Before you apply

How we assess applications

For most funding schemes the HRB uses a process of competition and international peer review to decide which grant applications to fund (see outline process).  HRB funding decisions are based on eligibility, assessment criteria, available budget, and potentially on the HRB gender policy. These factors are assessed in a systematic way through our review process, and we strive for fairness at each step. Please refer to the guidance notes for each particular scheme for details. You will find further information on how we assess applications here.

The HRB is a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration of Research Assessment  (DORA). The HRB is fully committed to ensure that the research and researchers are assessed on the merit of their research as a whole and not on the journal-based metric. You can find more information on the declaration and how the HRB is implementing the principles here. Find out more about DORA.

You should also refer to our policies page for further information.

Tips for writing a grant application

Writing a grant application takes time and planning. Here you will find general application and methodological design tips to help you write a good grant application. This includes information on what to consider before you start writing, what reviewers look for in an application and the importance of using plain English.  We also take a look at using the right to respond option and some of the reasons why grant applications are rejected.

Policies to consider before you apply

There are a number of grant policies to consider when applying to our funding schemes.They include our gender, open access, data protection and research ethics policies.  Details on these as well as additional policies for both researchers and host institutions can be found on our relevant policies page.

Useful links

We have put together some external resources that you may find helpful in the preparation of an application. You will find information here on areas such as study design for interventions, study registration, reporting, clinical research infrastructures, PPI, bio banking, data management, animals in research and gender issues amongst others.