Anyone with a brilliant new idea to be tested in a research methodology can apply for an IgnitED grant!

You could be working in a community organisation; you could have a lived or living experience of an eating disorder; you might be a researcher, a teacher, a sports coach, a clinician, a journalist, or the friend, parent or partner of someone who has experienced an eating disorder. 

The successful applicant will either need to submit their application as part of a co-design research team or be prepared to work in a co-design research team to undertake the work. While we encourage you to submit your application in collaboration with a co-design research team, you don’t necessarily need to have established all of those connections already.

We will fund great ideas that haven’t been previously tested in the eating disorders field. The sort of ideas we are looking for include:

• Innovative ideas that focus on a particular issue or problem that relates to eating disorders and needs to be solved
• Ideas that are effective in other areas of health or mental health and could be applied to the eating disorders area
• A new idea that you have discussed with a particular group of people that you believe would make a big impact
• Bold new ideas that reflect the diversity of our community
• Interesting, innovative ideas that draw people together in new partnerships
• New ideas that are creative and innovative, but which are also achievable and able to be practically applied

People with lived experience expertise are strongly encouraged to submit an application.

At least one IgnitED grant will be awarded to a Lived Experience-led applicant.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander new idea applications need to be First Peoples-led.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are strongly encouraged to submit an application.

At least one IgnitED grant will be awarded to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander-led applicant.

Inevitably, because our resources are limited, there will be some applications that will not be funded this time around. We will try and give everyone who applies some feedback about what could have strengthened their application.

A committee will be drawn from our Executive Working Party, which includes members of the Australian Eating Disorders Research and Translation Centre Consortium. This group will shortlist applications for review by our interim Executive Committee, who will recommend 10 new ideas to the Chairperson of the Centre’s Governing Council for endorsement and funding approval.  

All applications need to demonstrate: 

1. A high quality, new idea that responds to a problem, question or issue related to eating disorders

2. Potential for the idea to impact on health and wellbeing outcomes for people with eating disorders and their families

3. Realistic, suitable and feasible plans to develop and test the idea 

4. A budget that identifies how the money will be spent

5. Demonstration of a co-design research team, or demonstration of willingness to engage with true co-design research team and process, including:

   a. Lived Experience expertise as part of the team

   b. Involvement of Higher Degree Research student(s) (HDRs), Early Career Researcher(s) (ECR) or emerging researchers (e.g. lived experience, clinical, community) as part of the team

   c. And, where relevant, team members who are clinical or from community.

Projects led or co-led by Lived Experience expertise and by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander expertise are encouraged to apply.

If your brilliant idea is selected for funding, you will enter into an agreement with the Centre about what you will deliver. This will include:

• An article ready to submit for publication to a peer-reviewed journal
• An executive summary which describes the work you have done in developing your idea for testing
• Detailed plans for taking your idea to the next level (eg. to a NHMRC new ideas or Synergy grant)

You will need to sign an agreement with the Centre and provide an invoice (you will be provided with up to $25,000 in installments which we will agree with you).