NEW ANNOUNCEMENT about OCTOBER/NOVEMBER FUNDING ROUND 2020. Due to the continuing Covid-19 restrictions on international travel, and the cancellation of most conferences, the Trustees have decided to extend the cancellation of travel applications to include the October/November funding round. Consideration was given to providing small grants for registration costs for on-line conferences, but it was decided that at this time of restricted activity it would be better to use the funds from the Travel budget to increase the funding pool for Project and Equipment grants. The Trust, however, will accept applications to the Conference Support category to assist with the running of local and national conferences although the amount available will be limited. The closing date for Project, Equipment and Conference Support applications is the 1st October.

The MPPT Trust Board conferred on the 23th April to consider and approve applications for projects, equipment, and conference support. Travel applications were initially received but because of restrictions on staff travel by institutions and hospital boards, combined with the cancellation of most international and national conferences, these applications were not assessed.  Thirty four project and equipment applications were received for the round, and 21 applications received grants-in-aid. The trustees approved a total of $207,000.

Applicants will be aware that the mid-year funding round for Travel and Conference Support was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions on travel and conferences and as announced above the cancellation of travel applications has been extended to include the October/November 2020  funding round. The decision to not receive applications for travel, however, has provided an opportunity to increase the funding pool for Projects and Equipment. This additional funding will allow for increased numbers and/or amounts awarded for grants-in-aid, depending on assessment scores.  The upper limit of $20,000 for a Project or Equipment grant will remain unless there are well argued circumstances to warrant a larger grant.

Applicants are reminded that there is a one year stand-down period for projects and travel. Further, applications for travel to conferences will only be considered for approval if the date of travel occurs after the relevant Board meeting. This means that there will be no retrospective funding for travel. In practice this will not affect the majority of applicants as there are three travel rounds each year (with closing dates of 1st March, 1st June and 1st October and with respective Board meetings and final decisions in mid to late April, July and November). In some instances applicants may need to apply slightly earlier than previously. These changes, and other changes on eligibility, are covered under the grant categories.

Scholarships and Fellowships funded by the Trust can be found under the Scholarships and Fellowships page. Further information, including stipends payable, is available from institutional graduate student offices that administer the Trust’s programmes.

The office of the Trust is at 89 Grafton Rd, the phone number is 09 379 5316, the postal address is PO Box 110008 Auckland Hospital 1148, and the email address for all Trust correspondence is zn.tppm@tppm.