Medical Research Future Fund

Established under the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015, the MRFF is a $20 billion investment by the Government to support, transform, and drive cutting-edge medical research and innovation in Australia.

Strategic and priority areas for the fund are guided by an Advisory Board, who developed the 5-year Strategy (2016–2021) which outline the framework for the MRFF as six strategic platforms:

1. Strategic and international horizons
2. Data and infrastructure
3. Health services and systems
4. Capacity and collaborations
5. Trials and translation
6. Commercialisation

The Strategy determines the biennial Priorities (2016 - 2018).

Some funding disbursements are expected to be made through competitive grants processes and targeted calls administered by the Department of Health, NHMRC, or other independent bodies.

MRFF Factsheet

In the 2018 Federal Budget, the Government announced $1.3 billion towards the National Health and Medical Industry Growth Plan, including investments from the MRFF:

• $240 million committed to a Frontier Health and Medical Research program
• $248 million for rare cancers and rare diseases clinical trials
• $32 million for industry research collaborations
• $125 million to establish a Targeted Translation Research Accelerator for chronic disease
• $62.3 million for biomedical and medical technology programs.
• $125 million for a Million Minds Mental Health Mission
• $150 million for translation of research into better patient outcomes

For summaries of each investment, please refer to the Department of Health webpage.

These investments are expected to lead to funding opportunities in the near future however the mechanism for which is currently unknown.

Any funding opportunities derived from these investments will be advertised on this page and Research Professional as soon as information becomes available.

Other useful information is available in Research Australia's Budget Analysis Summary.

Genomics Health Futures Mission - Projects Grant Opportunity

The Genomics Health Futures Mission (GHFM) aims to deliver better diagnostics and targeted treatments, avoid unnecessary health costs, and improve patient experience and outcomes. This will be achieved through partnership with state and territory governments, public and private entities in healthcare, and linkages with the National Health Genomics Policy Framework. A total of $156 million for the Projects Grant stream and $17.6 million  for the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues Grant stream over nine years have been announced under the GHFM .

View GHFM Projects Grant Scheme

Genomics Health Futures Mission - Flagships - Pathogen Genomics

The Flagships will be funding large-scale pilot research studies that generate the evidence needed to implement genomics in the clinic in an efficient and cost effective manner and enable discontinuation of unnecessary or outdated practice. It is anticipated that flagships will build on a significant pre-existing body of evidence for an intervention, including robust safety and effectiveness indicators, in order to test the value, scalability and/or system preparedness of implementing the intervention in the clinical environment.

Pathogen Genomics is the application of genome sequencing technologies to the characterisation and analysis of pathogens, for the purpose of informing clinical and public health investigations of, and responses to, infectious disease. For the purposes of this grant opportunity, pathogens are defined as microorganisms that are significant to human health.

View GHFM Pathogen Genomics Scheme

International Clinical Trial Collaborations Program 2019.1

The ICTC Grant Program complements other Australian Government programs by providing a specific funding mechanism to increase Australian leadership of, and participation in, high quality international collaborative investigator-initiated clinical trials.

View ICTC Scheme

Targeted Health System and Community Organisation Research Grant Opportunity Round 2

This grant opportunity under the MRFF THS & COR Program will support research that addresses questions that focus on the comparative effectiveness of health services and areas of health system practice with low or insubstantial evidence. The Program will also address gaps in knowledge and evidence relating to health system issues important to the public, providing opportunities to explore consumer-driven research. These health system research questions require more focused research and usually reflect high community need, but low commercial interest.

View THS & COR Scheme

The MRFF provides medical research funding via partner agencies that run peer review funding programs. It is not possible to apply directly to the MRFF for funding. For example, the MRFF has already partnered with the NHMRC, CanTeen and The Cure for MND Foundation. The University of Melbourne regularly monitor programs announced by the MRFF to provide support for applicants as call for applications emerge. Details of available support and internal submission procedures will be posted on Research Professional

First disbursements from the Medical Research Future Fund

Past Opportunities

2019 Million Minds Mission

The Million Minds Mission grant opportunity aims to support multidisciplinary teams of researchers to undertake collaborative, patient-focussed research that is transformative, scalable and demonstrates the greatest impact on health outcomes and translation into policy and/or practice.

2019 Frontier Health and Medical Research Program

This program will provide over $240 million to researchers and their collaborators over five years to support innovative ’out-of-the-box’ ideas and discoveries. It aims to unlock groundbreaking research which provides new treatments and technologies to improve health and open new markets for industry growth.

2019 Keeping Australians Out of Hospital

This grant opportunity under the MRFF Keeping Australians Out of Hospital program will support research into evidence-based, implementable and scalable preventive health solutions that can result in outcomes to prevent the development of, or promote better management of complex and chronic health conditions, improve quality of life for people with these conditions and keep them out of hospital.

