Can lead researchers be funded, or must they strictly be funded by in-kind contributions?

Lead researcher salary should be included as an in-kind contribution.

Can standard infrastructure costs be included in the budget?

No. Grant monies must directly contribute to project activities.

Can indirect costs of research be included in the budget request?

Only direct costs of research projects should be included in the project budget, to be funded by grant money. Indirect costs of research (sometimes referred to as administrative overheads) should not be included in the project budget and are expected to be in-kind contributions by the administering organisation.

What is the maximum amount of funding we can apply for?

Leveraging grant projects can request up to 20% of their total funding, or $200,000, whichever is lower for up to 2 years.

Priority grant projects can request up to $500,000 for up to 2 years.

Scholarships of up to $10,000 will be awarded by universities to identified candidates.

Can we structure our budget with consideration to the total maximum possible funding?

Project budgets can be structured with consideration given to the maximum funding amount in a given stream. Applications are welcome that propose budgets requiring less than the total maximum possible funding.

Is there leeway for the lead researcher to not be employed by the Administering Organisation?

The lead researcher must be employed by the Administering Organisation.

I work in a university outside of NSW, am I eligible to apply for the Screen-Related Addiction Research Fund?

Yes. Applications are open to research project teams that are led by a researcher from an Australian public university, so researchers from all Australian jurisdictions are welcome to apply.

However, please note that successful researchers may require a valid NSW Working With Children Check (WWCC) if their project involves conducting research in NSW schools.

Can I (as a researcher) be included in more than one application?

Yes, although consideration should be given as to whether you will be able to participate in all funded projects.

I am a NSW Department of Education employee. Am I able to be included as part of an Administering Organisation’s application for funding?

No. Department staff are not eligible to be part of an application for these grants.

My current grant-funded project is expected to be completed prior to 31 December 2024. Can I still apply for a Leveraging grant?

No. Funding for the current round is only available for post-award projects that have a completion date beyond 31 December 2024.

My project is under review for funding to commence in 2024. Am I still eligible to apply for a Leveraging grant?

Projects that receive funding in 2024 may be eligible to apply, we will consider on a case-by-case basis.

Do I need to apply for State Education Research and Partnerships (SERAP) approval?

SERAP approval is required for researchers wishing to conduct research in all NSW government schools, irrespective of student involvement, including:

• preschools
• primary schools
• secondary schools
• central schools
• community schools
• environmental education centres.

SERAP should also be used by researchers who wish to conduct research using extant data (existing data sets and summary statistics) held by the department. Research cannot be conducted in NSW public schools, or using extant data, without SERAP approval.

Do I need to have secured SERAP approval to be eligible for funding?

SERAP approval does not have to be obtained at the time of submitting an application for funding – evidence that a SERAP application is underway is sufficient.

It should be noted that a successful application under the Screen Fund cannot proceed if SERAP approval is not obtained before the project start date. Any funding provided will need to be returned to the department.

Do letters of endorsement/support need to explicitly break down the in-kind contributions?

No. A proposal’s in-kind contributions must be explicated in the budget section of the application form.

Letters of endorsement/support should state their support of the application inclusive of the budget.

Can we include citations in our application? Do they count towards the word limit?

Yes, you can include citations as footnotes or endnotes. Discursive footnotes or endnotes should not be included.

Citations do not count towards the word limit.

Is there a limit to the number of applications that can be submitted from an administering organisation?

There is no limit to the number of applications that can be submitted from an administering organisation for the Leveraging and Priority streams.

There is no application form for Scholarships. Universities will survey their current PhD students‘ suitability for a Screen Fund Scholarship (see Scholarship Guidelines).

Will there be another funding round?

The department does not intend to announce another funding round.