Nominations open for Professional Development Award (New Zealand)

The purpose of Professional Development Awards is to allow personnel with a direct involvement in cancer care or cancer research to participate in activities (e.g. advanced study or training courses, conferences, clinic or laboratory visits) that will enhance their ability to contribute in the fields of cancer care or cancer research.

Funding Information

• A maximum of $3,000 per grant is available, and applications can be made in either the March or September grant rounds, well in advance of the proposed course/event.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Trust aims to assist a wide range of professionals working in the fields of cancer research, treatment and support. This includes applications from cancer professionals who otherwise do not have access to support attendance and presentations at international conferences.
• It is likely that some applicants who are eligible for Trust support will be new to the art of grant preparation. Those without previous experience of applying for competitive funding are advised to seek the help and input of colleagues who are practised and successful grant writers.
• Prospective applicants are encouraged to register on the grants portal, thus ensuring they will be notified when funding opportunities are available. Retrospective applications are not permitted. In any funding round, an applicant can be named on no more than two applications, with a maximum of one as the Principal Investigator. An application for a Professional Development Award counts towards this cap.

Review Criteria

• The immense value of face-to-face networking with collaborators and international experts needs to be balanced against the need to minimise their collective environmental footprint. The Trust supports both face-to-face and online connections, and applicants should justify their chosen medium.
• If the proposal is intended to contribute to health or research workforce sustainability, applicants should describe how the funding will assist, such as helping to keep talent in New Zealand or supporting the upskilling of committed talent.
• In judging the quality of an application, the applicant’s CV will be considered against stage of career, relative to opportunity. Generally applicants who are seeking support for a first international conference will be prioritised ahead those who have already had a chance to attend such a conference.
• Applicants should also clearly identify any other sources of potential funding for their proposed itinerary. Lack of other financial support is viewed supportively.
• For applications involving international travel, if personal circumstances allow then including opportunities to increase the benefits of travel by combining a conference with laboratory or collaborator visits.

Application Requirements

• Professional Development Awards can be used to support attendance at a conference or event that is supported by their companion fund – the Cancer Education Development awards. This is to enable local participants to attend conferences and community hui, where the cost of attendance might otherwise be a barrier.
• Professional Development Awards cannot be used to support fees for post-graduate university papers (e.g. Masters).
• Applicants with limited previous experience of writing competitive funding applications are strongly advised to seek the help and input of colleagues who are successful grant writers.
• All applications must be submitted through the grants portal and late submissions cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

For more information, visit Cancer Research Trust.