DJPR Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund (VMRAF) & mRNA VMRAF

Overview

The Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund (VMRAF) was first launched by the Victorian Government in 2017 and has now undergone five rounds totalling $15.3 million in funding. The VMRAF Program is designed to capitalise on Victoria’s comparative advantages in research, increase the efficiency of the Victorian health system and further enhance the Victorian economy. It aligns with the vision of the Health and Medical Research Strategy 2022-2032 to support Victoria’s thriving medical research community in solving global health challenges and advancing the Victorian economy.

VMRAF (Round 6) offers two streams with a total of $5 million through the provision of one-off grants to successful applicants. $3 million of the total grant funding is available across the two tiers of the Foundation Stream and $2 million of the total grant funding is available across the two tiers of the Public Health and Health Inequities Stream.

Each stream will offer two tiers of funding: early-stage research (Tier 1) and ‘fast track’ of research translation (Tier 2).

• the Foundation Stream; and
• the Public Health and Health Inequities Stream (PHHI)

The mRNA Victoria Research Acceleration Fund Program (mVRAF Program) is designed to capitalise on Victoria’s comparative advantages in research, increase the RNA candidate pipeline and enhance the Victorian economy by growing the RNA ecosystem.

mVRAF (Round 2) offers $2 million to support and accelerate RNA-based therapeutics research through the provision of one-off grants to successful applicants. Two tiers will be offered under this round: 'Tier 1' for early-stage research projects and 'Tier 2' for fast tracking the translation of research into health and economic outcomes.

Grant funding limits per project for VMRAF and mVRAF schemes within each tier are as follows:

Please note, projects are only eligible to apply for one funding scheme (either the VMRAF or the mVRAF).

Promoting Gender Equity

Application meeting the following criterion may have up to 5% assessment weighting:

1. If the Chief Investigator identifies as woman, the application will be awarded a 2.5% assessment weighting, and
2. If at least 50% of the project team identify as women, the application will be awarded a 2.5% assessment weighting

Requirements

• Partnership with another organisation is mandatory and may include health services, universities, medical research institutes, or industry.
• Universities are invited to apply for up to 4 research projects per Faculty for each scheme. Please contact your Faculty Research Office to express your intention to apply (with ric-medapps@unimelb.edu.au cc'd) and comply with internal deadlines as  soon as possible.

VMRAF Foundation Stream -  1:1 matched funding co-contribution (Co-Contribution Funding) is a requirement for all proposals. Applications must include evidence of having secured dollar-for-dollar matching funds and/or received a commitment for matching financial support from an additional source.

• In-kind support does not count towards matched funding.
• Grant funding from other State or Commonwealth Government programs awarded to the Applicant specifically for the purposes of supporting a project to be submitted under this VMRAF Program cannot form part of the Applicant’s required Co-Contribution Funding.
• General Applicant organisational funding from State or Commonwealth Government sources may form part of the required Co-Contribution Funding

VMRAF PHHI Stream and mRNA VRAF scheme - 1:1 matched funding co-contribution (Co-Contribution Funding) is a requirement for all proposals.

• In-kind contributions can form part of the required co-contribution.
• Grant funding received by an Applicant from other State or Commonwealth Government programs can form part of the Applicant’s required Co-Contribution Funding.

University Cash co-contribution - please note that preference will be given to projects that have secured cash co-contribution from Collaborating Partners.

The requirement for matching cash contribution is expected to be met by the Collaborating Partner. Where that is not possible, the University may provide the required cash (i.e. up to $100,000 for Tier 1 or $500,000 for Tier 2) – divided 1:1 between Chancellery (Research) and the applicant’s Faculty/Department/School. A minimum salaried 0.2 FTE appointment with the University is necessary for University co-contribution. Please note that applications with greater cash contributions from external partners will be looked upon more favourably. Contribution for applicants from affiliated Medical Research Institutes (MRIs) will need to seek co-funding from their MRI.

Please note that all DJPR documentation relating to these schemes can be found via the DJPR VMRAF and mRNA VRAF page. Application is submitted via an online grant application form through DJPR online portal.

Funding

How to apply

Steps to be completed by Chief Investigator A (CIA):

1. Review the funding documents & Submit an Expression of Interest to RGCF and Faculty Research Office

   The CIA should read DJPR Guidelines and Funding Rules for VMRAF or mRNA VMRAF. Contact RGCF (ric-medapps@unimelb.edu.au) to express your interest and indicate which scheme you would like to apply for.

   Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences (mdhs-grants@unimelb.edu.au) - provide draft application and cash co-contribution request form to MDHS grants team by COB Tue 25th October for review.
   Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (feit-research@unimelb.edu.au) -  provide EOI to Melanie Villinger at the above email address by 9am Thu 27th October for review. Applicants selected to submit a full application will need to provide the signed cash co-contribution form by Thu 10th November.
   Faculty of Science (science-research@unimelb.edu.au) - submit draft application (key criteria sections only), brief CV, and completed cash co-contribution request form to above email by 12 noon, Fri 28th October.
   Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science (vet-ag-research@unimelb.edu.au) - send draft proposal to above email by Thu 27th October for proposal development.
   Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (fineartsmusic-research@unimelb.edu.au) - notify  faculty office as soon as possible of intention to apply
   Faculty of Arts (arts-staffresearch@unimelb.edu.au)
   Architecture, Building and Planning (abp-research@unimelb.edu.au)
   Faculty of Business and Economics (fbe-research@unimelb.edu.au)
   Melbourne Law School (law-research@unimelb.edu.au)
   Melbourne Graduate School of Education (mgse-grants@unimelb.edu.au)

2. Submit DVCR Letter of Support (LoS) to RGCF

   Complete DVCR LoS, along with completed co-investment form (if requesting cash co-contribution from UoM), and forward it to RGCF - Health and Medical Grants Team for Chancellery review by 10am Thursday 10 November 2022 .

3. Complete draft application & email to RGCF with completed Cash Co-Investment request form and UoM Research Costing and Pricing Tool for compliance check and signing of DVCR LoS

   Register for an account and complete the draft application in DJPR application portal. Select "View as PDF" within your application and email a complete draft application that is review ready (including supporting documents), along with fully signed co-investment form (if requesting cash co-contribution from UoM) and completed UoM Research Costing and Pricing Tool to RGCF - Health and Medical Grants Team by 10am Thursday 17 November 2022.

4. Submit the application in DJPR application portal

   Once RIC have confirmed your application is compliant, RIC will arrange for DVCR signature on the Letter of Support and return it to you prior to the submission deadline. You will then upload all supporting documentations and submit application in DJPR portal by 4pm Tuesday 22 November 2022. If a submission confirmation email with the final application attached is received, please forward this to RGCF - Health and Medical Grants Team.

Supporting documents

RGCF Documents - the following are available to UoM staff only (UoM login required).

• Cash Co-Investment Request Form
• DVCR Letter of Support template

Answers to sections 1 and 2

• Section 1 - Yes to all questions
  • Entity type - education body established by statue
• Section 2 - details can be located via ABN Lookup -  84 002 705 224

Contacts