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Who gives ethical approval for research?

All research must be carried out according to the ethical principles set out by the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Approval by the relevant ethical committee(s) responsible for the oversight of human and/or animal research must be sought, where appropriate.

If the research requires approval under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 or the Biosecurity Act 1993 then the appropriate approval must be submitted to the Committee.

Grants will not be released until written evidence of the appropriate approval/approvals has been received. If either of these approvals is required but not available when the grant request is submitted, the approval should be sent to lhr@dia.govt.nz as soon as possible.

What does Lottery Health Research give priority to?

The Lottery Health Research Committee gives priority to requests that:

  • show how the research will translate into better health outcomes for New Zealand populations, including Māori and Pasifika
  • show why the health issue is significant for New Zealand
  • addresses a unique gap in health research knowledge in New Zealand
  • includes researchers who will contribute to the New Zealand health sector over time.

For those requesting grants for post-doctoral fellowships and PhD scholarships priority is given to:

  • researchers who are early in their career or entering and/or returning to the New Zealand work force
  • host organisations that how they will provide quality support, management and supervision.

For shared equipment and translational research project requests, priority is given to:

  • collaboration, particularly with significant pieces of research equipment, which should be shared between a number or research centres/institutions)
  • projects that have received support from other funders.