Australia: Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships 2024

The Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships aim to support breakthrough solutions to Australia’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

A Fellowship offers unique opportunity for recipients to take 12 months to focus on approaches that have the potential to achieve positive outcomes for society, supporting initiatives that align with one or more of the program themes of inclusion & equality, sustainability & environment including climate change, or human, civil & legal rights.

Fellows receive a combination of time, resources and a program of support to help progress their work, shepherd their initiatives towards fruition and grow and scale their impact.

What is offered?

• Up to $180,000 is available to each Fellow for their 12-month Fellowship comprising a stipend of $140,000 and up to $40,000 for approved project expenses. Project expenses are those directly related to the Fellowship from its commencement such as renting a separate workspace (if required), travel and contracting of external expertise, and available on a reimbursement basis.
• During the 12-months, Fellows have access to a range of supports including a panel of experts, who meet quarterly, a mentor and the network of past Fellows.

What is expected of Fellows during the Fellowship?

• Each year Fellows are provided with the resources of focused time and funding to explore their particular project, idea or initiative.
• The Fellowship is not tied to specific KPIs or objectives; rather it is designed to support Fellows to progress their work. However, Fellows are required to do a mid-term and final presentation in support of their Fellowship.

Who should apply for a Fellowship?

• They seek a diversity of people, projects and experience and encourage individuals to submit an expression of interest.
• They seek initiatives that are:
  • high impact: likely to produce results, aligned with one or more of The Myer Foundation & Sidney Myer Fund’s priority areas of Inclusion & Equality, Sustainability & Environment including climate change, and Human, Civil & Legal Rights
  • unique: new or different from existing approaches including applying existing approaches in new contexts or fields
  • scalable and sustainable: the potential to scale up and be sustainable over time.
• They seek individuals who are:
  • experienced and entrepreneurial: a proven track record of achievement or traction in their field, in the subject matter and/or in the approach or initiative
  • passionate and connected: a genuine commitment and passion for their cause and the network to make it happen
  • collegiate and curious: broad-minded, willing to learn and able to work well with others (including your cohort of Fellows and program advisors and staff), and committed to taking up the Fellowship offering.
• They seek a range of approaches. These might include:
  • opening productive new lines of inquiry
  • asking thought provoking questions
  • challenging conventional wisdom
  • developing new ideas, strategies or solutions, or applying proven approaches to new fields.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must:
  • be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
  • reside in Australia for the majority of the Fellowship period
  • be prepared to take a sabbatical from their current role for 12 months (if relevant)
  • have a proven track record of achievement,
  • pursue out-of-the-box thinking and be a risk-taker
  • have an ability to turn well-formulated ideas or new approaches into action (that is, your idea must have substance to it; a good idea on its own is not sufficient)
  • have well-developed networks within an area of the proposed project.
• The proposed project must:
  • be based in Australia
  • be aligned with one or more of the program themes of Inclusion & Equality, Sustainability & Environment including climate change, or Human, Civil & Legal rights
  • have been in development for not longer than three years.

What are the funding exclusions?

• The Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships program will not support the following:
  • benefits or fundraising events
  • capital or endowment campaigns
  • ongoing or one-off academic research or work towards higher degrees (including by coursework or dissertations)
  • medical research
  • initiatives focused on specific diseases
  • international projects
  • scholarships
  • sponsorships
  • funding hubs or accelerators
  • creative arts projects
  • collaborations between a number of individuals
  • projects that are focused on program or service delivery
  • projects that have been in development for more than three years
  • organisations.

For more information, visit Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships.