Infrastructure Support Eligibility

Infastructure support eligibility

Infrastructure-support initiatives involve investment in the essential facilities, equipment, and resources required to enable high-quality research and collaboration. The Innovation Accelerators Impact Program is categorised under this theme.

In-scope activities

Activities that aim to build, enhance, or integrate systems or platforms that will support paediatric oncology research and/or care, including but not limited to:

• Establishing, expanding, or upgrading biobanks, including the collection, processing, cataloguing, secure storage, and retrieval of biospecimens and associated data.

• Developing, maintaining, or enhancing data registries and databases to support the collection, integration, and analysis of health and research data.

• Implementing or improving data linkage platforms that connect multiple existing data sources (e.g. linking biobank and registry data, integrating administrative and clinical datasets).

• Purchasing or upgrading information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, such as software licenses, laboratory information management systems (LIMS), and secure data storage solutions.

• Facilitating agreements and frameworks for data sharing, ethical compliance, and collaboration between research institutions and stakeholders.

• Providing training, outreach, and support services to enable effective use and governance of the infrastructure by the research community.

• Enabling the integration of research infrastructure with national eHealth systems, including mechanisms for secure consent and data access management

• Supporting the infrastructure needs of clinical trials, such as biospecimen management, data collection, and linkage to broader research data platforms.

• Activities must be established in alignment with CCCoLab’s funding principles - See further information under the funding guideline for Innovation Accelerators.

• A long-term sustainability plan must be considered and included at the time of proposal submission. A review of the proposed activities to achieve sustainability will be requested as a key deliverable at least six months prior to the end of the funding period.

Out-of-scope activities

• Activities that do not align with the stated objectives or priority areas of the infrastructure-support initiatives in paediatric oncology.

• Activities not directly linked to the demonstration or validation of a function of the systems or platforms.

• Purchase of land, property, or buildings, and capital works.

• General infrastructure costs or basic facilities that should normally be provided by the administering institutions (CoLaborators).

• Expenditure on assets, materials, or products from outside the designated funding jurisdiction, unless otherwise justified and approved.

• Ongoing operational costs not directly related to the funded initiatives, such as rent, utilities, or recurrent staffing costs.

• Activities that have already received funding for the same outputs and outcomes from other funding source.

• Depreciation costs of plant and equipment, and costs incurred outside the approved funding period.

Application Process

For the infrastructure-support Impact Program, a “rolling” invitation for ideas will be open year-round, with submissions reviewed by the Board every six months.

Board-approved ideas will be invited to submit a full application, which will be evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Committee and independent subject matter experts. Proposals will be assessed based on their originality (avoiding duplication of existing initiatives in Victoria and Australia), practical utility and accessibility, governance structure, value for money, and potential for long-term sustainability.

A key consideration is that submissions should involve collaboration between more than one CoLaborators, encouraging broader engagement and partnership across the sector.