HLH101 Research Funding Proposal

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

A major source of funding for biomedical research in Australia is provided by competitive grants awarded by national funding bodies such as the National Health & Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council. Additional contemporary sources of smaller “seed” funding for clinical or translational projects, and/or projects at the discovery phase include discipline specific societies and foundations. The scope of the projects you will be conducting are appropriate for targeting funding from these organisations.  Project proposals required by foundations and societies require; a review of the existing literature in the area and a clear vision of how your project fits the discipline, a  statement of the aims of the study and a  description of the methodological approach that will used to address these aims. They also require a description of the  benefits to society and the potential for rapid translation of the project into policy changes / clinical practice.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate advanced information retrievals skills appropriate to your research area.
2. Exhibit a high level of theoretical and practical knowledge of your research topic..
3. Write a critical review of the literature relevant to your research project.
4. Develop an evidence-based research plan that allows you to address the aims of your research project.
5. Write in accordance with accepted standards of scholarship, style and presentation in biomedical sciences.

Content

Learning Approaches

Students will undertake workshops dealing with information retrievals skills, bibliographic software, critical thinking, project management skills and writing skills required for research funding applications These workshops will be supplemented by extensive self-directed learning in that you will be expected to perform literature searches and independently compile a project proposal suitable for submission to a philanthropic society. 

Workshops will also include examples and discussions of non-traditional ways to access and source funds for research such as Industry approaches to research funding. You will learn that as prospective researchers you will need to familiarise yourselves with the application procedure, the Corporation's over-arching goals and strategies, the goals and strategies of the relevant R&D programs and the specific priorities for R&D for the year for which the proposal is being submitted. Regular meetings with your supervisor and research group and participation in internal and external seminars will provide the scaffolding required to complete the research funding proposal.

Formative feedback will be provided through the submission of drafts of the project proposal to your principal research supervisor and other members of your research supervisory team. Teamwork will be driven by your research group, as you will be given formative feedback on your grant proposal drafts by your supervisory team that is directly applicable to your project.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Elements of a project proposal submitted to a philanthropic foundation or society which funds biomedical or general health research will be discussed in workshops in which you will write sections of you proposal and receive formative feedback from the unit coordinator and Honours team members. Written feedback will also be provided by the assessors of your final research funding proposal to be utilised to improve your writing skills for subsequent writing tasks for other units.

Assessment

Overview

You will be graded on a written research funding proposal that encompases your proposed project and is written in a style that targets a philanthropic health or scientific society. This will be conducted under the direction of your supervisor.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Literature Review

A research project proposal that contains all of the key elements of a funding application that would be submitted to a philanthropic foundation or society to obtain funding. It incorporates a critical review of the literature, statement of aims and detailed description of the methodology that would be used to address these aims. Most importantly it contains a clear statement of the health or technological significance of the project, how it will benefit the community and how it can be translated into policy or practice.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary workplace health and safety issues with this unit.

Course Learning Outcomes

HL53 Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) (Study Area A)

1. Students will demonstrate coherent and advanced knowledge of a biomedical science research area and understand the principles and practice of research ethics and laboratory health and safety related to this discipline.
   Relates to: Literature Review
2. Students will demonstrate critical thinking, independent judgement and technical skills required to conduct, analyse and disseminate research in the biomedical sciences.
   Relates to: Literature Review
3. Students will be able to effectively plan, execute and evaluate a piece of research by demonstrating responsible professional practice, and advanced problem-solving working independently and in collaboration with a research team.
   Relates to: Literature Review