Eligibility Criteria

General Grant Eligibility

1. Investigators who were successful in the previous year are not eligible to apply, unless they acted as a supervisor on a Priming Grant.
2. An investigator may be included on only one AVR submission per year.
3. At least one investigator in the team must be a current RANZCO Fellow and AVR member.
4. All RANZCO fellows who are investigators must also be AVR members
5. Funding will not be available for travel to conferences.
6. Applications not meeting formatting requirements will be deemed ineligible.
7. The administering institution must be an ophthalmic research institutes or equivalent ophthalmic led university department focused on vision research.
8. Other Sources of Funding: Applicants must disclose all current or planned applications to other funding bodies for the same or a related project. The Research Advisory Committee may verify the details of any additional or concurrent funding.
9. The investigator CVs must include the names of all CIs, grant title, granting body, duration of the grant and funding amount to be eligible.

If a project funded by AVR subsequently receives funding from another source for the same or a substantially similar project, AVR may request a copy of the other successful application to assess potential overlap. Based on this assessment, the Committee may reduce or withdraw AVR funding to avoid duplication of support.

Successful applicants must promptly notify AVR of any additional funding obtained or expected for the same or a related project. Decisions of the Research Advisory Committee in these matters are final.

 

Priming Grant Eligibility

The AVR Priming Grant supports early-stage clinician-researchers.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must be both a RANZCO Fellow and a current AVR member.
• Applicants should have a limited track record of research, for example:
    – Within 5 years of completing their highest research qualification (PhD, MD, or equivalent), OR
    – Within 5 years of commencing a research career (including career changes or return from a career break).
• Applicants must not have received prior AVR funding.
• All investigators on the application must provide a CV.
• The Chief Investigator must meet Priming Grant criteria; other team members may be included but do not need to meet these criteria.
• AVR aims to fund at least one Priming Grant each year (more may be awarded depending on applications).
• Extensions to the 5-year rule will be considered for career interruptions (e.g. parental leave, illness). This is at the discretion of the AVR Research Advisory Committee.

Pre-submission discussions with the AVR Research Advisory Committee are encouraged (non-binding). Contact grants@australianvisionresearch.org at least 21 days prior to submission.

 

Sponsored Grant Eligibility

ANZSRS Sponsored Grant

The Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists (ANZSRS) has commitment to provide $60,000 to support research, with a preference for awarding the grant to projects where a full ANZSRS member is listed as part of the investigative team. This prioritisation reflects ANZSRS’s dedication to supporting the professional development and research impact of its members.

 

PEF Sponsored Grant

The Perth Eye Foundation (PEF) has commitment to provide $60,000 to support research, with a preference for awarding the grant to projects from Western Australia or as otherwise determined by the Research Advisory Committee.

NSW RANZCO Sponsored Grant

The New South Wales branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) has committed $65,000 to support research, with a preference that the grant be awarded to the next highest-ranked project from New South Wales identified by the Research Advisory Committee, once AVR’s own grant funds have been allocated.

 

Research Integrity

Australian Vision Research is committed to complying with the highest standards of ethics and research integrity.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) statement and guidelines outline what is expected from everyone engaged in research.  Further information can be found at:

• https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/ethics-and-integrity
• https://www.ahmrc.org.au/

By submitting your application, you agree to abide by these standards.

 

Declaration of Commercial Interest

Applicants will be asked to complete a Declaration of Commercial Interest and to detail any intellectual property including patents or commercial companies, which are already directly involved with your proposal. AVR does not require any commercial royalties to be paid; however, in the event of future commercial success AVR would be grateful for a donation commensurate with the amount of seed funding received.

 

Application Process & Requirements

• Applications must be submitted through the AVR Grants Portal by the published deadline.
• Required attachments (PDF, Times New Roman, size 12):
    1. Two-page CVs for each investigator.
    2. Project background and detailed research plan (max 5 pages + 1 page references).
    3. Quotes for any equipment item over $5,000.
• Ethics approval is mandatory for projects involving humans or animals; A signed completed Institutional Ethics Committee approval form must be submitted before any funds will be distributed to successful recipients.
• Budget must exclude GST and detail salaries, on-costs, equipment and other expenses (travel to conferences not eligible).

 

If successful, recipients must:

• Submit a half-page final report (including a lay summary) by the published deadline.
• Provide details of resulting publications and a final budget report.
• Agree to participate in AVR publicity (e.g. interviews, newsletters, media).
• Successful applicants are expected to assist with reviewing grants in future rounds.
• In order to support AVR’s presence online and improve the investigators’ Altmetric Score (www.altmetric.com), investigators and their institutions are required to acknowledge AVR when marketing their research and subsequent research. This includes acknowledging AVR (and any sponsors) in all publications, presentations, and media