COVID-19 Research

Supporting the NSW response to the COVID-19 pandemic

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This grant was previously run and administered by NSW Health through the Office for Health and Medical Research. It is no longer accepting applications.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government invested almost $30 million between April 2020 and June 2023 into the COVID-19 Research Program. The Program was established to reduce the health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in NSW.

Evaluation

The COVID-19 Research Program Outcomes Report 2024 provides a final evaluation of the Program and includes analysis of additional contributions the Program has made to the COVID-19 response and recovery, with a focus on impacts across multiple domains and value for money that have emerged since February 2021.

In 2021, the COVID-19 Research Program Impact Evaluation Report was published to provide information on the preliminary outcomes of the Program approximately nine months after the Program initiation on 31 January 2021.

The NSW COVID-19 Vaccine Acceleration Research Grants Program

This Program was designed to ensure that research and development of COVID19 vaccines in NSW supported the State’s rapid response to the pandemic.

The Program aims to:

  • support research projects at Technology Readiness Levels 3B-6 that can rapidly undertake preclinical or early phase clinical studies to develop next-generation COVID-19 vaccines
  • support research projects that address an unmet need in current COVID-19 vaccines, including (but not limited to) improving:
    • vaccine safety profile
    • resistance to new and/or multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2
    • vaccine efficacy
    • responses in immunocompromised or other at-risk populations
    • the longevity of immunity
  • reduce the time from evidence generation to implementation, through rapid planning, conduct and reporting of research that will make good progress towards commercialisation and translation into clinical practice and policy
  • fund collaboration, leadership and capacity-building in the NSW vaccine research environment
  • bridge a funding gap which may halt the progress of next-generation COVID-19 vaccine research and development in NSW, and
  • support research that will add value to existing or planned initiatives, within the current Australian and international research landscape.
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