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The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM: the College) funds grants that support program activities and the strategic priorities of the College. The purpose of this policy is to define grants offered under the ACEM Foundation program and the principles associated with the application, assessment and reporting of associated grant activities.

ACEM/the College

means the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

ACEM Foundation

means the philanthropic program and associated cost centre of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

Programmatic entity

means the College entity responsible for the delivery of ACEM programs aligned to the ACEM Foundation Pillars, as defined in the ACEM Foundation Policy.

College member

means a person admitted as a member of the College pursuant to the provisions of the ACEM Constitution and associated regulations.

FACEM/Fellow

means an individual who has been admitted as a ‘Fellow’ of the College, pursuant to clause 2.1.1 of the ACEM Constitution and associated Regulations.

Trainee

an individual enrolled in an ACEM training program and, for the purposes of this policy, undertaking College requirements for the purpose of attaining eligibility for election to Fellowship of the College.

Good standing

For the purposes of this policy means, a member who is currently compliant with all relevant ACEM renewal of membership requirements and has no financial debts to the College, or, a trainee who has no financial debts to the College and has fulfilled all training and assessment requirements applicable to their stage of training.

Recipient

means the person or persons to whom the grant funds were made available. Where more than one person is the joint recipient of funds, a reference to the ‘recipient’ includes a reference to all those recipients. The recipient of a grant and any research, technical or other personnel involved in the project are not employees of ACEM. The College takes no responsibility for any employment or other entitlements in respect of those parties.

Early career researcher

would ordinarily be expected to have authorship on ten (10) or fewer peer reviewed research publications and have been awarded less than AUD$100,000 in competitive grant funding as a Principal Investigator(s).

ACEM funds grants that are aligned to the philanthropic pillars of ACEM Foundation:

• provide opportunities to undertake emergency medicine research endeavours;
• provide opportunities to improve and develop emergency care in low-and middle-income countries;
• encourage and support Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Indigenous doctors to become emergency medicine physicians; and
  
  
• encourage, support and promote practice, research and education of sustainable emergency medicine and climate health.

Funding availability for each grant is determined on an annual basis through the ACEM financial year budgeting process.

The management of each ACEM Foundation grant will be undertaken by the relevant programmatic entity and administrators in consultation with ACEM Foundation administrators in accordance with the individual grant management process, which specifies key documentation associated with management of the grant, including application form, application guidelines, scoresheet(s) and reporting forms.

The grant management processes and associated documentation will be reviewed annually at the completion of each grant period by the relevant programmatic entity.

ACEM acknowledges the following grants that are managed by ACEM under the relevant programmatic entity.

3.1         International Development Grant

The purpose of the ACEM Foundation International Development Grant is to promote the development of emergency care in developing countries. The awarding of a grant can be expected to achieve this by:

Delivering teaching, training, or capacity building;

Developing resources for use in developing countries;

Promoting and supporting emergency medicine in developing countries;

Enhancing the status of emergency medicine within developing nations.

This grant focuses on developing countries as defined in the ACEM Policy on Defining ‘Developing Country’ (COR446). The grant activities must meet ACEM’s definition of development activities as defined in the ACEM Development and Non-Development Definitions Policy (COR874).  These activities must also be delivered in accordance with the ACEM Development Principles for Global Emergency Care Policy (COR875) and GEC Partnership Engagement Policy (COR908).

3.2             Morson Taylor Research Grant

The purpose of the ACEM Foundation Morson Taylor Research Grant is to foster high-quality research in emergency medicine by supporting particular research programs. The grant was established after the generous bequest made to the ACEM EM Research Foundation by the late Mrs Elisabeth Morson and Mrs Nairne Taylor in 1999.

3.3             Al Spilman Early Career Researcher Grant

The purpose of the ACEM Foundation Al Spilman Early Career Researcher Grant is to support the development and enhancement of research skills and experience in Early Career Researchers who have limited research experience.

3.4            Kelly Research Grant

Established in 2024 following a generous donation made to the ACEM Foundation by Professor Anne-Maree Kelly and her partner Colin Yates, the Kelly Research Grant aims to build the capability and capacity of emergency medicine researchers across the health service by supporting innovative, adult focused clinical research.

4.1             Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply for a Grant, the applicant must be one of the following:

• a Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (FACEM); or
• a FACEM Training Program trainee.

