Funding for joint Australian and Indian research focused on the COVID-19 pandemic

The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) Round 13 - COVID-19 Collaborative Research Project grant opportunity supports collaborative research projects between Australia and India. The focus of Round 13 is to support collaborative research projects focused on contributing to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AISRF provides grants for collaborative research projects with Indian partners. For Round 13 of the AISRF, your project must involve research in a COVID-19 focused priority area and must be mutually beneficial for Australia and India with outcomes that contribute to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• the minimum grant amount is $300,000
• the maximum grant amount is $600,000
• the maximum project period is up to twelve months

The lead organisation may submit a maximum of 2 applications:

• one with a corresponding Indian partner application being submitted under the Science and Technology Fund with India's Department of Science and Technology (DST)
• one with a corresponding Indian partner application being submitted under the Biotechnology Fund with India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

Round 13 Priority Areas

Your project must be in a priority area. The priority areas for Round 13 - COVID 19 Collaborative Research Projects are:

Indo-Australian Science & Technology Fund (administered by DST in India)

• Antiviral coatings, other preventive technologies
• Data analytics, modelling, Artificial Intelligence applications
• Screening and diagnostic testing

Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund (administered by DBT in India)

• Development of immunotherapeutics
• Development of animal model/ in vitro model for vaccine development
• Assay development and validation for testing of vaccines and therapeutics
• Viral genomics and bioinformatics

What are the eligibility criteria?

To be eligible you must:

• have an Australian business number (ABN)

and be one of the following entities:

• a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO) as defined in section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines
• a Cooperative Research Centre (CRC)
• an Australian State/Territory Government agency or body

Additionally, we can only accept applications that have a primary Indian partner who has submitted, or is in the process of submitting, a corresponding application to India's DST or DBT.

Joint applications involving more than one Australian partner are acceptable and industry involvement (including businesses) is encouraged where appropriate, provided the lead applicant is the main driver of the project and eligible to apply. For further information on joint applications, refer to section 7.2 of the grant opportunity guidelines.

How do you apply?

The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund is currently closed to applications.