PACFA REQUEST FOR TENDERS FOR RESEARCH SEED GRANTS Applications accepted between 1 June and and 31 December 2014 For Further information contact: Maria Brett PACFA Executive Officer PACFA 03 9486 3077 maria.brett@pacfa.org.au PACFA 2014
Overview of research seed grants initiative PACFA is a national peak body with twenty-eight Member Associations (MAs) that cover nine sections: body oriented psychotherapy; experiential therapy; expressive arts therapy; family/relationship therapy; integrative counselling and psychotherapy; hypnotherapy; integrative psychodynamic psychotherapy; psychoanalysis/psychoanalytic psychotherapy; and counsellor and psychotherapy educators. In 2007 PACFA received funds from an anonymous charitable foundation in order to undertake research aimed at improving the science of the art and practice of psychotherapy. The PACFA Board has decided to support the development of research into counselling and psychotherapy in Australia by offering research seed grants. The amount of each seed grant is $4,000. PACFA will be disseminating information about the grants widely through MAs and through university departments of counselling and psychotherapy, psychology, social work and nursing. According to its constitution, research is central to PACFA s mission to promote the development of the science of the art and practice of psychotherapy. PACFA s research mission is: to promote the development of research into the efficacy of counselling and psychotherapy, skills development, theory and knowledge building and promote these in the community as widely as possible. For 2013/14, PACFA s research priorities are: developing the body of knowledge and evidence-base to support counselling and psychotherapy in general and specific modalities in particular; collecting research evidence that supports practice and demonstrates outcomes; providing information that can be used to educate the public about how counselling and psychotherapy can prevent mental illness and support wellbeing and recovery; collecting information that can be used to inform the community about the economic contribution of counselling to prevention of mental illness and wellbeing; developing research into professional identity and recognition for the profession; conducting research to be used to support PACFA s representation to government; and supporting counselling and psychotherapy in rural and remote areas and for clients with low social inclusion. 1
Applications for seed grants will be evaluated with regard to the quality and feasibility of the research and its relevance to PACFA s mission and PACFA s 2014/15 research priorities, as detailed above. Grant recipients will be invited to publish a poster at the next PACFA Conference and to publish a paper in the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia (PACJA) within one year of finalising the project. Successful applicants are also encouraged to form linkages with a relevant PACFA MA during the study. PACFA s Requirements Project aim Research seed grants will be awarded for research projects that are compatible with PACFA s research 2013/14 research priorities, and relevant to PACFA s mission. Applicants are sought from experienced researchers or student researchers working under formal supervision. Required outcomes Recipients of the research seed grants from PACFA will be required to: conduct the project in accordance with the contract between the grant recipient and PACFA; liaise with PACFA about any significant changes to the grant proposal or personnel involved; keep accurate records of the progress of the project; deliver an interim report detailing progress on the project, produce a final research report for the project that can be posted on the PACFA website, and any other deliverables agreed to under the contract; ensure the final report includes a summary of research findings and emphasises the relevance of the research findings for counselling and psychotherapy practitioners; provide references in accordance with the APA format; and acknowledge PACFA and the anonymous charitable foundation as a source of funding in all publications, promotional materials, presentations, or public announcements stemming from the research seed grant. Target Tenders will be awarded to the person or group of people who are able to demonstrate their ability to conduct a relevant research project, gain ethics approval from an NHMRC registered Human Research Ethics Committee, and to write up their findings to the desired academic standard. At least one member of the research team 2
(or the research supervisor) will be a member (or willing to become a member) of a PACFA MA for the duration of the project. Ethics Approval Grant recipients are required to obtain ethics approval for their research project. Where the applicant is not part of an organisation that can provide ethics approval, please contact PACFA to enquire about applying for ethics approval via PACFA. Project deliverables Following the awarding of the tender, the person or group will need to demonstrate to PACFA that they have ethics approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee for the study. Grant recipients will need to submit a progress report and the final research report. The progress report will be delivered to PACFA with 8 months of the awarding of the tender and the final report will be delivered within 12 months. The tender fee will be paid once the project is finalised to the satisfaction of the PACFA Research Committee. In addition, grant recipients will have the opportunity to present a poster at the next PACFA Conference and to submit a 5,000 word research article on their findings for publication in the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia (PACJA). Conflict of interest It is intended to publish the final report on the PACFA website using the author(s) names, with an acknowledgment that the funding for the project was provided by PACFA and an anonymous charitable foundation. Any conflicts of interest need to be declared in the tender application. Co-funding Where the applicant has applied for or received funding for the research from other sources, please provide details in the tender application. Intellectual Property The Intellectual property in materials created or developed in the course of the Research Project will be owned by the Grant Recipient. PACFA will retain an irrevocable royalty free non-exclusive worldwide licence to use the Intellectual Property arising from the Research Project for the purpose of education and research. No contract or undertaking This tender is not a contract or an offer of a contract. It is not legally binding. However a funding agreement will be provided for successful tenderers. 3
Evaluation of tenders All tenders will be evaluated by the PACFA Research Committee. In the event of a disagreement, the advice of External Consultants to the PACFA Research Committee will be sought. Currently these advisors are Professor Robert King from QUT and Dr Frances Mackay from UC. Evaluation criteria All tenders need to include the following information to be considered: 1. Provide contact details including phone number(s) and email address(es) of researcher(s) involved in project; 2. Provide details of professional affiliations that may be relevant to the tender; 3. Provide details of any potential conflicts of interest; and 4. Provide details of any other funding obtained or for the research project for which you have applied. All tenders need to address the following evaluation criteria: 1. Demonstrate the relevance of the research project to PACFA s mission, PACFA s 2012/13 research priorities and to the practice of counselling and psychotherapy; 2. Demonstrate the capacity of the researcher(s) (or the capacity within the organisation if applicable) to conduct the proposed research project; 3. Provide details of the ethics approval already obtained or demonstrate that the researcher(s) has the capacity to obtain ethics approval. If the applicant intends to apply for ethics approval via PACFA, you will still need to demonstrate capacity to successfully obtain ethics approval. 4. Demonstrate the experience of the researcher(s) in both conducting research and writing for publication; 5. List previous refereed journal articles and other publications by the researcher(s); 6. Outline the proposed aims of the project and the specific research question to be addressed; and 7. Outline the research methodology and the method of analysis to be used for the research project. Lodging tenders All tenders will be lodged in.pdf form by email to maria.brett@pacfa.org.au during the period 1 June to 31 December 2014. 4
Tenders will be considered as and when they are received and grants awarded to suitable research projects within 8 weeks of receipt. Researchers are therefore encouraged to submit tenders as early as possible to ensure you have the best chance of success with your tender. Once all grant monies have been allocated, PACFA will advertise through networks and on the PACFA website that applications have closed. If you do not receive email notification of receipt of your tender, it is the tenderer s responsibility to check that it has been received. The tender must not exceed eight pages (A4 and Times New Roman 12 point font). The tender must include a response to each of the evaluation criteria. The list of publications of the researcher(s) is not included in this page limit. Late tenders will not be accepted, unless under exceptional circumstances. PACFA reserves the right to extend the deadline for tenders. 5