The objective of the CTCS Grant scheme is to support high-quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, leading to relevant and implementable findings for the benefit of human health.
The expected outcomes of the CTCS Grant scheme are improvements in health and well-being, health care practice or policy, as a result of:
high-quality clinical trials that provide reliable evidence of the effects of health-related interventions on health outcomes (or appropriate surrogates)
high-quality cohort studies that provide reliable evidence on the relation of important risk factors and other exposures to health-related outcomes, and/or
high quality retrospective cohort studies that provide reliable evidence on the relation of important risk factors and other exposures to health-related outcomes.
Neither the application budget nor the number of applications that a CIA could submit was capped for the CTCS Grant scheme.
The CTCS Grant scheme has a funding allocation from the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) of $75 million (which includes $5 million for structural priority funding).
The total amount of funding requested from NHMRC by applicants to the CTCS Grant scheme was $627.1 million.
Grant Outcomes
25 applications from institutions across the country will be funded.
The ratio of clinical trials to cohort studies applications was approximately 2:1
The ratio of clinical trials to cohort studies grants is approximately 2:1
Total number of applications received
226
Total number of applications applying for NHMRC funding
226
Number of grants awarded
25
Percentage of applications awarded
11.10%
Total amount awarded
$77,608,625.90
Mean budget for awarded grants
$3,104,345,04
Outcomes by Trial or Study Type
Applications were allocated to a Grant Review Panel (GRP) primarily based on the applicant’s nominated peer review areas.
Figure 1: Total Value of Trial or Study Type
Table 1: Outcomes by Trial or Study Type
Trial or Study Type*
Applications
Grants awarded
Funded rate
Proportion of grants awarded
Total Value
Clinical Trials
155
16
10.30%
64%
$52,573,047.44
Cohort Studies
71
9
12.70%
36%
$25,035,578.46
*As determined by the peer review area selected by the applicants.
Outcomes by Broad Research Area (BRA)
NHMRC is committed to supporting a broad range of research from discovery science through to clinical research (including clinical trials), health services and public health research.
Clinical Medicine and Science received the greatest allocation of CTCS funding, with Health Services and Public Health BRAs also funded.
Figure 2: Funded rate (%) of each Broad Research Area
Table 2: Outcomes by Broad Research Area (BRA)
Broad Research Area
Applications
Grants Awarded
Funded Rate (%)
Proportion of Grants Awarded
Total Value
Basic Science
1
0
0
0
N/A
Clinical Medicine and Science
166
16
9.6
64
$55,078,655.45
Health Services Research
10
1
10
4
$2,928,425.50
Public Health
49
8
16.3
32
$19,601,544.95
Funded Rates by Gender
Figure 3: Proportion of grants awarded by gender
Table 3: Funded Rates by Gender
CIA Gender
Applications
Grants Awarded
Funded Rate (%)
Proportion of grants awarded
Female
102
12
11.8
48
Male
124
13
10.5
52
Not Stated
0
N/A
N/A
N/A
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research and Researchers
NHMRC is committed to allocating at least five per cent of the MREA each year to research directed at improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Applications that address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health represent 12% of the awarded grants and 9.7% of the CTCS Grant funding awarded.
Figure 4: Funded rate (%) of each Broad Research Area
Table 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research and Researchers
Indigenous Identified/Indigenous Focused
Applications
Grants Awarded
Funded Rate (%)
Proportion of grants awarded
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Focused Research
6
3
50
12
Applications with one or more researchers of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent in their teams
12
5
41.7
20
Note: There is overlap between the rows above due to applications that address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health from researchers who are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent.
In conclusion
The fifth year of funding in this scheme has resulted in 25 applications being supported, with an overall funded rate of 11.1%.
25 applications from institutions across the country will be funded.
The ratio of clinical trials to cohort studies applications was approximately 2:1
The ratio of clinical trials to cohort studies grants is approximately 2:1
