Awards and grants

Chris Silagy Research Scholarship - Information for applicants

Applications for 2010 have now closed

Introduction

This scholarship is named in honour of Professor Christopher Allen Silagy, AO MBBS PhD FRACGP FAFPHM. At the age of 31 Chris was awarded a PhD by Monash University for his research into the prevention of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. The same year he received the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarship in Medicine; the first general practitioner to ever receive this prestigious award. He travelled to the United Kingdom where he worked in the Department of Public Health & Primary Care at the University of Oxford for two years. During his time at Oxford, Chris became involved with the Cochrane Collaboration, named in honour of the late British medical researcher Archie Cochrane, and dedicated to the development of evidence-based medicine.

At the age of 32, Chris was appointed as Foundation Professor of General Practice and Head of the Department of Evidence-Based Care and General Practice at Flinders University of South Australia. He was also appointed inaugural Director of the Australasian Cochrane Centre and was chair of the International Steering Group of the Cochrane Collaboration from 1996 1998. He was subsequently appointed as Professor of Public Health and Foundation Director of the Monash Institute of Health Services Research, and as chair of the Board of the National Institute of Clinical Studies. In 1998 he received the Rose Hunt Medal from The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners for his exceptional contribution to Australian General Practice.

In the 2000 Queen’s Birthday honours list, at the age of 39, Chris was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for service to medicine, particularly in the areas of research and education, and in developments in the field of evidence-based medicine. He had a distinguished career as a general practitioner and medical researcher and was a key international figure in the discipline of evidence-based medicine.

Award Details

The Chris Silagy Research Scholarship is designed to support a twelve month research project into an aspect of evidence-based primary health care by a general practitioner researcher. The scholarship is to the value of $20,000 per annum which includes a return economy airfare (booked by the College) to either attend a meeting of the Cochrane Collaboration or visit a Cochrane Research Centre during the year of their scholarship.

Scholarships are awarded by the Chris Silagy Research Scholarship Committee, a subcommittee of the RACGP National Research Awards Committee.

Eligibility

Applicants for the Chris Silagy Research Scholarship must be

  • a General Practitioner or General Practice Registrar
  • a member of the RACGP
  • currently undertaking a higher degree (Masters, PHD, MD) or have completed such a course in the past 5 years

New and emerging researchers are particularly encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be judged on

  • training potential for the applicant
  • relevance to general practice and evidence based primary health care
  • quality
  • value for money

In reviewing grant applications, the Chris Silagy Research Scholarship Committee will place a higher weighting on training potential versus other criteria.

How to Apply

Applications for 2010 have now closed

Please email research@racgp.org.au to join the grants mailing list and be informed of all updates to the website.

Conditions

  1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Scholarship must be used in the year for which it is awarded.
  2. The Scholarship will be paid only to incorporated bodies that have an ABN and ACN and not to individuals.
  3. By applying for the Scholarship each applicant will be taken to have consented to permit the RACGP to publicise their name, institution, and title of their research project.
  4. Personal information provided to the RACGP by Scholarship applicants will be used for the purposes of administering the Scholarship. The RACGP Privacy Statement explains how the RACGP usually collects and uses personal information provided to the RACGP and how it can be accessed.
  5. If required, successful applicants must obtain an ethical clearance from an ethics committee constituted under NHMRC guidelines.
  6. Any unused funds are to be returned with the final report or 15 months from the date of project commencement, whichever occurs first.
  7. Unless the purpose and conditions of the Scholarship can be fulfilled, the Scholarship must be forfeited and all payments refunded within 1 month of notification of forfeit.
  8. A Scholarship may be revoked at any time upon three months’ notice given by the RACGP.

Selection Process

  1. The Chris Silagy Research Scholarship Committee, a subcommittee of the RACGP National Research Awards Committee (NRAC), is responsible for the independent, objective evaluation and review of Scholarship applications. All decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  2. NRAC has the right to send the application to two external independent referees to review.
  3. Applicants eliminated after independent referee review will be advised by letter.
  4. Successful Scholarship applicants may receive an outline of de-identified referee’s comments, which may require a satisfactory written response before the final award can be made.
  5. All Scholarship applicants (successful and unsuccessful) will be notified by September 2010.
  6. Successful Scholarship applicants are expected to receive their award at the RACGP Conference for General Practice GP10, 6-9 October 2010.

Reporting Requirements

  1. Successful applicants must provide a 1-2 paragraph biography, a 1-2 paragraph layman’s summary of the project and an electronic photograph for use on the RACGP website and in either of the RACGP publications, Australian Family Physician or GP Review.
  2. Proof of ethics approval must be provided no later than 12 months from the date on which the Scholarship recipient is notified of the outcome of their application. If proof of ethics approval is not received within this timeframe, the offer of funding may be withdrawn.
  3. A progress report must be provided 6 months from the date of ethics approval or from the date on which the recipient is notified of the outcome of their application, whichever is later.
  4. Notification of project completion is due 12 months from the date of ethics approval or from the date on which the recipient is notified of the outcome of their application, whichever is later.
  5. A final report and statement of expenditure, due 3 months from the date of project completion (ie 15 months from the date of ethics approval, or from the date on which the recipient is notified of the outcome of their application, whichever is later).
  6. Successful Chris Silagy Scholarship recipients will be expected to present their research findings or progress to date at a scientific meeting, preferably the RACGP Annual Scientific Convention, any time within 2 years of the commencement of the project.
  7. All RACGP research funding is given with the expectation that a paper will be submitted for publication in an appropriate peer-reviewed medical journal. A copy of all published papers must be forwarded to the RACGP Research and Grants Program Administrator at grantholders@racgp.org.au.
  8. The RACGP Research Foundation and the Chris Silagy Research Scholarship must be acknowledged in all publications arising from the research funded by the Scholarship.
  9. If the project is delayed in any way or if any of the deadlines are unable to be met, the researcher must request an extension of this timeline. A REQUEST FOR EXTENSION form can be obtained by emailing grantholders@racgp.org.au. If any of the reporting requirements are not met without an extension being granted, funding may be withdrawn.

Payment of Awards

  1. Scholarships will not exceed $20,000.
  2. Scholarships will be paid according to the following schedule:
  • 20% of total budget upon receipt of a tax invoice and publicity materials (see 15 above);
  • 60% of total budget upon receipt of a tax invoice and proof of ethics approval (see 16 above);
  • 20% of total budget upon receipt of a tax invoice and a final report and statement of expenditure (see 19 above).

Any variation to this payment schedule must be agreed upon by both parties.

Publication Date: 27 May 2010
Authorised By: RACGP Foundation

Copyright | Terms of Use | Forums Terms of Use | Privacy Statement | Security Statement | Log out