Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) - Flagship activity
Program highlights
- Deliver a high-impact Flagship activity that creates tangible benefits for STEM early- and mid-career researchers across multiple Australian organisations, supported by a grant of up to $50,000.
- Be part of a competitive opportunity delivered by the Australian Academy of Science and funded by the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia), backing credible, sponsor-supported activities.
- Build your delivery experience by leading an EMCR-driven organising committee to design and run the activity.
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.
Key dates
Below are the key dates for the application process. While we aim to keep to this schedule, some dates may change depending on circumstances.
GUIDELINES
The following guidelines provide important information about eligibility, submission requirements, and assessment processes. Please review them carefully before submitting an application.
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. The inclusion of a senior scientist on the committee is not mandatory
- 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.
Applications are welcome from EMCRs in all fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
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.
Eligible expenses
- venue hire
- event catering
- audio visual services, including online streaming services
- design, printing, and production of activity material and, if applicable, event output such as editing of online streamed events or production of a video asset of event activities that can be accessed online
- travel arrangements for invited event speakers, subject matter experts or other event delegates as approved by the Academy
- fees for invited speakers or registered training providers, and other direct event expenses as approved by the Academy
- bursary, grant or scholarships to support participating EMCRs, as approved by the Academy
Ineligible expenses
- Salary and staff costs, including contractor expenses.
- Gifts or prizes for invited speakers, registered training providers and all other Flagship activity participants.
- Travel costs of organising committee members.
- Research or project expenses.
- Any institutional expenses, including overheads, managerial and administrative costs.
Submit an online application on the Academy’s grant portal when the round is open, and attach the following documents.
- Brief CV of the applying EMCR and organising committee members (maximum of three pages per document).
- Demonstrated commitment of additional event partner sponsorship, such as an email trail or letter of support from the sponsor.
- Quotes or screen shots to support the requested budget items.
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.
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.
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).
Applications are to be completed through an online form found by clicking on the Apply button on the top right of this web page when the round is open.
All proposals must include at least one EMCR (Early- and Mid-Career Researcher) Forum member on the organising committee. Becoming a member of the EMCR Forum is free and can be done online. The Academy defines EMCRs as researchers up to 15 years post-PhD excluding career breaks, irrespective of their type of appointment or type of employer. If you are not an EMCR but wish to submit a proposal, please find an EMCR to work with you.
The committee needs to be a group of people (minimum of three members) committed to contributing to your activity's success, and all members should fit your activity's needs. For example, if you want to run an interdisciplinary conference bringing together engineers with biologists, then your committee should include both engineers and biologists. The committee should maintain a ratio of at least 3 EMCRs to 1 senior scientist, ensuring that the senior scientists do not outnumber EMCRs.
EMCR involvement is strongly encouraged with at least one member on the committee registered with the Academy’s EMCR Forum. Other committee members can be researchers at any part of their career and the committee can include non-researchers where relevant. Please consider the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the composition of your committee.
It is expected that the activity’s organising committee will work closely with the Academy’s Secretariat during the project delivery. Typically, the organising committee leads the planning, execution and reporting, including providing scientific expertise and knowledge.
All committee members must agree to seek additional funding to support the activity and provide their time as in-kind support.
Yes. If you are a member of the EMCR group at your university or your scientific society or another group, you are welcome to propose an activity using this group as part or all your organising committee. Please note that the reach of the activity is part of the selection criteria, and activities which are restricted to EMCRs at a single university or organisation will not be funded. For Flagship and Amplify streams, you are not eligible to apply if you have received funding from either of these streams in the last three years. Similarly, you are not eligible for current Participation Support If you have received a TMIA participation grant in the last twelve months.
No. While you may have an exceptional idea, the Academy encourages you to craft a full-fledged proposal by responding to all the mandatory questions in the application portal. The proposal will then be assessed on the relevancy, benefit to EMCR and greater scientific community, innovation, and other aspects as mentioned in proposal guidelines.
While the Academy, as the grantor, provides oversight and support, it may also offer further assistance such as event registration, event website hosting and publicity. A minimal fee will apply if the engagement involves the design, editing and publication of visibility materials and knowledge products. However, the Academy will provide support in highlighting the activity on relevant platforms and social media as part of the Secretariat’s overall assistance to maximise impact. The Secretariat will work with the organising committee, connecting them where appropriate to other Academy staff, to deliver the best possible activity based on the proposal.
For ‘Flagship’ and ‘Amplify’ activities, the Academy’s Secretariat will also provide guidance and advice to the committee regarding scope, deliverability, and project management.
Applicants are encouraged to read the description and examples of the activity formats that are eligible to receive support from the Theo Murphy Initiative Australia in the 2026 round. This information has been designed to help applicants select the type of proposal they should submit on the application page.
The activity format and objectives will help the Secretariat and EMCR Committee of Council determine the feasibility and capacity to deliver the proposed activity within the budget.
The eligible areas of funding through different streams of Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) funding are outlined in the proposal guidelines.
While an excel sheet is not required while submitting the proposal, you must complete the budget template (mandatory questions) when you submit the proposal through the Good Grants portal. The application portal allows you to submit a detailed income and expenditure forecast of your project/activity with a provision to indicate support from other partners.
Please try to include all the costs associated with your activity to provide the most accurate representation of the budget.
All eligible and ineligible expenses are outlined in the program guidelines - please note that the funding eligibility is different for each TMIA stream (Flagship, Amplify, Participation support)
Past participants
Read more about the TMIA program and past activities on the related TMIA project page.
The Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) program is supported by the Royal Society.