To be eligible for consideration the applicant must:

• be the lead of the project proposal and activities;
• be of Good Standing with the College as defined in ACEM regulations;
• not be a current recipient of an ACEM grant. Previous recipients of an ACEM grant may apply if their project has been completed, with all reporting obligations met and the project evaluated as being at adequate standard by the College.

4.2            Applications for a grant

Eligible persons interested in applying for a grant will be required to complete and submit an application form approved by the College for this purpose. All requirements and accompanying information specified on that form must be completed and submitted to the College by the deadline specified. 

Applications submitted after the closing date and time will not be considered unless an extension has been negotiated with ACEM prior to the closing date.

5.1             Selection criteria

Eligible applications for a grant will be assessed according to the extent to which the project meets the selection criteria specific to the grant, as defined in the application guideline.

All projects must demonstrate evidence of:

• Aim(s): the project aim(s) must be clearly stated, align with the identified needs, and be both appropriate and realistic.
• Evaluation: the plan for project evaluation must be described. The project proposal will identify what will be an indicator of success and how it will be measured. Following completion of the project, a comprehensive and auditable project report will be provided in accordance with the Acquittal Report Form provided to the recipient.
• Sustainability: the project proposal will justify its value by outlining how its aim(s) and objectives will be achieved in a sustainable fashion. Follow-up activities and linkages are desirable.
• Linkages and commitment: the project proposal will clearly demonstrate strong linkages between any partner organisation(s) and key stakeholders. Commitment from the partner organisation(s) and key stakeholders must be demonstrated through documented agreement on all components of the project proposal.
• Alignment with ACEM programs: the project proposal will outline its alignment with relevant ACEM programs including the ACEM Foundation philanthropic pillars.
• Budget: the project proposal must clearly detail project costs, including those for which the grant would be utilised. Details of other funding applied for or secured for the project must be included. ACEM reserves the right to not support requests for funding of items, or projects, which are considered to not be cost effective and/or directly related to the success of the project. It is strongly recommended that applicants include quotes for all significant items. Should airfares, accommodation and any specific equipment purchases be included in the grant application, provision of quotes (internet screenshots acceptable) must be attached to the Application Form. Purchases must be itemised and justified with the source of quotes for these items provided.

5.2             Adjudication

A panel of assessors will be convened by the relevant ACEM programmatic entity to adjudicate grant applications. 

Panel members will independently assess applications based on the pre-defined scoring system pursuant to the management process document.

Applications will be shortlisted following individual panel member assessment. The shortlist will be considered by the panel, and successful recipient(s) will be determined by panel discussion and consensus.

The panel may select combinations of grants to optimise the use of available funds. The panel will recommend the project(s) for the grant(s) to the relevant programmatic entity. The decision of the programmatic entity will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

5.3             Conflicts of interest

In accordance with the ACEM Conflict of Interest Policy (COR139), any ACEM entity member that has a perceived, potential or actual conflict of interest will not participate in the panel adjudication and will not participate in the discussion or decision of the programmatic entity for the awarding of the grant.

6.1             Adherence to terms of grant

The recipient shall adhere to the terms of the grant and approved budget and shall not make any alteration to either without the prior written approval of the College.

The College takes no responsibility whatsoever for any employment or other entitlements in respect of those parties.

6.2            Completion of grant project

Completion of the grant incorporates an approved grant project concluded within 24 months of the date the grant was awarded to the recipient and submission of the project completion report within four (4) months of conclusion of the project (refer to section 7.1.2).  The maximum of timeframe for the completion of the grant project is 28 months or within such other timeframe as ACEM may in writing allow. 

ACEM Foundation grant recipients will be acknowledged at a College Ceremony on completion of the grant funded project.

6.3            Grant funds

The funds awarded will usually be paid in a lump sum as soon as practicable after the grant is awarded. The amount is not subject to inflationary or other incremental adjustments.

When a grant terminates (for any reason), any ended balance (above AUD$200) of grant funds must be returned to ACEM within 30 days.

6.4            Matters requiring prior approval

The recipient must obtain the prior express, written approval of ACEM in respect of the following, where relevant:

• changes to the project proposal or budget;
• approval to apply for an extension to the proposed date of completion;
• approval to apply for patent; and
• approval to purchase equipment with grant funds.

This correspondence must be addressed to the relevant ACEM Executive Director and include full details of the subject matter. Any approval will not be valid if it is not made in writing or does not specify the precise nature of, and limitations on, the approval.

