June 2021
The Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) has announced changes to the application process of its flagship Queensland Research Program.
From grant round 36, emergency clinician-researchers seeking funding from EMF no longer need to apply for ethics approval prior to submitting a grant application.
EMF Research Manager Dr Angie Nguyen Vu said the aim is to streamline the process for clinician-researchers. As an added benefit, the change avoids the need for Human Research Ethics Committees to consider applications for projects before they receive funding.
“Earlier this year, a roundtable discussion attended by senior emergency clinician-researchers provided EMF with valuable insights on a range of topics, including our grant application criteria,” said Angie.
“This feedback reflected the experience of EMF grant applicants who report that seeking ethics approval takes time, particularly for those novice and early career researchers that are less familiar with the process. We hope that this refinement will provide these clinicians with more opportunities to apply for EMF funding.”
With a strong history of supporting projects involving multiple facilities and regions, EMF General Manager Beth Chapman hopes to also encourage more collaborations with regional, rural and remote based researchers in the current and future grant rounds.
“Our commitment to improving emergency healthcare involves building research capacity across the Queensland Health system,” said Beth.
“In 2018, we expanded our research program to include all disciplines with clinical roles in emergency healthcare, including nurses, allied health, retrieval staff and paramedics. Many emergency nurses and a paramedic have embraced this opportunity to lead research projects funded by EMF.”
Successful grant applicants will be required to obtain ethics approval and execute the Funding Agreement within 12 months. The Queensland Research Program is funded by Queensland Health.