Office of Research - The “ORB”

Please note that there has been a change made to the Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee application form relating to data storage and retention (item F10). It is now a requirement that data involving a South Australian Government Department be securely stored at Flinders University/Southern Adelaide Health Service for at least seven years. If the project does not involve a South Australian Government  Department then data will still only need to be stored securely for five years in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

There is now a form to apply for an executive approval for a project that has already been granted approval by another another Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). The new form can be downloaded from the Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee web page. 

When should I use this form?

Where a Flinders/Southern Adelaide Health Service (SAHS) staff member or student is NOT the lead researcher and the project has been approved by another HREC, the Chair may agree to executively approve the project after viewing an application to SBREC on the new form and a copy of the application to, and approval notice from, the other HREC.

Where a Flinders/SAHS staff member or student IS the lead researcher and the project has been approved by another HREC, a full ethics application will need to be submitted to the SBREC.

The Vice-Chancellor has written to the nominated Leaders of the ten ASRIs that he announced at his Town Hall Meeting on 26 March: Cancer Prevention, Clinical Change, Cultural Heritage, Educational Futures, Eye and Vision, Medical Devices, Molecular Technologies, Psychology, Social Determinants of Health, and Water and Environmental Sustainability.

Professor Barber has asked these ASRIs for proposals which address nomenclature, strategic intent, membership, objectives and outcomes, requested direct funding and other financial support, Key Success Factors, and available resources. These proposals are due with the Interim Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Andrew Beer, by Monday 25 May. The proposals will be assessed by Professor Barber and Professor Beer.

Professor Barber has indicated that the ASRI implementation process should be concluded by the end of July. Faculties will be considering future arrangements for the seven current ASRIs that have not been identified in the new group of ten: information about this will be made available in due course, as will a detailed timetable for the ASRI implementation process.

The following items may be of interest. They are from the Higher Education section of The Australian, published today.

• Researchers back funds overhaul
  The country’s elite universities and researchers have backed streamlining hundreds of unwieldy innovation grant programs valued at almost $4 billion but that are unknown to many firms and early stage research commercialisers.
• The great data explosion
  They call it the “data deluge”.
• Distance no bar to study
  The Australian National University’s National Institute for Rural and Regional Australia, which went online yesterday, aims to overcome the tyranny of distance and bring together, for the first time, researchers focused on rural and regional Australia.
• Astronomer takes shine to planets
  Nothing is higher on astronomers’ wish lists than to find and study Earth-like planets.
• Bush burns ease global warming
  When Europeans first encountered Australia, they saw a continent ablaze as Aboriginal “firestick farmers” lit up the bush with controlled burns that prevented destructive wildfires. Now a hi-tech version of the land management practice, which is possibly tens of thousands of years old, could form part of Australia’s strategy to tackle a modern problem: global warming.
• Polymers rescue bionic man from fantasy world
  When the Six Million Dollar Man strutted his stuff on television screens in the 1970s, practical applications of bionics - a combination of biology and electronics - were still pretty much a glint in a researcher’s eye.
• Economics must learn from its past
  Eminent Harvard University economic historian Jeffrey Williamson says Australian economics has forgotten its history and the Government’s financial crisis rescue package may be suffering as a result.

The proportion of research funding from industry and government is growing.

The success of these proposals often relies on a face-to-face presentation or ‘pitch’ rather than the quality of the science.

The success of your pitch may rely on the opinion of individuals more interested in the outcomes of your research and less familiar with the science.

Presentation skills suitable for an academic conference will let you down under these circumstances.

This unique professional development program will:

*          help researchers develop the right language for the right audience

*          give you practical assistance in working your material for maximum benefit

*          show you how to capture you audience in the first 60 seconds of your presentation (the time when many make their judgment about whether to fund your research)

The day will be run by two of South Australia’s most sought after presentation and media trainers: David Griggs and Sharon Mascall. Numbers are limited to ensure a more personal approach.

For more information and registration details, click here.

Yesterday we received notification from the ERA team at the ARC that two new ERA related documents have been released. The documents are:

• Evaluation Guidelines for the 2009 ERA Trial; and
• ERA Indicator Benchmark Methodology.

These two new documents are of particular interest to those in the Flinders University community working on the Flinders response to the Excellence in Research for Australia Initiative.

These documents are now available for download via the official ERA section of the ARC website.

As always if you have any questions, queries or comments about the ERA process here at Flinders University please contact one of the Discipline Cluster Leaders or send an email to era@flinders.edu.au.

The Catherine Helen Spence Memorial Scholarship provides financial support for a South Australian woman to undertake the investigation of social problems and/or a study in the field of social sciences in Australia or overseas. The investigation or study should be relevant to South Australian social conditions and be capable of being applied for the benefit of the state.

Value of the Scholarship in 2009: $22,000

Applications are invited from women between the ages of 20 & 40 years who have been a bone fide resident of South Australia for a minimum of 5 years immediately prior to the closing date of applications.

Closing date for applications: 30 June 2009

For application details, contact Darryl Carter, Executive Officer, Catherine Helen Spence Memorial Fund Scholarship Committee.

The Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice  provide a unique opportunity for mid-career professionals-academic researchers, government policymakers, clinicians, managers, and journalists-to spend up to 12 months in the United States conducting a policy-oriented research study, working with leading U.S. health policy experts, and gaining in-depth knowledge of not only the U.S. health care

system, but also the health care systems in the fellows’ home countries. Fellows also participate in a Fund-organized series of policy and leadership seminars held throughout the year with U.S. health care leaders in government, politics, health care organizations, and academia.

Applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in health policy issues and propose a study that falls within the scope of the Fund’s mission to support a high-performing health care system, which includes improving health insurance coverage and access, and the quality and efficiency of health care services. A peer-reviewed journal article or policy report for health ministers and other high-level policy audiences is the anticipated product of the fellowship. Harkness Fellows have published their findings in leading journals, including: BMJ, Health Affairs, Health Policy, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, New England Journal of Medicine, and Quality and Safety in Health Care.

Each fellowship provides up to $107,000 (U.S.) in support. A supplemental allowance is provided to fellows accompanied by families.

For details and the application form, please visit the website.

For further questions, contact Robin Osborn, vice president and director of the International Program in Health Policy and Practice.

Earlier today the ERA System at Flinders was closed to all users except Discipline Cluster Leaders, their nominated representatives and members of staff in the Office of Research.

We have closed the system to allow us to undertake tasks necessary to prepare the research outputs data for submission, as well as other administrative tasks. The site will be reopened when these tasks have been completed and additional functionality for the Humanities and Creative Arts cluster is in place.

Please note that the public pages, listed under the “Helpers” heading in the sidebar of the website, will remain available. These pages include the list of Discipline Cluster Leaders, the Ranked Journal Outlet lists, and the pages listing FoR Codes for browsing and on one page.

If you have any questions, queries or comments, please contact the appropriate Discipline Cluster Leaders or send an email to era@flinders.edu.au.

The “closed-sign” photo was uploaded to Flickr by Suzanne Wells and used under a Creative Commons license.

Acting on suggestions from a number of the people who manage key research laboratories and facilities at Flinders - those that are available for broad use, including by external customers - these facilities have been collected at a new web page, one click away from the University’s front page. The work on this has been done by the Online Communications Team in the Marketing and Communications Office - many thanks to them. The Office of Research is responsible for maintaining the new web page and associated content. If you have  a facility or laboratory that should be listed, please contact Kristy Manuel. We welcome suggestions about making these pages more attractive to potential users.