INTRODUCTION
The GESA Research & Grants Committee makes recommendations to the GESA Board as to the awarding of research fellowships and grants on the basis of the research excellence of the applicants and the satisfaction of the eligibility criteria.
The Research Committee reserves the right to:
The Research Committee is not required to give any reason for its decisions.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants can only hold one grant at a time. Previous recipients of grants are not eligible to apply again.
Applicants must show evidence of commitment to a research career, within Australia, in health and disease related to the broad field of gastroenterology, hepatology and related disorders.
You must be a financial member of GESA to be eligible to receive any grants or fellowships.
Taking up a Grant & Payments
Unless otherwise agreed by the Research Committee, a grant must be taken up in the year for which it was awarded. Grants generally commence in January or February, or as directed by the Research Committee.
In general all grants will be paid to the administering institution, not to the individual applicant, on terms prescribed by the Society.
Successful applicants will be expected to spend the major part of their time in an institution, nominated by the applicant, which has been approved by the Research Committee.
The Research Committee will require confirmation of the applicant’s acceptance by this institution before making a grant.
The Research Committee may revoke or terminate a grant which is not taken up in accordance with the requirements of the Society and may, at its discretion, re-grant or transfer the balance of the benefit of the grant to another person.
In the event that a grant is properly taken up and the other requirements of the Society are met, grants are paid to the administering institution, for the grant project and no other purpose, at such intervals and on such terms as the Research Committee determines.
Tenure
Fellowships are for a maximum of three (3) years, subject to satisfactory progress including satisfactory annual reviews. On request, participating applicants must supply the Research Committee with such information and data as the Society reasonably requires regarding the awarded project, and the allocation and use of moneys awarded.
Applicants must immediately notify the Research Committee in writing if their tenure is terminated by a Hospital or University, or if they terminate or attempt to terminate their engagement before the expiration of the proposed period of a grant. Successful applicants are required to present research work originating from the grant on at least one occasion at Australian Gastroenterology Week (AGW) prior to the completion of the grant, at a time and for the duration acceptable to the Society. On request, applicants must provide the Research Committee with such information and materials as the Society reasonably requires to determine or verify research progress and the scope of the presentation.
Extension of Tenure
Only under extreme circumstances will an extension be granted, and then only on terms prescribed by the Research Committee.
Place of Tenure
Grants are designed specifically for use within Australia, or as otherwise specified by the Research Committee.
Employee & Employer Relationship
Participation in a Research program does not give rise to any term or condition of employment between applicants and the Society. Applicants must negotiate and finalise the terms and benefits of their engagement, including their entitlements, with the employing Hospital or University. The Society is not liable for any costs or expenses associated with the engagement of applicants. Such costs and expenses are the sole responsibility of the administering institution.
It is recommended that applicants obtain legal advice regarding their employment terms.
On request, participating applicants must provide the Research Committee with a copy of the employment terms agreed by the applicants and the employing institution.
Services
Successful applicants must provide services to the employing organisation personally. On carrying out research activities applicants must spend the major part of their time at the administering institution approved by the Research Committee, and conduct their activities in accordance with the directions of the employing institution.
If requested, participating applicants must notify the Research Committee of any disciplinary action taken against them in connection with their engagement, as well as any complaints, allegations or claims made against them in respect of misconduct, unprofessional conduct, unethical behaviour, illegal acts or omissions or negligence. The Research Committee reserves the right to revoke or terminate a grant in the event of any misconduct and may, at its discretion, transfer the balance of the benefit of the grant to another person.
Leave, Fees & Allowances
During the three (3) year tenure of the fellowship, applicants will be entitled to recreation leave not exceeding twelve (12) weeks. Under normal circumstances this means four (4) weeks during each twelve (12) month period of full time employment.
Entitlements to sick, parental, bereavement and other leave will be in accordance with the conditions of the employing institution.
No other allowances are available and the Society will not contribute toward costs and expenses incurred.
Superannuation
The Society will not act as an employer and will not, therefore, contribute to superannuation, loadings or continuation of service.
Whether time spent under the grant is counted as service contributing towards long service leave or study leave is dependent on the rules and policies of the administering institution.
Tax
A scholarship to a full time student purely for education purposes will in most cases constitute “exempt income,” unless the recipient of the scholarship is required to provide services in connection with the payment. A scholarship paid to an employee will not be treated as exempt income, in which case it will be treated as assessable income and therefore be subject to income tax.
Further information can be found in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth), at section 51-1 and 51-10 and on the website of the Australian Taxation Office, www.ato.gov.au.
