Families Commission Research Fund

Call for Proposals

The call for proposals is now closed.

Topics for funding

For this Call for Proposals the Commission is particularly interested in receiving proposals that meet the Research Fund criteria and are for topics that are related to:

disabled parenting:
1. resilience and success factors from the perspective of disabled parents themselves;
2. work/life balance of disabled parents who are in paid work;
3. single parents who are disabled; and
4. disabled fathers
low income and migrant families and flexible work;
the impact of rising living costs upon families; and
family strengths and resilience especially from the perspective of Māori and Pasifika children and youth;
older people’s relationships.

Criteria for funding

The research must be family-centred, that is applications must clearly demonstrate that the proposed research concerns significant 'matters relating to the interests of families' (section 8(e) of the Act).
The study should be likely to produce results that are relevant to families in New Zealand. Overseas-oriented projects will not be funded. While researchers may be non-New Zealanders or be New Zealanders based overseas, studies that will not make a difference for New Zealand families will not be considered.
The research must be aimed at making a difference for outcomes for New Zealand families, although we acknowledge that in some instances the research's impact on outcomes will be indirect.

Criteria for assessment

All proposals will be assessed against set criteria that are weighted to assist the Families Commission assessment panel to select and consider the most appropriate proposals to fund. Criteria and weightings are separated into two sections, Merit of the Proposal and Merit of the Applicant(s)/Practitioner(s) and their research partners. Applicants may use the criteria and weightings in the tables below to emphasize the content of their proposals appropriately accordingly to the weighting scale:

Merit of the Proposal

Criteria	Description	Percentage (%)
Strategic Alignment	Does the topic address an issue of interest to the Commission that will promote new ideas or innovative approaches? Is the study likely to produce results that are generalisable/relevant to families in New Zealand? Do the objectives fit with the strategic aims and expectations of the Commission? Will the proposed work support the Commission to advocate for 'best outcomes for families'?	50%
Merit of the proposal	Does the proposal demonstrate an awareness of previous work in the area? Does the proposal identify clear knowledge or information gaps?	25%
Is the proposed approach clearly articulated	Do the methods appear suitable for meeting proposal objectives? Does the proposed work look manageable within budget/timescale? Does the proposed work represent value for money?	25%

Merit of the Applicant(s)/Practitioner(s)

Criteria	Description	Percentage(%)
Ability of applicant(s), or their research partners	A strong background in the topic area? Familiarity with the proposed methodology?	50%
Does the proposal demonstrate that the applicant(s) or their research partners has/have:	The capacity to produce high quality written publications? Experience of successfully completing similar projects to high standards within budget and timelines?	50%

Please note that the Commission will consider applications on education and health provided these have a strong family focus and will make a difference for families. The Commission does not fund degrees.

All offers of funding will be subject to Families Commission standard research funding contract terms.

Ethics

Where necessary, proposals will be required to obtain ethics approval. This may be through the Family Commission’s own Ethics Committee, or from other bona fide ethics committees. Sufficient time for this process should be allowed in the development of the timelines for proposals. In the case of the Commission’s committee, one month should be allowed for processing a straightforward ethics approval.

Report

All studies will be required to produce a final report of publishable quality. The report will be peer reviewed and professionally published. Details of the requirements of the report will be provided to the successful applicants on award of the funding.

The call for proposals is now closed.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact:
Karen Stewart
Phone: +64 4 931 7090
Email: karen.stewart@nzfamilies.org.nz