Synergy Grants

Overview

The Synergy Grant scheme is to support outstanding multidisciplinary teams of investigators to work together to answer major questions that cannot be answered by a single investigator.

The expected outcomes are:

• multidisciplinary research that addresses major problems in all areas of human health and medical research, from discovery to translation, and
• highly collaborative teams of diverse researchers including by gender, career stage and cultural background, working together to address major problems in human health.

The minimum number of Chief Investigators (CIs) allowed on a Synergy Grants 2026 application is four and the maximum number is 10 (CIA – CIJ).

Please note that all NHMRC documentation relating to this scheme can be found Grant Connect (GO 8224).  If you don't already have one, you will need to create log in details for Grant Connect.

Further information and changes relating to this scheme can be found on the NHMRC Website.

Please pay particular attention to section 2.1 Key changes of the Guidelines (page 6).

Key Changes for this round:

Research impact and pathway to impact

The ‘ Research impact and pathway to impact ’ assessment criteria have been revised for Synergy Grants 2026.

* Revisions include streamlining and simplifying the research impact assessment criteria,  reducing 3 sub-criteria to 2:

– ‘Reach and significance ’ of the research impact (7%)

– ‘Applicant’s contribution’ to the research impact (8 %).

* These revisions aim to reduce the overlap and confusion expressed in feedback from applicants and peer reviewers and shift the focus of the assessment to the contributions the applicant has made along a ‘pathway to impact’ (see Section 6 and Appendix B of the Guidelines).

Score descriptors

Following consistent sector feedback, the score descriptor tables have been revised and reformatted to include greater detail at each description, to better support applicants and peer reviewers to understand the expectations of applicants at each score (see Appendix B of the Guidelines).

Performance indicators have also been included at Table 1 in Appendix B, to sit ‘above’ the score descriptor tables. The indicators can be used together with the score descriptors to further understand what is expected of applicants at each score. They provide peer reviewers with descriptions that address 3 broad ‘elements’ of independent assessment (quality of the proposed research, the potential for impact, and the demonstrated capability of the applicant).  It is not mandatory that peer reviewers use these indicators, they are designed to provide additional support where necessary/appropriate.

Leadership

* The Leadership criterion has been streamlined to simplify the assessment.

Applicants are required to provide a single narrative that outlines their leadership achievements framed against one or more of the 4 leadership elements (at Table 8 in Appendix B of the Guidelines)  in a single text field (see Appendix C Guide to Applicants, section 6.6.1.4 of the Guidelines).

Concept of Synergy

* Append ix D ‘Concept of Synergy’ has been removed, with key information from this appendix now included in the Synergy assessment criterion detail (see Appendix B of the Guidelines).

New NHMRC Requirement

The NHMRC has introduced a new requirement to account for sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation as part of application and assessment processes. Refer to the NHMRC Policies section below and the MDHS Faculty's Sex and Gender Inclusion in Research Guidelines.

Funding

A Synergy Grant provides a total and fixed budget of $5 million and will be awarded for a fixed five-year term.

Eligibility

• The NHMRC has confirmed the Synergy Grant scheme is no longer relevant to a Chief Investigator’s (CIs) eligibility to apply for/or hold an Investigator or Ideas Grant. This change will apply for current Synergy Grant holders, such that CIs (CIA-J) will no longer have their Synergy Grant count towards their application or grant capping for the Investigator or Ideas Grant s schemes.
• Synergy Grant scheme-specific eligibility rules remain (ie. CIs can apply for a maximum of one Synergy Grant per funding round and hold a maximum of one Synergy Grant concurrently.
• Applicants are no longer required to respond to the 3 research impact sub elements separately, however they will continue to be independently assessed by the peer reviewer. Applicants will provide their response to the 3 sub elements in a single field with a second field for applicants to use when providing evidence for their research impact claims.

How to apply

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

1. Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI)

The Cayuse NOI should be completed early to provide RIC with CIA contact details.  For further information see: Cayuse Guides : Research Gateway

2. Activate Sapphire two-step authentication, complete/update Sapphire Profile and CV details

Each CI will need to activate Sapphire's two-step authentication via their mobile phone.

Applicants (including all Chief Investigators and Associate Investigators) are required to submit a registration form available on the Sapphire Landing Page. NHMRC copied RGMS users’ CV/Profile data from RGMS for migration into Sapphire on Wednesday 12 February 2020 after 5.00pm (AEDT). Any changes made to an RGMS profile after this date have not been replicated in Sapphire.

3. Review the funding documents

The CIA should read the NHMRC Guidelines to Applicants available from Grant Connect (GO 7526).

4. Complete draft application

Complete draft application in Sapphire.

5. Email a completed draft application to RIC

• Send completed draft Grant Proposal for a WIP high level review to RIC via email nhmrc-project@unimelb.edu.au by 10am Wednesday 4 March 2026.
• Send completed Track Record for each CI (publications, impact, leadership) for a review to RIC via email nhmrc-project@unimelb.edu.au by 10am Thursday 5 March 2026.
• Send final application (Grant Proposal and Sapphire components) for review to RIC via email nhmrc-prohect@unimelb.edu.au by 10am Monday 16 March 2026.

To obtain your Sapphire application preview documents, click the "Preview" button on the top right corner and a zip folder consisting of the preview documents will be downloaded automatically. A hardcopy is not required.

6. Complete the application after feedback

After taking feedback from RIC into consideration, complete the application in the Grant management system. Upload all documents as outlined in Guidelines to Applicants, paying special attention to formatting requirements. It is suggested to seek advice from colleagues, Faculty Mentors, etc. before finalising the application.

7. Certify the application in Sapphire

Certify the application via the ‘CI Certification’ function in the Grant management system. Snapshot reports will be automatically generated, please wait for these to be produced. The application will be locked once certified and status then will be Submitted to RAO.

***Please note that we have observed delays within Sapphire where the approvals tab to submit applications is taking ~15 minutes to load, as such there is a risk to the timely submission of your application if it is received after the RIC Final Submission Deadline. To minimise any delays or issues with the submission of your application we advise adhering to the RIC final submission deadline for this scheme.***

8. RIC will submit the application

RIC will submit the application to the NHMRC and the CIA will receive Sapphire notification when this has been done.

Supporting documents

NHMRC Documents

All NHMRC documentation relating to this scheme can be found via Grant Connect (GO 8224).

Direct Research Cost (DRC) Guidelines

Personnel and Salary Support Package rates

NHMRC Policies

New NHMRC requirement to consider sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation

NHMRC and MRFF grant opportunities opening from January 2026 include a new requirement to account for sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation as part of application and assessment processes.

The Statement on Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation in Health and Medical Research provides a guide for researchers to consider the Variables at all stages of their research project, including key definitions and better practice prompts.

Applicants may choose to include or exclude the Variables in their application, provided they offer a sound, evidence-based justification for their decision.

Applicants will need to respond to a new question in the Sapphire application form on the integration of the Variables. The question is not a Minimum Data requirement. For each of the Variables, applicants will need to either summarise how the Variable is being integrated in the proposed research or justify why it is not being integrated. When a Variable is being integrated in the research, the incorporation of the Variable into the research question setting, design, conduct, analysis, reporting and/or implementation/translation must also be described in the grant proposal.

The Variables are being incorporated into assessment criteria. Assessors will need to take the information applicants provide about the Variables into account when scoring applications against the relevant criteria. Assessors should focus on the strength and validity of the rationale provided rather than the presence or absence of the Variables.

For further information, see the NHMRC resources webpage and the MDHS Faculty's Sex and Gender Inclusion in Research Guidelines.

NHMRC Open Access Policy

From 1 January 2024, all NHMRC grant holders must comply with NHMRC’s Open Access Policy. The policy requires full and immediate open access for NHMRC-funded research outputs. For more information on how to comply refer to the UoM webpage on funder open access policies.

NHMRC Policy on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Grant Applications

NHMRC has released some key advice regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in grant application and peer review. Refer to the NHMRC policy page and note the following:

Application drafting
Information provided to generative artificial intelligence (such as natural language processing models and artificial intelligence technology tools) becomes part of a public database and may be accessed by unspecified third parties. If you use generative artificial intelligence to assist with the drafting of your application, you must ensure you are aware of the potential risks involved, such as those related to security, confidentiality, intellectual property, privacy, the accuracy of information generated and possible plagiarism.

Peer review
Use of generative artificial intelligence in peer review Information provided to generative artificial intelligence (such as natural language processing models and artificial intelligence technology tools) becomes part of a public database and may be accessed by third parties. Peer reviewers must not input any part of a grant application, or any information from a grant application, into a natural language processing and/or artificial intelligence technology system to assist them in the assessment of applications. Use of generative artificial intelligence may compromise the integrity of NHMRC’s peer review process and be in breach of its Principles of Peer Review, the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and the confidentiality undertaking of peer reviewers.

Contacts

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