Peer review

Peer review helps NHMRC make decisions on funding based on impartiality and expert advice. The ongoing voluntary participation of the research community in the peer review process ensures that NHMRC continues to fund the best health and medical research and researchers. NHMRC’s principles of peer review underpin the peer review of all of its funding schemes. Peer review relies on peer reviewers complying with these principles, where appropriate, and providing rigorous assessment of applications for NHMRC funding to ensure transparency, probity and fairness of process. NHMRC appreciates and values the contribution that peer reviewers make to this process.

Benefits of participating in peer review

Contributing to peer review is an important step in your professional development, and provides the opportunity to contribute further to Australia’s health and medical research. Participating in peer review offers you the opportunity to see the breadth of research conducted in Australia and to examine new research in your field of expertise. By improving your understanding of NHMRC’s peer review process and reviewing applications, you have the possibility of strengthening your own applications in the future.

Guiding principles for peer review nomination and appointments, and self-nomination

Nominations and appointments of NHMRC peer reviewers across any NHMRC scheme is guided by the below principles.
NHMRC also invites researchers to self-nominate for consideration to undertake peer review for our funding schemes. A guide to self-nomination has been developed to assist researchers to consider which funding scheme would be most appropriate.

• Guiding principles for peer review nomination and appointments

Peer review honour roll

The effectiveness and sustainability of NHMRC peer review processes depends on researchers with excellent track records and wide-ranging expertise in Australian and international health and medical research fields, who contribute as panel members and external assessors, and individuals from the broader community who independently observe and report on processes and proceedings used by NHMRC during peer review.

Yearly honour rolls of peer reviewers, community observers and external assessors who have contributed to NHMRC peer review processes are provided below.

NHMRC thanks all researchers for their contributions and asks institutions to include such service to medical research in their appointments and promotions activities.

Previous years honour rolls are available on the Australian Government web archive.

Resources and training materials

Training modules

Several training modules for peer reviewers are available on the NHMRC website.

Peer review guidelines

Scheme-specific peer review guidelines are available on the NHMRC website. The peer review guidelines are designed specifically for peer reviewers, and outline the peer review process and associated policies for each scheme.

Peer Review Mentor video

NHMRC has produced short videos featuring experienced peer reviewers to address some of the key questions and themes relating to peer review for the Investigator Grant and Ideas Grant schemes. These videos can be viewed at the below links. 

• Investigator Grants Peer Review Mentor video
• Ideas Grants Peer Review Mentor video
   

Guide to evaluating industry-relevant experience

Peer reviewers should appropriately recognise an applicant’s industry-relevant experience and outputs. To assist peer reviewers with their assessment, a guide to evaluating industry-relevant experience is provided below.

Guide to evaluating industry-relevant experience.