungi and recommend new policies.

Key Documents

NHMRC

NHMRC documentation is not yet available, but some information is provided in the Forecast Opportunity on GrantConnect

JPIAMR

Further information is available on the JPIAMR website.

The Major Initiatives team is keen to support teams to develop bids with their European colleagues. Please contact us at majorinitiatives@research.uq.edu.au if you would like to explore this opportunity further.

This scheme is currently closed. 

The NHMRC-EU Collaborative Research Grant Scheme supports Australian participation in international collaborative research under Horizon Europe. Horizon Europe facilitates collaboration and strengthens research impact and innovation while tackling global challenges.

Projects involving Australian-based researchers chosen by the EU for funding may be eligible for NHMRC support.

NHMRC will invite Australian researchers who are listed on eligible applications deemed fundable by the European Commission (EC) to apply to NHMRC for support of the Australian component of research under the following topics submitted through the two-stage deadline model:

• HORIZON-HLTH-2024-STAYHLTH-01-05-two-stage: Personalised prevention of noncommunicable diseases- addressing areas of unmet need using multiple data sources
• HORIZON-HLTH-2024-ENVHLTH-02-06-two-stage: The role of environmental pollution in noncommunicable diseases: air, noise, and light, and hazardous waste pollution
• HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-03-08-two-stage: Comparative effectiveness research for healthcare interventions in areas of high public health need
• HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-03-11-two-stage: Pandemic preparedness and response: Adaptive platform trials for pandemic preparedness; 

and submitted through the single-stage deadline model:

• HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-08-20: Pandemic preparedness and response: Host pathogen interactions for infectious diseases with epidemic potential

NHMRC cannot support applications submitted under other Horizon Europe topics that are not listed above.

Projects involving Australian researchers based in Australia that are chosen by the European Commission (EC) for funding, may be eligible for NHMRC support. Australian CIs may apply for up to $500,000 over a maximum of five years for each application. Holding an NHMRC-EU Collaborative Research Grant does not affect a CI’s ability to hold other NHMRC grants.

Only applicants who have their Administering Institution listed as an Associated Partner in a relevant EU application are eligible. Interested researchers should reach out to their European colleagues as soon as possible. The European application deadline for all the above opportunities is 12 April 2024.

Enquiries about the NHMRC-EU scheme or the Horizon Europe scheme may be directed to nhmrc@research.uq.edu.au.

Key Dates:

• GACD Application portal open: 4 February 2025
• Application due to UQ R&I: 2 June 2025
• Applications due to GACD (first stage): 16 June 2025, 6pm Central European Time
• First stage proposal outcomes: 10 September 2025
• Second stage application due to UQ R&I: 24 September 2025
• Second stage proposals due to GACD (By invitation only): 22 October 2025
• Applications due in Sapphire: 28 October 2025

The NHMRC invites Australian researchers to submit applications for the tenth Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) funding call: Strengthening Health Systems. NHMRC encourages but does not require applications to seek joint funding with other GACD Associate Members. 

This call will focus on implementation research addressing strategies for strengthening of health systems to improve equity in high quality care and health outcomes and reduce the prevalence and impact of NCDs in low- and middle-income countries and/or in underserved populations experiencing health disparities such as Indigenous populations, in high-income countries.

For NHMRC funding support, the research activities must take place in:

• one or more LMICs (as defined by the World Bank) and/or
• in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia

NHMRC is participating in the Joint Application Process. Other funders taking part in the joint process are:

• Brazil – São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
• India – Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
• South Africa – South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
• Thailand – Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI)

The European Horizon programme and the US National Institutes of Health run parallel GACD calls. Australian researchers cannot submit joint funding applications to Horizon Europe or NIH calls; joint funding applications can only be submitted to the funders taking part in the joint application process. Australian researchers can participate in Horizon Europe calls as part of the Horizon Europe application, but NHMRC funding is not available to support the Australian scope of work in these applications.

The Joint Application process for the tenth GACD funding call uses a two-step evaluation process:

1. Australian applicants intending to apply for funding from the NHMRC should advise of their intent to participate in the call via email to international@nhmrc.gov.au.
2. The Principal Investigator submits the first stage application on the GACD Application Portal on behalf of the study team. Other project partners should not submit a separate proposal on the GACD portal. However, some participating funding agencies require a copy of the joint proposal to be submitted via their application system. Please check agency-specific information for guidance about this requirement. Note that the NHMRC does not require a copy of the first stage proposal until a full application is submitted on Sapphire.
3. Shortlisted first stage applicants will be invited to  submit a second stage proposal on the GACD Application Portal.
4. The Australian team must also submit a full application to NHMRC on Sapphire (not open yet). Project partners should check agency-specific information for instructions on submission of full applications.
5. Applicants submit a Supplementary Form on the GACD application portal  at the same time as submitting their full application to the relevant funding agency.

Further Information:

For information on preparing first stage and second stage proposals, please refer to the Tenth GACD Funding Call: Strengthening Health Systems website:

• Application guidance 
• Specific considerations for GACD applications 
•  Strengthening health systems call text 
• Applicant briefing webinar recordings, slide set and FAQs developed after the briefing 
• Application forms and templates 

For NHMRC specific information, please refer to:

• NHMRC-GACD 2025 Grant Guidelines on GrantConnect 
• NHMRC Agency-Specific Information  on the GACD website

Anticipated topics for future calls are:

• 2026: A call focussed on implementation research around strategies leveraging settings and sectors beyond the health system, to tackle the growing burden of chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and underserved populations in high-income countries (HICs).
• 2027: A call focussed on implementation research on interventions targeting children and young people to tackle the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and underserved populations in high-income countries (HICs).

Please see the GACD website  for more information on these anticipated calls.

If you are interested in applying for this scheme, please contact internationalgrants@research.uq.edu.au.
 

UQ Documents

Mandatory Forms

• NHMRC GACD Certification form (DOCX, 72.7 KB)

Key Dates:

• GACD Application portal open: 3 July 2024
• Application due to UQ R&I: 19 August 2024
• Applications due to AMED: 28 August 2024 (5pm AEST)
• Applications due to NHMRC: 29 August 2024 (5pm AEST)
• Anticipated proposal outcomes: February 2025

NHMRC and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) are participating in a bilateral grant opportunity through AMED’s Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for an Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE) program. This grant opportunity is open to collaborative projects led by at least one Australia-based and one Japan-based investigator.

Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE) aims to provide sufficient funds for up to three (3) large-scale collaborative joint research projects in cutting-edge fields, to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the maintenance and disruption of biological functions in complex systems.

Application Process

1. The Japanese Lead Investigator submits the Common Application to AMED by 28 August 2024 and the Australian Lead Investigator submits the same Common Application to NHMRC in Sapphire by 29 August 2024.
2. AMED & NHMRC conduct separate eligibility checks and peer review of submitted applications.
3. AMED & NHMRC submit their shortlist of eligible applications to the NHMRC-AMED Joint Funders Meeting.
4. The NHMRC-AMED Joint Funders Meeting compile a final ranking list and recommends projects for funding.
5. AMED & NHMRC approve funding recommendations.

Key Documents

NHMRC

NHMRC documentation, including Guidelines and the Common Application template, is available from GrantConnect (GO7043)

AMED

The AMED ASPIRE guidelines and Common Application template are available from the AMED ASPIRE website.

Further Information:

If you are interested in submitting an application for this scheme, please contact internationalgrants@research.uq.edu.au
 

UQ Documents

Mandatory Forms

• NHMRC-AMED ASPIRE Certification form (DOCX, 72.4 KB)