Ask the researcher: The experience of applying for health and medical research funding in Australia - Survey results.

We are researching the <i>National Health and Medical Research Council</i> (NHMRC) Project Grant funding scheme. Funding schemes should be subject to rigorous scientific scrutiny. If funding schemes could be improved for the applicants, peer reviewers and administrators, then the entire scope of health and medical research in Australia would benefit. Large costs are invested by Australian medical researchers when they prepare and submit their proposals for funding, but there is limited evidence to date on the experience and opinions of these researchers as applicants. We would like to survey the Australian research community about submitting Project Grants proposals, the major funding scheme at the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The aim of the survey is to examine the process of applying for NHMRC Project Grants and: i) why researchers submit proposals, ii) the impact on researchers from the current process of submission and peer review, and iii) what changes to the process the researchers would like to see. This survey will build an evidence base for funding schemes, so that the process of applying for and awarding funding is based on evidence not opinion. This survey gives Australian medical researchers an opportunity to rate their experience with the NHMRC Project Grant application process and give suggestions for improvements