Any questions applicants have about the tax implications of the grant should be directed to their financial advisor or the Commissioner for Taxation.
Additional Earnings
The applicant is expected to work full-time on the stipulated research project. Any additional funds anticipated must be declared and approved by the Research Committee of the Society on application.
Grant Recognition
On request, successful applicants must participate in activities organised by the Society to publicise program-related grants.
Upon completion of an awarded project and the end of grant tenure, applicants must personally advise the grant sponsor (if any), in writing of the completion of the grant and detail how the grant has assisted their career.
However, all proposed correspondence with the grant sponsor is subject to the approval of the Research Committee.
Participating applicants must not make any public statements or announcements about the rights, privileges and entitlements of a grant, without the prior written approval of the Research Committee.
Publications
Participating applicants must advise the Society in writing of any proposed or envisaged publications arising from project related activities carried out during the tenure of a grant.
All publications shall include a prominent written acknowledgement, acceptable to the Society, that the underlying work was carried out during the tenure of a grant from the Society. On request, applicants must provide the Society with a copy of all such publications.
Intellectual Property & Assignment of Rights
Participating applicants must immediately notify the Society in writing of any patentable discoveries or other registrable intellectual property rights, inventions, processes or improvements arising out of research conducted in the course of a grant. All such discoveries and intellectual property rights shall be jointly owned by the Society and the administering institution, in equal shares, and to the extent necessary the applicant and the administering institution:
Jointly owned intellectual property may be used by the Society for the usual purposes of the Society, without any fee or royalty being payable to the administering institution. The commercialisation or use of such rights for any other purpose is subject to the prior agreement of the Society and the administering institution.
For the avoidance of doubt, all improvements made to the administering institution’s pre-existing intellectual property remain the property of the administering institution.
Termination
In addition to any rights of revocation or termination set out in publications and handbooks of the Society, the Research Committee may revoke or terminate a grant on written notice to the applicant, with effect from a date recited in the notice (termination may be immediate), in the event that:
The Research Committee may also terminate a grant at any time, for any reason, on giving at least one (1) month prior notice to the applicant.
The Society is not liable or responsible for any losses or damages associated with the termination of a grant.
Suspension of Payments & Refunds of Monies Paid
If a “terminating event” arises the Research Committee may, instead of terminating a grant (at its absolute discretion), suspend all or part of the payments to be made to the applicant. If payments are suspended, the Research Committee may impose additional terms and conditions as to the making of any further payments.
The suspension of payments does not limit or fetter the right of the Research Committee to terminate a grant at any time in the future.
In the event that a grant is terminated, the applicant and the administering institution must promptly refund to the Society, without any deduction or set off, all moneys paid or awarded by the Society for the awarded project and not then properly expended on the provision of services by the applicant for the project.
Review & Evaluation
The Research program is subject to review by the Society which relies upon the input of applicants carrying out projects.
On agreeing to be part of the program, applicants must participate in, respond to and return, in a timely manner (and in any case, no later than 28 days), any questionnaires, surveys, evaluation forms and data sheets the Research Committee or the Society issues in connection with the program for the purposes of assessing:
Applicants are required to participate in the Society’s review and evaluation programs during the tenure of a grant and for 5 years thereafter.
On undertaking a review of the program the Society may publish, share or disclose findings to third parties such as grant sponsors and individuals who have participated in the program or who may be interested in participating in the program or a similar scheme in the future.
The Society may also share or transfer information relating to the Research program, including anonymous data concerning participating applicants and their experiences, to committees or management groups established for the purposes of managing, regulating or overseeing the program.
Confidentiality
Unless otherwise agreed by the Research Committee in writing, applicants must keep the terms and conditions on which a grant is made confidential. However, applicants may make such disclosures necessary for an administering institution to participate in the program, as well as any disclosures required at law.
Risk
The Society makes no warranties or representations that workplaces in connection with the program will be safe or without risk to health.
Participation does not confer on any applicant any rights to compensation or damages from the Society in consequence of personal harm or injury or the termination of his or her engagement or employment for any reason whatsoever, in so far as those rights arise, or may arise, from his or her ceasing to have rights in connection with the program.
The Society is not responsible or liable for any claims or actions arising in connection with the grant or the engagement of applicants by an employing institution.
Requirements of Administering Institution
Without limiting the obligations of an administering institution, it may be a requirement of the Society that no monies or additional monies will be paid to an administering institution unless and until the administering institution enters into a form of acknowledgement as prescribed by the Research Committee from time to time for the purposes of recording the rights of the Society and the obligations of the administering institution, including its obligations as an employer.
