Standard Research Grants

Standard Research projects represent well-defined, high-quality research proposals that have been developed in response to (or anticipation of) government policy questions, and use Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) data.

Applicants can apply for up to $125,000 for 12 months.

Eligibility

• Standard Research grants are available to research teams with experience or knowledge of analysing longitudinal data.
• Proposals must be developed in close collaboration with, or by, government policy professionals, and demonstrate a high level of research capability.
• Applications are open to academics, government agencies, private research organisations and non-government organisations including iwi-based organisations and service providers with sufficient research capability.
• Collaborations between groups are encouraged and all applications must be developed in collaboration with relevant government policy agencies.

Assessment process

• Applications for funding will be assessed by an independently chaired panel with collective expertise across research and government policy sectors.
• The panel will recommend to the Ministry of Social Development which proposals should be funded, based on proposals’ final scores against the assessment criteria.
• Consideration of the overall mix of recommended proposals and value for money will also be included in final funding decisions.
• Grant applications will be assessed on the quality of the project, team capability, policy relevance, partnership and impact.

Assessment criteria

Project quality (weighting 45%)

• Research questions and objectives based on a clear knowledge gap and can be answered using GUiNZ data.
• Methodology is suited to the research questions, and included a description of the data and variables to be used, and verification that they are available in the external GUiNZ data set.
• Cultural factors are given explicit consideration and project plan includes sensitive and appropriate response.
• Peer reviewers for reports, analysis plan and policy briefs are named, and the scope of each review and plan for incorporating feedback is described.
• The budget is reasonable for the type and length of tasks.
• Timeline is detailed and realistic.
• Potential risks to the project are identified and sound mitigation strategies are described.

Team capability (weighting 20%)

• The research team demonstrates the expertise and skills to deliver the project, has experience of applying research to policy issues, and each team member has a clearly defined role.

Policy relevance and partnership (weighting 25%)

• There is a clear framing of how the research links to a current policy issue and the project has been developed with relevant government agency/agencies.
• The project is relevant to the Government’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy proposed outcomes framework.

Impact (weighting 10%)

• There is a credible plan for engaging end users and other researchers, and developing communications material.

Further detail related to the assessment process and criteria can be found in the application pack.

Data Access Committee

Proposals recommended by the panel must gain approval from the Data Access Committee for access to the required GUiNZ external datasets.

The Ministry of Social Development will forward successful applicants’ Data Access Applications to the GUiNZ Data Access Committee for consideration.

How to apply

To apply for a research grant, complete the following forms (using the templates provided) and email your application to researchfund@msd.govt.nz.

Applications are now open and will close on 26 July 2019.