Overview

The Medical Research Future Fund’s (MRFF) Stem Cell Therapies Mission (the Mission) was announced as part of the 2019-20 budget to provide $150 million for research to develop innovative, safe and effective treatments accessible to all Australians who need them.

An Expert Advisory Panel was appointed in April 2019 to provide advice to the Minister for Health on the strategic priorities for research investment through the Mission.

As per the MRFF Mission Governance document, the Expert Advisory Panel is to provide their advice on priorities for research investment through the Mission by developing a Roadmap and Implementation Plan.

The Mission’s Roadmap is a high level strategic document that includes the aim, vision, goal and priorities for investment for the Mission. To support the Roadmap, the Implementation Plan outlines the priorities for investment (short, medium and long term), evaluation approaches and measures, supporting activities, and collaborative opportunities.

The Roadmap and Implementation Plan will be used by the Department to design and implement Mission investments via Grant Opportunities promoted through GrantConnect. 2020-21 investments through this Mission are available through www.grants.gov.au.

The consultation

A consultation on the draft Stem Cell Therapies Mission Roadmap was held in October 2019, where a series of questions were asked to assist in the further development of the Roadmap. Feedback received through the consultation was considered by the Expert Advisory Panel. Following this, the Roadmap was updated and an Implementation Plan developed.

The draft Roadmap and Implementation Plan have been reviewed by an international panel of experts who provided expert feedback and advice in the context of relevant activities occurring internationally.

Based on the input provided by the international panel, the Expert Advisory Panel agreed to a number of changes to the evaluation approach and measures of the Implementation Plan to ensure alignment between the funded projects and how the success of the Mission is measured. No changes were recommended for, or made to, the Roadmap

The report from the international review panel meeting is available below.

Why your views matter

This consultation is to seek feedback from the community on the Mission’s draft Roadmap and Implementation Plan. Both documents are available below.

Webinars

As part of this consultation, two webinars were held on 11 and 26 March 2021 to provide an opportunity for the community to gain a greater understanding of the purpose of the Roadmap and Implementation Plan and to ask any questions. During the webinars, a presentation was provided by the Chairs of the Stem Cell Therapies Mission Expert Advisory Panel, Professor Melissa Little and Professor Mark Kendall.. A copy of the presentation can be accessed from the bottom of this page.

How to have your say

Consultation questions are provided to guide your submission. The consultation process will be supported by public webinars in March 2021.

How will we use your feedback

Submissions will be used to inform any further development of the Roadmap and Implementation Plan by the Expert Advisory Panel.