Conference Placement Program Guidelines 20151

Conference Placement Program Guidelines 20151

1Outline

The RAMUS Scheme 14th National Rural Health Conference Grantis funded by the Australian Government and is administered by the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA).

1.1Grant aims

The 14th NRHC Grant aims to assist current RAMUS scholarsto attend the 14th National Rural Health Conference.

The conference will:

• encourage current RAMUS scholars choice of a rural career; and/or
• broaden their professional knowledge relating to rural medical practice; and/or
• provide useful information about living and working in rural communities; and/or
• enable them to establish contacts for future rural employment or postgraduate training placements.

1.2Funding

Three levels of funding support towards the costs of attendance at conferences are available:

• $1500 for conferences further than 200km from the applicant’s term residence;
• $750 for conferences within 200km of the applicant’s term residence;
• Up to $1500 for conferences within 200km of the applicant’s term residence where the applicant can demonstrate the requirement for additional funds above $750

Funding is available for conference registration and for other costs associated with attending the conference. Other eligible costs include travel, accommodation and living expenses and travel insurance.

Assistance under the RAMUS 14th National Rural Health Conference Grant is not available in conjunction with any other Australian Government award for supporting conference attendance (for example: awards made under Australian Government funded programs administered by the National Rural Health Students’ Network or the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine).

1.3Number of awards

Grants are available to current RAMUS scholars.

Approximately 20 RAMUS14th NRHC grants will be awarded.

1.4How to apply

The RAMUS 14th NRHC grant Application Form is available from the website:

Applications should be submitted by close of business on the due date Thursday 9February 2017.

Email:

Post:RAMUS 14th NRHC grant, PO Box 280, DEAKIN WEST ACT 2600

Fax:02 6285 4670

1.6Deadline for applications

The due date for applications is Thursday 9 February 2017. To allow time for applications to be assessed and applicants notified well in advance of the conference, the due date is usually at least six weeks before the conference date. Applications submitted after the due date may not be considered.

2Application and Assessment Process

The application form has two sections. All applicants are required to complete Sections 1 and 2 which will provide the information on which your application will be assessed.

2.1Selection criteria

Applications will be assessed against the program aims for the 14th NRHC grant which are to:

• encourage current scholars choice of a rural career;
• broaden their professional knowledge relating to rural medical practice;
• provide useful information about living and working in rural communities; and
• enable them to establish contacts for future rural employment or postgraduate training placements.

Applicants should provide brief answers (up to 200 words) to each of the questions below to explain how they would benefit from attending the conference:

• How would attending this conference assist you in choosing your future career and provide you with contacts, professional affiliations or insights relevant to your decisions about working and/or training in a rural, regional or remote area?
• What do you expect to learn (academically, professionally or otherwise) by attending this conference and how is this conference relevant to your current stage of professional development? (Please note here if you expect to have a specific role at the conference, such as presenting a paper).

2.2Assessment of applications

Applications must be received by the National Rural Health Alliance by close of business on Thursday 9 February 2017.

The applications will be assessed by a committee comprising of the RAMUS Manager and two other members of the NRHA staff and ranked to establish an order of merit. The order of merit will not be made publicly available and applicants will not be informed of their rank.

The assessment will usually be completed within a week after the due date and applicants will be advised via email of the outcome of their application.

The decision of the assessment committee is final, no appeals will be considered.

3Payments and Reporting Requirements

Successful applicants will be offered funding assistance at one of the three levels established under the Scheme, as outlined in Section 1.2.

Payment of the award will be made in two instalments:

Instalment / Payment
1 / 50% before the conference, following receipt by the NRHA of documentary evidence of completed registration to attend the 14th NRHC.
2 / Up to 50% after the conference, following receipt by the NRHA of the final report and statutory declaration (see 3.1 below) from the applicant.

Successful applicants may choose to complete the payment requirements after attending the conference. In that case, the grant will be paid as one instalment.

Payments will be made at the earliest possible date by direct deposit to the successful applicant’s nominated bank account.

Successful applicants must organise and pay for their conference registration, travel, accommodation and insurance (if appropriate) themselves.

3.1Final reporting requirements

There are two components to the final report:

• a written report (750-1,000 words) evaluating all aspects of attendance at the conference with comments on each of the selection criteria and on how the knowledge acquired from the conference will be applied professionally; and
• a properly executed statutory declaration as set out at Attachment 2 to these guidelines.

The final report and the statutory declaration must be submitted within one month of attending the conference.

Reports or extracts from reports may be published on the RAMUS website, in the RAMUS Newsletter or in other NRHA publications. Please inform the RAMUS Team at the NRHA if you do not wish your report to be published on the RAMUS website.

If a 14thNRHC grant recipient is unable to attend a conference for which they have been awarded funding, they will be required to repay funds they have received. In this circumstance, they should contact the NRHA to discuss repayment.