Go8, AAMRI in joint plea for commitment to research fund

Top research universities have joined with medical research institutes in a push to maintain political commitment.

Top research universities have joined with medical research institutes in a push to maintain political commitment to the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.

In a joint submission to the federal government, the Group of Eight universities and the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes say that the fund is at a “critical juncture” where it has already disbursed two rounds of funding and is now moving to back long-term research “missions”.

When the fund, which was created with bipartisan support in 2015, reaches its full $20bn capitalisation, it is expected to distribute up to $1bn of research funding each year. It will effectively double the amount channelled to ­research by the federal government’s National Health and Medical Research Council, and has the potential to transform the research landscape in Australia.

In their submission to the government, the Go8 and the AAMRI recommend that the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board be beefed up to serve as the peak governance body for the MRFF.

It says that “it is important for the success of the MRFF that the health and medical research sector has the same level of confidence in the MRFF as it does in the NHMRC”.

“This will only be achieved through simplicity, transparency and constancy over time,” it adds.

The submission also notes that because the MRFF is funded from savings in the health portfolio, researchers have a responsibility to deliver health benefits to the community. The Go8 and the AAMRI also commend the government and others involved “for their achievement in developing this significant research fund from scratch to fully operational in such a short period of time”.

“It is particularly encouraging that, to date, 91 per cent of the funding disbursements from the MRFF have been contestable — which is necessary to support the highest quality research,” the submission says.

Three long-term MRFF-funded missions have already been announced — one in genomics, another in mental health and the third for “out of the box” research that pushes boundaries.

Although the fund has generated excitement in the research sector, there is also apprehension about the possibility of future governments cutting the funding commitment.