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New Health Funding

For those of you who don't know, my academic background is in health, so I keep a close eye on what's available in the sector - which is why I am thrilled to see new avenues to support the great health research happening across Aotearoa. Other than funders like the HRC, health researchers can be limited in obtaining larger funding due to the limited interest of other major funding bodies (e.g., MBIE Endeavour) to fund major health research initiatives.

This is where the Neurological Foundation comes in - an excellent organisation that has been around since the 70s. I was fortunate to be funded previously by NF; those who are familiar with their funding know that they very rarely amend their funding priorities and avenues. BUT, this all changed with a recent announcement for an expressions of interest round for two relatively large opportunities:


  1. Platform Grant EOI: These grants are intended to support the establishment or expansion of a research platform of national and international relevance, based in New Zealand. Max value $1,000,000.

    1. The intent of this fund is to support a platform for 5-years that provides nationwide access to resources enabling research into neurological conditions. Think hub or leading research body.

    2. This can involve education, directorships/boards, succession planning and support of postdoctoral fellows and partnership with Māori.

  2. Programme Grant EOI: These grants are intended to support a programme of research undertaken by a multidisciplinary team based in New Zealand. International collaboration is encouraged and team members can be based overseas as long as this leads to building capability in New Zealand. Max value $1,000,000.

    1. The intent of this fund is to provide 5-years of funding to support investigation of a specific research hypothesis or hypotheses. The outcomes must increase understanding of the causes, diagnosis, prevention or treatment of diseases and disorders of the nervous system.

    2. The team should be collaborative and includes early career researchers and more established academics, clinicians and/or scientists, and industry or community partnerships.

    3. The lead Principal Investigator may be early, mid-career or senior, as long as the team contains all the expertise required, and sufficient support for early career lead investigators is clearly demonstrated. Projects can (and should) also include educational aspects and partnerships with Māori.


In true Neurological Foundation fashion, they will not support funding institutional overheads or salaries for those whose salary is funded by their institution (🔥🔥🔥). This is such a power move - and while some may not agree with me, I appreciate their continued committment to this direction (read: maximising use of donation-based funding for the desired impact - research, not bureaucracy. More information on this type of thinking can be found here).


When is the EOI deadline?

1 November 2024


What is expected?

You will need to submit a two-page expression of interest (EOI), focusing on what you plan to do, how it fits with the funding criteria and what impact it will have. A full budget is not required at this stage.


NOTE: The Foundation will provide feedback to those that are unsuccessful at the EOI stage --- this is a great opportunity to get feedback on your big idea!


Last tip from me: there is an interesting comment on their advice sheet saying "If more than ten applications are received, EOIs may be triaged through pre-scoring." We'll need to stay tuned to see what happens should this be the case...


Are you thinking about applying? Get in touch to see how I can help you develop a compelling proposal.



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