A decade of NHMRC People Support expenditure in review: is support for Indigenous health research increasing?

Abstract

To investigate National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) support over the decade to 2006 for researchers studying Indigenous health and researchers who self-identified as Indigenous. Review of data on all recipients of People Support awards and Capacity Building Grants in Population Health Research who were researching Indigenous health or who self-identified as Indigenous between 1996 and 2006. Annual People Support and Capacity Building grants and expenditure, by broad research area, state or territory, administering institution, and Indigenous status (as self-identified by award recipients in their applications). Between 1996 and 2006, 134 People Support awards were made to researchers studying Indigenous health; of these, 27 (20%) were to researchers who self-identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. In 2006, about 2.9% of the annual expenditure on all People Support funding was for Indigenous health research, representing a doubling in the proportion of funds since 2001. There was no increase in the number of self-identified Indigenous researchers funded under People Support, but Capacity Building Grants increased the number of people from Indigenous backgrounds supported by the NHMRC, with funds allocated to 36 Indigenous researchers from 2002 to 2006, compared with 14 funded by People Support during the same period. Funding to support Indigenous health research through the People Support scheme has increased since the NHMRC adopted policy changes in 2002, but it has not reached the targeted expenditure of at least 5% of agency allocations. The Capacity Building Grants have been a more effective vehicle for funding researchers from Indigenous backgrounds.