6.5            Required notifications

The recipient shall notify ACEM in writing, and in advance where possible, of:

• any periods of absence from the host institution to be taken during the time period of the grant (excluding those which are less than four (4) week’s duration).
• their leaving, or intention to leave, the relevant institution before the completion of the grant project and the name of the institution their next intended place of employment.

6.6            Ethics

It is expected that any research conducted with the support of a grant will:

• have all necessary ethical clearances; and
• comply with all ethics requirements stipulated in the grant management process and associated documents.

Recipients shall also comply with all relevant procedures and policies of the host institution.

 

7.1             ACEM reporting obligations

The grant recipient shall provide the following reports to ACEM, which may undergo peer review and evaluation by a panel of reviewers convened by the relevant ACEM programmatic entity, in accordance with College policy:

7.1.1                    Project Progress Report

By 30 June of each year –

• a statement of expenditure charged to the grant; and
• a concise summary of project progress (approximately 300 words).

7.1.2                   Project Completion Report

At the termination of the grant and within four (4) months of conclusion of the project –

• a final statement of expenditure on the Expenditure Report Form approved for this purpose; and
• a final report on the overall outcome of the project.

7.1.3                   Project Outcome Report

Around three (3) to four (4) years after completion of the project, the recipient(s) is to provide a

follow-up report of the project detailing specific outcomes of the project, any challenges experienced, learnings for the local community and sustainability of the project into the future.

Grant recipients will be provided with relevant reporting templates.

7.2             External reporting obligations

At the completion of the grant and post final review of the grant reporting, the recipient shall deliver a report of the project supported by the grant through at least one (1) of the following communication mechanisms:

• ACEM publications.
• ACEM website.
• presentation at an ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting.
• presentation at an ACEM Winter Symposium or other appropriate scientific meeting approved by ACEM; or
• where possible, publication in an appropriate peer-reviewed medical journal.

All presentations or publications are to acknowledge the support of ACEM and the relevant programmatic entity.

 

7.3             Intellectual property

As the funder of the program activities, ACEM is the owner of the materials and associated intellectual property (IP) developed using grant funds.  ACEM is committed to providing access to these materials through open-access principles to interested or relevant parties.

Any discovery arising out of work supported by the grant must not be the subject of an ACEM application for patent, except with:

• the written approval of ACEM Board, and
• the agreement of the host institution in which the work is carried out

7.4             Ownership and disposition of property

Any equipment purchased from grant funds is owned by ACEM except where such equipment is transferred to a partner organisation as a condition of the grant.

With the prior written approval of the ACEM Board, ACEM may transfer or donate equipment purchased from grant funds to another approved project or relevant institution.

7.5             Prohibited usage of funds

Grant funds may not be used to:

• acquire office equipment such as personal computers, laptop computers, tablets, smart phones, facsimile machines, photocopiers, etc. unless the recipient has obtained, in writing, the prior express approval of the ACEM Foundation.
• purchase non-economy airfares.
• cover recreational activities and social functions.
• fund activities which are or could easily be funded from another source.

7.6             Termination of grant

A grant may be terminated if the terms of the grant are not observed.

Any reports, publications or presentations related to the grant project should acknowledge the contribution of funding provided by ACEM Foundation and the relevant programmatic entity. The grant recipient(s) will participate in any media and/or promotional activities as requested by the College.

• ACEM Regulations
• ACEM Core Values
• ACEM Code of Conduct (COR235)
• ACEM Conflict of Interest Policy (COR139)
• ACEM Foundation Policy (P873).

9.1             International Development Grant

• ACEM Policy on Defining ‘Developing Country’ (COR446)
• ACEM Development and Non-Development Definitions Policy (COR874)  
• ACEM Development Principles for Global Emergency Care Policy (COR875)
• GEC Partnership Engagement Policy (COR908)

9.2            Morson Taylor Research Grant

• ACEM Research Toolkit
• ACEM Quality Standards for Emergency Departments and Hospital-Based Emergency Care Services
• ACEM Position Statement on Consent in Emergency Medicine Research (S731)

9.3            Al Spilman Early Career Researcher Grant

• ACEM Research Toolkit
• ACEM Quality Standards for Emergency Departments and Hospital-Based Emergency Care Services
• ACEM Position Statement on Consent in Emergency Medicine Research (S731)

9.4            Kelly Research Grant

• ACEM Research Toolkit
• Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
• ACEM Quality Standards for Emergency Departments and Hospital-Based Emergency Care Services
• ACEM Position Statement on Consent in Emergency Medicine Research (S731)