The first Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund Open Day is being held in Bunbury today.
The event will be coordinated by the Department of Health’s Office of Medical Research and Innovation in partnership with the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Acting Minister for Medical Research Don Punch said the FHRI Open Day would enable greater clarity and certainty for the sector and more planning time for applicants. He said the process for FHRI Fund funding programs has been streamlined into quarterly cycles starting in November, March and July.
An Open Day will mark the start of each cycle allowing prospective applicants an opportunity to gain a better insight into funding initiatives available for each specific cycle.
The November 2022 Open Day will feature several presentations by industry experts including Mr John Van Der Wielen, Chair of the FHRI Fund Advisory Council; Professor Anna Nowak, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research at The University of Western Australia; Professor Cobie Rudd, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Regional Futures) & Vice-President at Edith Cowan University, and representatives from the Office of Medical Research and Innovation.
With almost 200 people already registered to attend, participants will be able to learn more information about programs and initiatives that are currently available through the FHRI Fund.
Six programs will be launched at the Open Day:
- The Clinician Researcher Training Program provides support to medical and non-medical clinicians to undertake a higher degree;
- Co-Funding Partnerships Program supports collaborations and funding partnerships to provide new non-government funding for health and medical research and innovation to WA;
- Innovation Fellowships are designed to encourage talented individuals to work with experts enhance their innovation knowledge, skills and experience;
- Innovation Seed Fund offers grants to bridge the commercialisation gap by offering innovators financial support to develop their idea and build sustainable businesses;
- Major Research Application Support Program provides in-principle financial support for research applications to nationally and internationally competitive grant funding rounds; and
- WA Near-miss Awards target emerging WA researchers who narrowly missed out on recent NHMRC grants.
Further details of each program are available on the FHRI Fund website.
In addition, the Acting Minister is announcing the FHRI Fund Distinguished Fellows Program which will be launched in early 2023. This is a prestigious program which aims to attract outstanding research leaders to WA and build capacity of high quality, globally recognised research in WA.
A recording of the Open Day event and all questions and answers from the event will be published on the FHRI Fund website.
Queries about the event should be emailed to [email protected]
As stated by Acting Medical Research Minister Don Punch:
“The McGowan Government’s ongoing investment in medical research is positioning WA to emerge as a leader in cutting-edge health and medical research and innovation.
“Opportunities provided through the FHRI Fund are driving growth in the health and medical research and innovation sector, creating jobs and supporting incredible breakthroughs throughout the healthcare sector.
“I urge anyone who is eligible to explore the next round of FHRI Fund research and innovation funding programs which will be launched at the Open Day.
“They are a fantastic opportunity to advance your research or innovation ideas, which have the potential to provide real-world health benefits for people in Western Australia, Australia and beyond.”
