The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) will work more closely under a new structure announced today.
The new advisory structure and committees will better harmonise and promote collaboration by key government funders in Australia's health and medical research sector and make it easier for researchers to engage with funders.
Better alignment and coordination of the NHMRC's Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) and MRFF will achieve the best of both and strengthen Australia's world-leading research capability to change and improve the health and lives of Australians.
A call for nominations to the committees listed below will open shortly, including new joint committees, and a number of existing committees with new joint responsibilities.
NHMRC Principal Committees
- Research Committee - advises on the quality and scope of health and medical research in Australia, including the application of the MREA and the MRFF.
- Australian Health Ethics Committee - advises on ethical issues relating to health and develop human research guidelines.
NHMRC-MRFF Joint Advisory Committees
- NHMRC-MRFF Consumer Advisory Group - which will advise on consumer and community involvement in health and medical research, including on strengthening consumer involvement in MREA and MRFF grant programs.
- NHMRC-MRFF Industry, Philanthropy and Commercialisation Committee - which will advise on industry and philanthropic involvement in health and medical research and strategies to foster greater research commercialisation.
- NHMRC-MRFF Public Health and Health Systems Committee - which will advise on strategies for strengthening preventive health, public health, primary care and health services, and for embedding research translation in the Australian health system.
- NHMRC-MRFF Indigenous Advisory Group - which will advise on health research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and capacity building for health researchers who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
This strategic move will bring together a diverse array of expertise while complementing broader work towards aligning NHMRC and MRFF funding programs and activities to address pressing health challenges now and in the future.
