Research Project Grant

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Objectives

These grants may be awarded to cancer researchers, those working in cancer care, or cancer support organisations and may be used to carry out research that will lead to improvements in the prevention, detection, diagnosis or treatment of cancer, or improvements in the palliative care of cancer patients. These projects may be in the field of cancer-related public health, or the biomedical, clinical, epidemiological or psychosocial aspects of cancer.

Partnership with Breast Cancer Cure

Breast Cancer Cure is a charity dedicated to funding research into finding a cure for breast cancer. The Cancer Research Trust is proud to partner with Breast Cancer Cure to use our highly regarded, robust, transparent assessment process to identify top quality breast cancer research projects that will be funded by Breast Cancer Cure. Breast cancer researchers seeking to access this funding should submit a Research Project Grant application. Proposals will be reviewed in the same way as all other applications and awards made will be contracted and managed by the Cancer Research Trust. Breast Cancer Cure's funding is ring-fenced for breast cancer research projects and is in addition to the Trust's annual funding pool. The Cancer Research Trust maintains its focus on funding all types of cancer research, including breast cancer research.

Overview

As stated under Objectives the Trust aims to assist a wide range of professionals working in the fields of cancer research, treatment and support. Applications for funds will always exceed the amount available so funding rounds are managed on a competitive basis. Therefore, it is important that Research Project applications are well presented with clear objectives, hypothesis, endpoints and relevant supporting information. It is likely that some applicants who are eligible for Trust support will be new to the art of grant preparation. Those without previous experience of applying for competitive funding are advised to seek the help and input of colleagues who are practised and successful grant writers. A list of those applications funded since 2002 is available on our web site at www.cancerresearchtrustnz.org.nz. When constructing the budget applicants should bear in mind the total sum available for distribution across all successful applications, which is about $1 million.

The principal applicant would normally be a member of staff of an academic institution or cancer-care organisation. The head of the facility or clinic, or academic department must approve the application. The application form is available after logging in to the Cancer Research Trust NZ's grants portal. The closing date for applications is in late August each year. It is recommended that prospective applicants register on the Cancer Research Trust NZ's grants portal, as they will then receive email notifications when applications open. Applicants will be advised of the outcome in early December.

The Cancer Research Trust NZ endeavours to provide robust, fair and transparent peer review of applications for research funding. At the end of each grant round constructive feedback is provided to all applicants, particularly to those who have not been approved for funding. After reading the reviews and feedback unsuccessful applicants may decide to resubmit a project grant application and it is not uncommon for a project to gain funding at the second attempt. However, the Trust’s Advisory Committee believe that a third submission of an unsuccessful project is not appropriate and have therefore adopted the resolution that only one resubmission of a Project grant application will be accepted. This does not mean that a researcher who has been unsuccessful twice cannot submit a further proposal in their chosen field of research, but this will need to be based on a new or substantially revised hypothesis.

Guidelines for Applicants

The Cancer Research Trust aims to fund research proposals of the highest quality, support the best people, and have a positive impact on cancer management in NZ and/or globally. The Cancer Research Trust Assessing Committee is comprised of around 10-12 experts across the cancer research spectrum. This committee reviews all the proposals and makes funding recommendations to the Trust Board. A number of guiding principles support the Assessment Committee process and help frame the committee discussion, scoring and ranking of applications. These principles are intended to help the committee score applications in a way that is fair, transparent, and consistent.

To ensure that applications are aligned with the charitable purpose of the Cancer Research Trust, we have published clear guidelines that all applicants should familiarise themselves with. These are available on the general information page:

* [#285,Guidelines & General Information]

Award

If the Trust approves a grant, the Applicant will be informed of the nature and amount of the grant and the conditions under which it is made, and asked for a formal acceptance under specific conditions. The conditions of the grant include:

* the grant covers a nominated period, and expenditure incurred after this period will not be met

* any person engaged to work on the grant must be made aware that if for any reason the project is terminated their engagement concludes, that any leave due must be taken during the period of the grant and that payment will not be made for leave taken after the period of engagement is ended.

* if the grant covers salary, this may not be used to finance study towards further qualifications without the agreement of the Trust. This will usually only be given to those working towards a Ph.D.

Reporting

The Trust will require a report from the investigator at the conclusion of the project or after equipment has been purchased and installed or facilities upgraded. Grant recipients will be advised by email in advance of reports being due, and can submit reports through the Cancer Research Trust NZ's grants portal.

Ethical Approval

If ethical approval is required, the online application form will capture the necessary details.

If you can't find the information you need, please use the "Get in touch" form on this page to send an inquiry to the Cancer Research Trust NZ.