Accurate & Relevant Information
Applicants warrant that:
Variation of Terms
The Society may add to or vary any of these terms, or waive or vary the application of any of these terms, in relation to any application, provided that any such waiver or variation must be in writing.
Each variation will be deemed to be effective and part of the contract between the applicant and the Society in respect of the Research program, on and with effect from the date on which written notice of the change is given to the applicant by the Research Committee.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Supporting Documentation
Applicants must check the conditions for each grant to ensure that they have submitted the required supporting documentation.
Special Requirements
Intending applicants should note any special requirements outlined under the description of each grant. Recipients of all grants must participate in annual surveys undertaken by the Society to monitor development for a minimum of five (5) years following the completion of the grant.
The relevant forms will be available from the GESA website.
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Seek Advice
Intending applicants are strongly advised to discuss their plans with their supervisor in order to obtain appropriate advice prior to submitting the application.
Assess Eligibility
Applicants should assess their eligibility by referring to the conditions for the grant.
Nationality
Applicants must be Australian citizens or hold permanent Australian resident status.
Career Stage
The majority of grants are designed for candidates at an early stage in their careers: the definition of early stages is defined for individual grant.
How to Apply
Check the specific requirements of each grant, award and fellowship for information on how you may apply.
GESA research grants may only be applied for via the GESA Grants website.
The Application Form
All requested information is to be provided in the relevant space on the application form.
All dates are to be in day, month, and year format (e.g. 1 Jan 2016) Applications must be presented in a minimum of Times Roman 11 Font.
Attachments (where applicable)
Applicants who have overseas degrees should have these accredited by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. If this is not completed at the time of application then both the Head of Department and the Head of the Institution should certify that the degree in question is authentic and accreditation will be undertaken by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Additional Reports
The applicant is responsible for providing a full copy of the completed application, with the relevant blank report form, to the supervisor at the proposed institution.
The completed form must be included with the application.
Clarification of Specific Questions on the Application Form
Requested Scholarship Tenure:
If already enrolled for the higher degree for which scholarship support is sought, reduce the period of support requested by the period of equivalent full-time pre-enrolment up to December.
Australian Residency:
If applicable, a copy of the appropriate certificate must be enclosed.
Current Qualifications/Professional Registration:
Indicate your current qualifications and attach copies of certificates if necessary. Medical applicants must provide a copy of current registration in an Australian State or Territory.
Title of Proposed Study:
The title should describe what you want to achieve in your research training (the maximum number of characters is 120 including spaces).
Administering Institution:
The full name and full address of the institution responsible for administering the grant must appear here. While there may be instances where the research is carried out in more than one location, there can be only one administering institution for each grant.
Summarise Undergraduate Performance:
Do not include a full C.V. (unless requested) but do include an official academic transcript and the institutional key grading system used as an attachment at the end of the application. In addition, formally list University medals and non-University prizes.
Research Experience:
Where the applicant has completed a research-orientated/based degree such as Honours, Masters or B.MedSci etc, they should indicate the duration, amount of research compared with coursework and whether it was full-time, part-time and/or concurrent with another degree.
Please use the format shown below and include all authors, full title, journals, volume, first and last page numbers, and the date of publication.
Example
Bloggs A, Smith B, Applicant, Jones D. Studies on how best to get a Scholarship. J Appl Sci 2005;10:1-15
Career Chronology:
Please provide a summary of complete career chronology from beginning of tertiary studies: include all periods of employment and courses of training or study, and indicate full or part-time (F/T, P/T) beside the year.
Research Project, Aims, Background, Proposed Research Program, Significance, References:
The proposed research program, including references, should not exceed the two pages provided in the form. The proposal should be made up of Aims, Background, Proposed Research Program (briefly mention proposed methodologies), a statement concerning the significance of the proposal, and References (a few critical references only - journal references, no titles).
Additional Report - Supervisor for the Project:
The supervisor is to complete the form provided in the application package. The form must be returned with the application.
Signatures:
The application is invalid without the signature of the applicant. Additionally, the application will not be considered without the signatures of the intended supervisor, Head of Department and Head of Administering Institution. The Society accepts as the Head of Institutions the Registrars of Universities or university research offices, the Directors of Independent Institutes, and the Managers or Medical Superintendents of Hospitals.
Clearance Requirements:
Detailed instructions regarding ethics clearance requirements, including species listings, categories of animal experiments, description of the ethical implications of human/animal experimentation, are available from the NHMRC website www.nhmrc.gov.au.Evidence of ethics clearances from relevant institutional committees should be provided. Funds for grants will not be released by the Society until all clearances are submitted.