Apply for a grant

Applications for 2021 MND Research Australia grants are now open. Please read on for general information and for application forms and guidelines. Please note that there have been some changes to the grants structure for 2021. 

General Grant Statement
As we are all aware, 2020 has seen unprecedented disruption to society in general. For MNDRA this has meant a significant impact on our fundraising activities with many events cancelled and economic strains placed upon many of our donors. This means we will be offering less Innovator Grants than in previous years. In recognition of the disruption that researchers have experienced we will also be offering “Bridge-Funding Grants” for 2021 to enable researchers to supplement salary for previously funded grants where progress has been disrupted by COVID-19.

Please see below for details of the grant offerings for funding for 2021. Please read the application forms and guidelines carefully as there are some changes from previous years.

Please also note that we have now published our detailed review criteria that will be used to score the applications, as well as a “Relative to Opportunity” section detailing eligibility and scoring considerations for those with career disruptions and different career paths.

We will be offering;

1. The Betty and John Laidlaw MND Research prize – this has been renamed from the Betty Laidlaw MND Research Prize in memory of Betty and John’s recent passing. It will provide $200,000 in total over 2 years. Applicants will not be permitted to apply for both a Betty and John Laidlaw MND Research Prize and a Bridge-Funding grant for their 2020 project. Applicants can apply for both a Betty and John Laidlaw MND Research prize and an Innovator Grant but will only be eligible to receive one award.
2. Research Fellowships – three years of support at $100,000/yr. The number of fellowships offered will depend on our final fundraising outcomes.
3. MNDRA Bridge-funding Grant - This will be provided on a case-by-case basis through an application form. Funding will support up to 4-months of salary for any position detailed in the original grant budget for grants funded for 2020. Other costs will not be covered except in extenuating circumstances (such as critical mouse experiments). Applicants will not be eligible to apply for 2021 Innovator Grant or Betty and John Laidlaw Research Prize funding given they should be focussing on finishing up their delayed 2020 projects.
4. Innovator Grants – one year of support up to $100,000. Only one Innovator Grant application will be permitted per Principal Investigator (applicants can be Co-Investigators on other applications). Applicants will not be permitted to apply for both a new Innovator Grant and a Bridge-Funding grant for their 2020 project.
5. PhD Scholarship Top-up Grants – these will be announced early 2021 as in previous years.

Grant Review Criteria
We have updated our grant review criteria to be more closely aligned with that used by the NMHRC.

Please click on the links below:
MND Research Australia Grant Review Criteria and Relative to Opportunity Guidelines
MND Research Australia Detailed Grant Score Criteria

The relative to opportunity guidelines included in the above document provides detail and clarity around eligibility and reviewing considerations for career disruptions, different career paths and availability of resources.