Flagship activity guidelines

The Australian Academy of Science invites applications from Australia's early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) for Flagship grants valued up to $50,000 each, funded by the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) or TMIA. Activities that demonstrate the capacity to provide tangible benefits to the STEM EMCRs and the wider scientific community will be supported under this scheme.  

The proposed Flagship activity must benefit EMCRs across more than one Australian organisation and include sponsorship commitments from additional event partners. The Academy will provide some support to the event where required, such as event website hosting, event registration and publicity.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a Flagship activity grant, applicants must:

• be less than 15 years post PhD, excluding career disruption or barrier*
• be in an activity organising committee where at least one committee member is a registered member of the Academy’s EMCR forum. The organising committee must have at least three members and it is encouraged to have more members on the committee. However, the committee should maintain a ratio of at least 3 EMCRs to 1 senior scientist, ensuring that the senior scientists do not outnumber EMCRs  
• be currently residing in Australia and be either an Australian citizen or hold a valid Australian visa  
• not have received a TMIA Flagship or Amplify grant in the past three years (2023-2025)
• be employed at an eligible Australian research organisation as outlined below.

Eligible research organisations:

• Australian tertiary education institutions (as per the Higher Education Support Act 2003)
• Australian cooperative research centres
• publicly funded research agencies
• Australian state and territory funded research organisations
• Australian public research companies
• Australian private research companies
• Australian not-for-profit research organisations
• other Australian incorporated entities.

Eligible applications must:

• be complete at submission, including all required responses and attachments
• explain how the activity will be managed by the organising committee, including an outline of the experience of the activity organising committee members
• outline the capacity of the proposed Flagship activity to provide tangible benefits to the EMCR community in Australia
• complete the activity income and expense budgets, in accordance with the eligible and ineligible expenses in the ‘Terms of award’ section.

*Career disruption or barrier: A career disruption or barrier is an interruption that has caused prolonged impact on a researcher’s capacity to conduct high-level research in the period since the conferral of their first PhD. It may be due to reduced opportunities for research which may be due to one or more of the following: prolonged absences due to unemployment, childbirth, carers’ responsibilities, limited or no access to facilities and resources, disaster management and recovery, medical conditions, disability, or accessibility needs, community obligations, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural practices and protocols.  

An additional 6 months (pro rata) can be applied for each year of eligible career disruption to account for the time it takes to reestablish research after a period of extended leave.  

Fields of research

Applications are welcome from EMCRs in all fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Terms of award

Successful applications will receive an offer of funding from the Academy towards the cost of delivering the approved Flagship activity. 

The terms and conditions of the grant are outlined below, and the acceptance of these conditions is required at time of application submission.

• A funding agreement must be executed before any grant funds are released.
• Grant funds can only be paid to an eligible Australian research organisation as listed in the eligibility section. Grant funds cannot be paid to individuals.  
• Funding can only be used towards approved eligible expenses as outlined in the executed funding agreement.  
• Any alterations to the Flagship activity must be approved in writing by the Academy, and where relevant, a funding agreement variation must be executed prior to implementing changes.  
• If required, the Academy can provide additional support and services to successful applicants such as event website hosting, event registration, and publicity. However, the services are subject to minimal fees as per the Academy’s universal pricing standards.  

How to apply

Submit an online application on the Academy’s grant portal, and attach the following documents.

1. Brief CV of the applying EMCR and organising committee members (maximum of three pages per document).
2. Demonstrated commitment of additional event partner sponsorship, such as an email trail or letter of support from the sponsor.
3. Quotes or screen shots to support the requested budget items.

Assessment criteria  

Proposals will be assessed based on:

• the capacity of the proposed activity to provide tangible benefits to Australian EMCRs from more than one institution 
• the relevance and benefit of the proposed activity to EMCRs and the greater scientific community in Australia
• the design of the proposed activity, including use of innovative approaches, knowledge management strategy, and the expected outcome of the proposed activity
• the capacity of the proposed activity to demonstrate inclusiveness and to address any diversity, equity and accessibility needs relevant to the delivery of the activity  
• the commitment of sponsors and additional event partners to the proposed activity by way of cash or in-kind contributions
• the demonstrated effective use of grant funds in the activity budget, including attaching relevant supporting material for each requested budget item. While grants of up to $50,000 may be awarded, the full amount will be considered only in special circumstances as deemed necessary. Applicants are encouraged to submit a realistic and justifiable budget that reflects their actual needs.

Reporting requirements

Successful applicants will be required to submit an interim progress report halfway through the activity and a final report (progress and financial report) within two months of the activity completion date. The Academy will share the reporting templates upon the signing of the grant agreements.  

The narrative report should summarise key outputs, outcomes, achievements, and highlights, including relevant media links demonstrating that the activities met its objectives. The financial report must include a financial statement detailing the income and expenditures, confirming that the funds were used in accordance with the funding agreement or its most recent variation.  

Acknowledgement and use of assets   

It is a requirement that any publication or media release resulting from the activities funded by this program duly acknowledges the support of the Australian Academy of Science and the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia).

Notification of outcome

Applications close at 5 pm (AEST) on 1 October 2025 and the outcomes are expected towards the end of December 2025. 

Applications will be carefully considered against the selection criteria by a committee of scientists with diverse expertise and recommended for final approval by the Royal Society (Australia) Pty Ltd Board. The decisions of the Board will be based on the merit and impact of the proposals. The Academy will not enter into discussion or correspondence regarding the reasons an application is unsuccessful.

Grant opening, selection and award process

For further information contact

 
Australian Academy of Science
GPO Box 783
Canberra ACT 2601

Phone: +61 2 6201 9433
Email: theomurphyau@science.org.au

Apply