Ethics & Research Funding Update – New Information about Research Impetus Grant

Ethics Update

The Department of Education (DE) Victoria has updated its guidance on conducting research in Victorian Schools and Early Childhood setting, the RISEC process.

Conduct research with the Department of Education | vic.gov.au

The RISEC approval process ensures that all research conducted in Department of Education contexts:

  • is aligned to education system goals and priorities
  • upholds the department’s duty of care for students and staff
  • minimises burden on participants.

Please familiarise yourself with the updated guidance and, for non- DE commissioned work, please note the changes that have been made to the application process in 2025:

  • The introduction of termly cut-off dates for application submissions
  • The introduction of a new internal RISEC Governance Committee that reviews all applications external to the department

The 2025 Research Areas of Interest are outlined here:  https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/2025-schools-research-areas-of-interest.docx.

Please review the updated RISEC guidelines to assist with the development of a RISEC application so to avoid unnecessary follow ups on incomplete applications.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/RISEC-Guidelines.docx

GRANTS

Please contact foe-research@unimelb.edu.au if you are interested in any of these funding opportunities.

Research Impetus Grant – Internal University of Melbourne Scheme

Information session 14 April 4-5pm click here to register/join.

All applicants must discuss their intention to submit with AD-R Professor Kate Reynolds to confirm their career interruptions.  Applicants must also complete the Faculty Confirmation Form that AD-R Professor Kate Reynolds and the Dean sign off on.  Please allow time for the form to be signed and returned to you, as it must be submitted with your SmartyGrants application.

Please submit your application on Smartygrants by 22 May 2025 (3pm).

The University of Melbourne’s Research Impetus Grants scheme aims to help early-career and mid-career researchers who have experienced significant career disruption/s regain their research momentum.

Indigenous Partnerships Small Grant Program – Call for applications

The Indigenous Partnerships team welcomes applications for the Indigenous Partnerships Small Grant Program.

The Indigenous Partnerships Small Grant Program aims to support projects that are vital to implementing effective place-based methodologies and fostering meaningful and impactful partnerships.  It is a one-off program of funding offered in 2025.

The grant approach is to provide the opportunity for the co-creation of academic work that is of mutual benefit for and with Indigenous communities.  The grant aims to support projects that are vital to implementing effective place-based methodologies and fostering meaningful and impactful partnerships.  The Grant Program has been established to support costs associated with the building of relationships and partnerships between Indigenous communities and the University of Melbourne. Key focuses of the grant will be sustainability, impact and or continuity.

The Grant Program will consider requests for up to $50,000, with additional Faculty investment and support. The final awards funds are at the discretion of the Selection Committee.

More information can be found on the Indigenous Partnerships Small Grant Program website.

How to apply

Applications for the grant are received throughout the year. Meetings of the grant Selection Committee will be held in late May and late August. Applications will need to be received three weeks prior to each Selection Committee to be in consideration.

For May selection committee, the deadline is Monday 5 May 2025.

The links below provide the information pack and application form.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their applications with the Associate Director (Indigenous Partnerships) at mary.robb@unimelb.edu.au or 0402 782 608.

Applications can be sent to i-partnerships@unimelb.edu.au

Notification to successful applicants will be received by June and September.

Spencer Grants on Education: Large

Intent to apply closes Monday May 14 12:00 PM (Central/Chicago Time)/Tuesday May 15 3:00 AM (AEST)

The Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. Anticipated to award grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers — $125,000 to 250,000; $250,001 to $375,000; and $375,001 to $500,000. Within each of these funding tiers, Spencer evaluate projects within tier and strongly encourage applicants to submit for funding that best fits their project rather than applying for the highest amount. 

This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education.

Please contact foe-research@unimelb.edu.au if you are interested in any of these funding opportunities.