Source and Confirm Funding

Identify your best funding options and prepare your applications. Clinical trials have unique work, highly specialised tasks, and require specialised workforce and skills. This requires funding support from the Sponsor of the study. In Australia there are three main sources of funding for clinical trials: Government, Commercial and non-government funding.

The most important part of any grant/funding application is reading the guidelines and ensuring that your clinical trial meets the eligibility criteria for the grant.

Government Grants

- Government agencies support some clinical research. Opportunities to apply for support are usually offered once or twice a year and are highly competitive. e.g. NHMRC, Australian Research Council and Cancer Australia
- When applying for government funding you must check with your employer on their specific requirements required prior to submission of your application, for example, executive endorsement of your project.

Commercial Entity (Industry) Funding

- Industry often fund research into a product or device they have a commercial interest in, they may provide full or partial funding or access to a drug or device required for your clinical trial.
- Have you considered options for partnering with Industry to fund a component of/all your clinical trial? e.g. pharmaceutical or device manufacturer

Non-Government/ Philanthropic Funding

Non-government

- Non-Government organisations are important funders of research.
- There may be Trusts, Foundations or individual donors who could fund all or part of your trial. e.g. Heart Foundation, Diabetes Australia, Cancer Council NSW

Philanthropic

- Philanthropic funding can be a valuable support for clinical trials, especially for pilot studies of the feasibility or acceptability of an intervention