2018 Prostate Cancer Research Alliance (PCRA) - Request for proposals

The Prostate Cancer Research Alliance (PCRA) is a three-year program jointly funded by the Australian Government and the Movember Foundation. The initiative aims to fund research projects that will accelerate the translation of prostate cancer research in the identified priority areas.

2019 Stem Cells Australia - Call for Disease Teams

Stem Cells Australia (SCA) invites Australian researchers to submit proposals for targeted disease teams to translate stem cell research towards a specific clinical need.

2019 Stroke Foundation - Return to life, Return to work clinical research grant

Supported by the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the Stroke Foundation is facilitating a targeted clinical research investment in recovery for working age survivors of chronic stroke through two dedicated research grants funded from 2019-2021.

2018 MRFF - Biomedical Translation Bridge

The BTB grant opportunity will provide up to $22.3 million over four years to support eligible organisations to fund and nurture eligible early stage health and medical research ventures to reach proof of concept stage.

Proposed projects are expected to put in place systems to enable service functions including:

• selecting, providing funding to, and managing a portfolio of ventures
• providing mentoring and networking capabilities to aid in the development of these ventures, including helping to establish development milestones that are commercially relevant
• soliciting and securing relevant and appropriate philanthropic donations and third-party sponsorship or co-investment and then provide this to the selected ventures to aid in their development
• selecting successful ventures, through an open and competitive selection process, with possible subsequent intake rounds or a continuous intake process
• establishing a suitably qualified selection panel, in consultation with the department and the Department of Health, that will be used to select ventures to be funded
• executing and managing contractual arrangements with the selected ventures (between $200,000 and $1 million with a maximum duration of three years) including terminating funding and support for ventures that fail to progress

2018 Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need

The Australian Government has announced a total of up to $33 million from the MRFF for the RCRDUN grant opportunity. It is anticipated that up to twenty grants of up to five years duration will be considered with funding anticipated to commence in January 2019. This competitive grant opportunity will provide support for publicly funded clinical trials that address areas of health burden and unmet need, such as rare cancers and rare diseases. Applications to this grant opportunity must propose a clinical trial that addresses an ‘unmet medical need’ by improving the health outcomes for members of the Australian community living with serious health conditions whose diagnosis or treatment is not adequately addressed by existing options. The grant opportunity incorporates a call for applications to the Australian Brain Cancer Mission.

This scheme closed 15 August 2018. Outcomes are expected November-December 2018.

2018 Low Survival Cancers and Diseases

This competitive LSCD grant opportunity will provide support for publicly funded clinical trials that address low survival cancers and diseases.  Applications to this grant opportunity must propose a single clinical trial that aims to improve survival rates for Australians with a low survival cancer or other disease.

The Australian Government has announced a total of up to $10 million from the MRFF for this grant opportunity. Grants of up to five years duration will be considered with funding anticipated to commence in July/August 2018. It it anticipated that up to seven grants will be funded.

This scheme closed on 18th April 2018. Outcomes available.

BioMedTech Horizons Expressions of Interest – MTPConnect

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are open for the Australian Government's $5 million BioMedTech Horizons program, an initiative to support innovative collaborative health technologies that address key health challenges. MTPConnect is delivering this grant program on behalf of the Australian Government as part of the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.

MTPConnect welcomes ideas that are set to customise and revolutionise healthcare, stimulate inter-disciplinary collaboration between research, industry and technology sectors, and foster strong entrepreneurship potential.

Investments from the program will be focused on supporting cutting-edge ideas in precision medicine and 3D anatomical printing towards proof-of-concept and commercialisation. Innovative technologies in these areas can play a key role in significantly transforming the national healthcare system and promote Australia's international ranking as a leader in biotechnology and medical technology.

Approximately $3 million is reserved for supporting ideas in precision medicine and $2 million for ideas in the 3D anatomical printing area. Up to $1 million is offered in funding for individual projects over the next two years, to drive innovation and foster commercialisation. Cash and/or in-kind contributions from the applicant will be viewed favourably.

Stage 2 of this scheme closed on 15th January 2018.

Research Australia MRFF
Department of Health MRFF

For general enquiries and requests for coordinating information sessions, please contact:

Catherine Nobes

MRFF Project Officer

T: +61 3 83441471

M: +61 412 130295

E: catherine.nobes@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Bow Tauro

MRFF Senior Project Officer (Melbourne Medical School)

T: +61 3 9035 4724

M: +61 413 697 498

E: bow.tauro@unimelb.edu.au

Internal support and templates for UoM applicants (University of Melbourne login details required)