THHS SERTA 2025: Research Project Grants

Submissions are now being accepted. Submissions close at midnight 6 April 2025 (AEST).

IMPORTANT: Please read information below to assist you in completing your application online.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Welcome to the online THHS SERTA grant application service, powered by SmartyGrants.

You may begin anywhere in this application form. Please ensure you save as you go.

For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please contact us on 07 4433 2459 during business hours or email TSV-ResearchSupportUnit@health.qld.gov.au and quote your submission number.

If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Download the Funding Guidelines for more information about the grant categories, application and assessment process.

FUNDING GUIDELINES

The Research Project Grant funding scheme is intended to support a research team lead by a Chief Applicant for a specific time-limited research project. The research project must be a THHS led, investigator-initiated project.

Objectives of the program

    1. Contribute to the advancement of research at THHS, enabling discovery and translation across the research continuum, and develop research capacity and capability within the health service.
    2. Support health and medical research projects that are aligned with Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) Research Themes and have potential to lead to better health outcomes and/or service delivery improvements for northern Queensland communities 

Eligibility

  • A grant recipient can only hold one Research Project Grant at any one time AND
  • The Chief Applicant must be a THHS employee

Funding

Funding may be used for the following:

  • Costs which are directly related to the conduct of a specific research project. For example, provision of specialised services from outside of THHS such as the engagement of an external person with specific expertise required by the project (e.g., a health economist or external statistician); pathology and other tests; specialised equipment; specialised software; research team travel; study participant costs; dissemination of results; consumer costs; study transcription costs.
  • Only eligible expenditure incurred on or after the commencement of the project can be claimed.

Items not eligible for funding include:

  • Costs of employing THHS staff such as clinical research coordinators or research assistants (see Research Capacity Building Grants)
  • Salary costs of investigators (see Research Fellowship Grants)
  • Institutional/work unit overheads and operational costs, including general facility and accommodation related costs

Grants will be awarded up to a maximum of $50,000

The total amount of funding available is up to a maximum of $320,000

Timeframe: The grants will be awarded for a maximum of three years. Extension of the approved grant timeframe will only be considered upon receipt of a suitable application requesting extension.

General

This Application Form is designed to assist the applicant in providing the information that the Research Trust Fund Advisory Committee (RTFAC) will need to assess the Application.  

Ensure you allow enough time before the grant funding closing date for the relevant Head of Department (HoD) and Service Group Business Service Manager (BSM) to review and sign your application.  Please consult with your HoD and BSM before the funding closing date to ascertain when they require your application to be submitted for review and approval.

All applications must include HoD and BSM signatures.

Late applications are not accepted.

Information must be inserted into the expandable table cells provided. In each of these cells, some guidance is provided, suggesting the minimum information the Committee will require. Applicants should provide the information where it is appropriate, in an effort to maximise funding potential.

If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

NAVIGATING (MOVING THROUGH) THE APPLICATION FORM

On every screen (page of the form) you will find a Form Navigation contents box, this links directly to every page of the application. Click the link to jump directly to the page you want.

You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application.

SAVING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION

If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off.

You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it.

Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible.

When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register.

If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted.

Hint: also check the email hasn't landed in your spam or junk email folder.

ATTACHMENTS AND SUPPORT DOCUMENTS

You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple, but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device.

You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.

COMPLETING AN APPLICATION IN A GROUP/TEAM

A number of people can work on an application using the same log in details as long as only one person is working at a time. Ensure you save as you go.

SPELL CHECK

Most internet browsers (including Firefox v2.0 and above; Safari; and Google Chrome) have spell checking facilities built in – you can switch this function on or off by adjusting your browser settings.