The Australian Government's Boosting Dementia Research Initiative invested $200 million over 5 years from 2014 to 2019 to accelerate research, enhance collaboration and promote advances in dementia research and treatment. The Boosting Dementia Research Initiative (BDRI) consisted of two main elements:
- The National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR), was established in 2015 to target and coordinate the $200 million BDRI. The NNIDR closed on 30 June 2020 having fulfilled its remit to oversee the strategic expansion of dementia research under the BDRI. More information, including legacy resources, is available on NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research.
- The BDRI Grant Program consisted of eleven competitive funding rounds run from 2014 to 2019, and supported dementia research fellowships, team grants, international collaborations, priority rounds and the establishment of a national dementia network. In addition, $9 million was awarded in 2014 to the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research to support research focus on prevention and treatment.
This page contains information on the BDRI, which has now concluded. For information visit on NHMRC's current support for dementia research visit Dementia.
Evaluation and outcomes
We are committed to evaluating the outcomes of the BDRI to better understand the impact of this $200 million boost to dementia research in Australia and to identify areas of need for future investments in this area.
Key reports available on BDRI investments include:
- Boosting Dementia Research Initiative 2014-2019 Report
- Boosting Dementia Research Initiative Early Outcomes Report.
Funding rounds
BDRI funding rounds have now concluded. Funded research projects will continue through until 2025, generating key scientific and clinical knowledge that will directly benefit dementia researchers, carers, clinicians and those living with dementia for years to come.
Completed BDRI funding rounds
- NHMRC – Australian Research Council (ARC) Dementia Research Development Fellowships
- Dementia Research Team Grants
- JPco-fuND call for European research projects on neurodegenerative diseases: risks and protective factors, longitudinal cohort approaches and advanced experimental models
- Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellowships
- Priority Round 1 – Implementation of Dementia Research into Clinical Practice and Care
- Priority Round 2 – European Union Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND): Pathway Analysis across Neurodegenerative Diseases Targeted Call for Research in Dementia in Indigenous Australians
- Priority Round 3 – National Dementia Network
- Priority Round 4 – European Union Joint Program on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) Health and Social Care for Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Priority Round 5 – Implementing Dementia Risk Reduction and Prevention Research
- Priority Round 6 – Improving Dementia Data and Methods
Information on dementia research funding outcomes (including BDRI), are on Dementia.
