Funding opportunities

Grants and support programs tailored for researchers and innovators at every career stage.

Lived experience insights

Direct access to experts with lived experience to ensure your projects address the community’s most urgent unmet needs.

Translation and commercialisation support

Guidance and support on activating research outcomes into tangible solutions that meaningfully improve lives and reduce the impact of diabetes on people, health systems and society.

Collaborative networks

A gateway to a passionate engine room of experts dedicated to scientific excellence, co-designed solutions and research translation and commercialisation.

Community and Consumer Involvement (CCI) Resources

At the heart of the Researcher Support Program is our commitment to Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI).

We connect researchers and people living with diabetes, facilitating a continuous-improvement cycle of discovery from real-life experience to design and implementation of innovative solutions.

This is the meaningful inclusion of people with lived experience in the research process. Experience has confirmed that all stages of the research process – from concept development to translation and impact – benefit from a full understanding and appreciation of the priorities of those most affected.

Diabetes research that is scientifically rigorous and deeply connected to the lives and priorities of the people it serves.

For researchers and innovators, embracing community involvement means:

• Embedding consumer perspectives in research design, governance, and dissemination
• Leveraging community expertise as a valuable complement to scientific knowledge
• Engaging with people with lived experience as collaborators, not just participants
• Creating inclusive and respectful processes that support meaningful engagement

For the community, meaningful consumer and community involvement:

• Helps demonstrate responsible use of public and donor funds
• Guides researchers towards the most relevant and impactful questions, ensuring research projects and studies address real-world needs
• Enhances translation for, and uptake by, the people who need it most
• Fosters a community that better understands the value of science and research

As researchers and innovators, your deep understanding of the needs of end users will contribute to helping you design more relevant studies, to leveraging the value from meaningful engagement, and ultimately accelerating the journey from discovery to impact.

Learn more about community involvement in research:

Consumer and Community Involvement in Health Research – WAHTN

An introductory online course from the Western Australian Health Translation Network (WAHTN), offering a community perspective on CCI in health and medical research.

Visit www.retprogram.org/training to enrol in this free online course.

Consumer and Community Involvement and Grant Writing – WAHTN

Practical guidance on integrating CCI into research funding applications.

Visit www.retprogram.org/training to enrol in the free online course.

Consumer and Community Involvement Handbook – WAHTN

A comprehensive guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating consumer and community involvement in research.

Download the handbook and quickguide at wahtn.org.

Support for externally led research funding proposals 

Diabetes Australia receives requests from external parties for support of research funding applications. This includes both cash, in-kind contributions and letters of support. 

To find out more and to apply for support from Diabetes Australia, please download the application form.