Research News & Funding Opportunities

  1. Pacific Development & Conversation Trust Grants- closes 19 September
  2. Mazda Foundation Grants – closes 30 September
  3. Workshops for HASS researchers & MDAP Collaboration Round
  4. Interested in roles of technology in education and wellbeing?
  5. Reform of low-risk human ethics process 
  6. 2025 MRFF Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles grant – closes on 3 December
  7. For all users of ARC’s RMS users: MFA Now Required

1. Pacific Development & Conversation Trust Grants- closes 19 September

The Trust provides grants for a range of conservation, cultural heritage, development and goodwill projects and activities in the Pacific. It supports sustainable development where communities join in and work together with iwi (tribes), hapū (sub-tribe), aiga or whanau (family grouping).

The objectives of the Trust shall be to encourage and promote:
– The enhancement protection and conservation of the physical environment of the Pacific and of its natural and historic resources
– The peaceful economic, physical, and social, development of the Pacific and of its peoples
– The peaceful conservation and development of the cultural heritage of the peoples of the Pacific
– Peace understanding and good-will between the peoples of the Pacific.

Click here to view full funding guidelines on the provider’s website.

2. Mazda Foundation Grants- closes 30 September

Aims to fund two priority areas: supporting primary producers facing hardship and programs that address literacy and numeracy issues amongst primary school aged children.

Foundation priorities:
– Primary Producers facing hardship: Community based organisations with projects to strengthen and build resilience in primary producer communities
– Literacy and Numeracy: Programs addressing literacy and numeracy issues amongst primary school aged children, especially remedial programs for children from disadvantaged areas.

The Mazda Foundation’s aims and objectives include (but are not limited to) the provision of financial aid to funds, authorities and institutions which qualify for income tax deductibility for gifts and which provide:
– Assistance to young people through education and employment skills development, with particular emphasis on children from disadvantaged backgrounds
– Assistance in the advancement of education and achievement of excellence at all levels in the community
– Assistance in the development of technology, to help improve Australia’s international competitiveness
– Assistance towards the maintenance and improvement of the natural environment
– Assistance to address community needs identified by the Mazda Foundation from time to time
– Assistance in research, feasibility, surveys and other background work in relation to any of the above aims and objectives.

Once the Foundation selects a project for funding, it may seek a detailed submission from the applicant and/or seek to confer with the applicant.

Click here to view full funding guidelines on the provider’s website.

3. Workshops for HASS researchers & MDAP Collaboration Round

HASS Taskforce workshops are back for semester 2. More info and register below.

These hands-on workshops are designed to support researchers in the humanities, arts, and social sciences to increase their digital research literacy. More sessions to follow on data ethics and governance and using the Omeka web platform.

MDAP Collaboration round interactive information sessions

EOIs are now open to collaborate with MDAP in 2026! EOIs close 14 September.

In the lead up, come along to an info session to get an overview of the application process, meet our team, ask questions and chat about your project. Open to all researchers and professional research staff.

In person

Monday 25 August, 2pm – 3pm

Manhari Room, Level 7, Melbourne Connect

Register for this session

Online

Thursday 28 August, 12pm – 1pm

Zoom 

Register for this session

4. Interested in roles of technology in education and wellbeing?

Join an open workshop of the Digital Wellbeing Communities Research Hub for a thought-provoking exploration into the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and youth education. Our panel of experts – representing corporate, wellbeing, education and mental health perspectives – will delve into the crucial question:

“What does an ethical AI coach for young people look like?

Chair: Dr Catherine Smith

Panel

  • Mr Zane Harris, CEO of Neuropower, Developer of Neuro+
  • Dr Lara Mossman, Centre for Wellbeing Science
  • Dr Samantha-Kaye Johnston, McKenzie Post Doctoral Fellow, Assessment and Evaluation Research Centre (AERC), Faculty of Education
  • A/Prof Shane Cross, Director of Digital Service Transformation and Research, Centre for Youth Mental Health, Orygen   

11.30-12.30 – Panel and audience discussion.  12.30-1 – Continue the conversation over light snacks.

Please contact Nikki Rickard via email at nrickard@unimelb.edu.au to be added to the Calendar invite, and to advise if attending in-person for Catering purposes.

5. Reform of low-risk human ethics process 

The changes to the University’s low risk human ethics review process will see a transition away from the current committee-based structure to a single academic reviewer model. 

What is changing? 

  • Following the successful six-month trial of an administrator-led pre-review compliance check for lower risk human research applications, the current academic Research Ethics Advisor pre-review will be removed for all human research ethics applications. 
     
  • The 16 Low or Negligible Risk (LNR) committees will be disbanded, and review of lower risk ethics applications and amendments will be undertaken by an independent academic reviewer with decision-making delegation (Figure 1). 
    This will significantly reduce reliance on Faculty academic resources, enabling a strategic reallocation of academic time towards high-value teaching, research, and innovation priorities.  

What is not changing?  

  • The OREI ESS team remains committed to supporting researchers in conducting high-quality research that upholds the highest standards of ethical integrity and safeguards human participants.   
  • All processes related to the GTLR HREC operations will be business as usual. 

When will the changes take effect?  

  • In order to support the concurrent organisational structure changes in OREI and the volume of research application reviews, a phased approach to implementation will be taken, commencing in September. Further details will be shared closer to the implementation date. 

6. 2025 MRFF Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles grant – closes on 3 December

This scheme provides grants of financial assistance to support medical research and innovation projects across three targeted streams:

  • Stream 1 (TCR): Develop, implement and/or evaluate interventions to prevent or manage perinatal mental ill-health
  • Stream 2 (TCR): Develop, implement and/or evaluate holistic approaches that support healthy development for children aged 2–5 years
  • Stream 3 (TCR): Develop, implement and/or evaluate new co-designed and scalable health and wellbeing promotion and/or preventive health approaches to address modifiable risk factors in:
    • Topic A: adolescents and young adults (12–24 years)
    • Topic B: middle-aged people (40–65 years)

Funding available:

  • Stream 1: $9M available; max $3M per grant; 3 grants; 5 years
  • Stream 2: $6M available; max $2M per grant; 3 grants; 5 years
  • Stream 3: $15M available; max $3M per grant; 5 grants; 5 years

Timeline (UoM internal deadlines)

  • ASAP – Notice of Intent (via Cayuse)
  • Wed 5 Nov 2025, 10am – Work in Progress Grant Proposal to RIC (optional but highly encouraged)
  • Wed 19 Nov 2025, 5pm – Minimum Data due in Sapphire
  • Wed 19 Nov 2025, 10am – Draft budget, Letters of Support, Compliance review by RIC
  • Mon 1 Dec 2025, 10am – Final application to RIC
  • Wed 3 Dec 2025, 5pm – Final application submitted to NHMRC via Sapphire

Full scheme details can be found here:
🔗 2025 MRFF Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles – UoM Intranet

7. For all users of ARC’s RMS: MFA Now Required

As of 19th August, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is now required for all users of ARC’s Research Management System (RMS) and the System to Evaluate the Excellence of Research (SEER).   Users will not be able to access RMS or SEER without setting up MFA.
Instructions   When you log in, you will be redirected to the MFA setup screen, You must complete this process before accessing any other functionality.   

How to set up MFA: From the RMS login page, follow the prompts to complete setup.

You can choose to set up MFA using: Your mobile phone (recommended); or A desktop browser extension.

More detailed instructions are available on a dedicated instructions page of the ARC website.
For additional assistance, contact the RMS Support team at 02 6287 6789 or email RMSSupport@arc.gov.au   RIC Contact: ric-researchgrants@unimelb.edu.au