ANNOUNCEMENT of disruption to grants programme. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions on international travel by staff at most tertiary institutions and district health boards, and the cancellation of numerous conferences, the Trust has made a decision to not fund Travel and Conference Support applications to the 2020 March/April funding round. Applications for Projects and Equipment will not be affected. A decision on Travel and Conference Support applications to the June/July funding round will be made at a later date.

The MPPT Trust Board met on the 28th November to consider and approve applications for projects, equipment, travel, and conference support. Fifty applications were received for the round , similar to 2017 (51) but lower than 2018 (79), due primarily to a reduced number of applications for travel.

The trustees approved a total of $256,000, the majority of which was for projects. The total amount approved was 24% of total funds requested, a percentage similar to other full rounds (projects, equipment, travel, conference support) over the previous three years.

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.