AAG Research Trust 

 

The AAG Research Trust is the research grant arm of AAG. Between us, we have over 60 years' experience in connecting research, policy and practice. While AAG serves as our corporate trustee, the Research Trust is a wholly independent charitable organisation that relies entirely on individual and organisational gifts to fund innovative work that aims to improve and optimise the lived experience of ageing.

All current grant programs have been made possible by generous bequests and donations, and through strategic partnerships with organisations such as The Dementia Australia Research Foundation.

Our approach and priorities

The purpose of the AAG Research Trust is to improve the experience of ageing through innovation in research, policy and practice.

Uniquely placed within Australia's peak national body for researchers and professionals working across the multidisciplinary fields of ageing, our grants enable important work that often falls outside the criteria of other large government funding programs. In this way, the Research Trust promotes AAG's fundamental commitment to improving the experience of ageing by connecting research, policy and practice.

Through our grant programs, we give priority to:

  • Funding projects that cross traditional, professional and disciplinary boundaries and are explicitly aimed at innovative policy and practice.
  • An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community focus for whole-of-person, multidisciplinary research and practice.
  • Seed-funding for innovative projects and programs.
  • Facilitating community focus areas in unmet and emerging community needs.
  • Attracting leading and early career researchers to build capacity in ageing research and practice.
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    Our grants

    Each year, the AAG Research Trust offers AAG members a range of competitive grants to support research, policy and practice.

    Four annual grant programs are open to applications from AAG members:

    In 2021, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander focus was set out to help address cultural, psychological, social, economic and environmental issues amongst First Nations Elders and to learn from their strengths. Since 2023, a separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Grant is offered for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander-led projects that relate to ageing in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

    How to apply

    Before starting an application, please go to the page of the specific grant program, and read the relevant guidelines and application form. Also read through the frequently asked questions, available in our resource library.

    Applications must be made via the Google form on the grant program page. 

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Focus

    The AAG Research Trust has a specific commitment to funding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led projects that relate to ageing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In so doing, our aim is to:

    • Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early career researchers and practitioners working across the multidisciplinary field of ageing to build their skills and capacity.
    • Develop evidence-based knowledge about ageing in Indigenous Australian communities that takes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective and standpoint to inform policy and program development.

    The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Review Panel of the AAG Research Trust leads the review and selection of this grant. Panel members are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and practitioners in the field. They are supported and informed by the AAG Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group (ATSIAAG), and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous researchers and practitioners.

    Examples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-focused projects funded by the AAG Research Trust include:

    • In 2023, Dr Alana Gall, a proud Pakana woman from Southern Cross University, received a $25,000 grant for her project on 'Australian First Nations traditional medicine's role in improving utilisation of palliative care for First Nations Elders and our old people'.
    • In 2023, Kevin Taylor, a proud Yamatji-Noongar man from the University of Western Australia, received a $25,000 grant for his project on 'Co-designing the implementation of the Good Spirit Good Life training package with aged care services'.
    • In 2020, Dr Louise Lavrencic, a non-Aboriginal researcher at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) received a Hal Kendig Research Development Program grant of $20,000 for a project on ‘Supporting psychosocial wellbeing with older Aboriginal Australians: Listening to community members' knowledge about Culture and connection’.
    • In 2021, Biripi woman Lauren Poulos from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) received a Strategic Innovation Program grant of $30,000 for her project on ‘Evaluating the culturally responsive elements, effectiveness and transferability of online dementia education and training with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’.
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      Watch Professor Ray Mahoney, Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Review Panel, provide a brief explanation of ‘How the Trust got here’ (1 min 49 sec).

    Awardee showcase

    Our selection of stories and acknowledgements demonstrates the types of projects funded through the different Research Trust grant programs and celebrate the success of previous awardees. They are intended to inform and inspire.

    And if you've completed a project that was funded by the AAG Research Trust, we'd love to add your story to the showcase. Contact us at [email protected].

    History and governance

     
    History

    In 2016, AAG received a bequest of over $1 million from the estate of William Peter Steele Nicolson. Mr Nicolson's wish was that the funds be used to further research in ageing. This is the largest bequest to date received by AAG.

    Following legal advice, the AAG Board approved the establishment of a separate entity called the Australian Association of Gerontology Research Trust (AAG Research Trust). The AAG Research Trust is structured as a public ancillary fund with deductible gift recipient (GDR) two status. This means that all donations of $2 and over are tax deductible. AAG is the Corporate Trustee of the AAG Research Trust, and, as such, the AAG board has separate responsibilities to meet the requirements set out in the Trust Deed of the AAG Research Trust. The first meeting of the directors of the corporate trustee was held on 5 November 2016. 

    The AAG Research Trust is registered with the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission. 

     

    Donations

    In June 2017, AAG approved the move of $454,000 funds of the RM Gibson Research Fund (previously held within a separate account within AAG) into the AAG Research Trust. Now known as The RM Gibson Program, this funding continues to support early researchers to further their careers in gerontological research through its annual grants program.

    In June 2018, a new program called Strategic Research Grants (now Strategic Innovation Program) was made possible through the Nicolson bequest. The first funding round for the Strategic Innovation Program was made available in August 2018.

    In April 2019, the AAG Research Trust received a donation of $730,000 for the establishment of the Hal Kendig Research Development Program, from the family of Emeritus Professor Kendig, who passed away in June 2018. Professor Kendig was a leader and a powerful influence in shaping a national and international discourse on ageing, as well as a great advocate for the needs of older people, and was an Honorary Life Member of AAG. This program reflects Hal's many outstanding contributions, as well as his wish to continue to support early career researchers in their pursuit of research excellence. The inaugural funding round of the Hal Kendig Research Development Program opened in June 2019.

    AAG and AAG Research Trust acknowledge with sincere gratitude the generosity of these bequests, and are proud to manage these funds in honour of the donors and their families. 

     

    Steering Committee

    The AAG Research Trust Steering Committee was established by and reports to the AAG Board in its capacity as Corporate Trustee of the AAG Research Trust. Steering Committee members set priorities and the strategic direction of the grant programs. The Steering Committee also opens the door to donors who recognise the urgent need to fund knowledge development in areas of ageing that are not well addressed by current research funding. Funds donated to the Research Trust are used for innovative projects that cross traditional, professional and disciplinary boundaries, and explicitly aim to change policy and practice in the broad space of ageing.

    The current chair of the AAG Research Trust Steering Committee is Professor Linda Rosenman. 

     

    Grants Committee

    The Grants Committee of the AAG Research Trust is responsible for the process, timing, assessment and recommendation of grant awardees . The Grants Committee reports to the AAG Research Trust Steering Committee, via AAG's CEO.

    The current chair of the of Grants Committee is Professor Anne-Marie Hill from the University of Western Australia. She is supported by four program leads:

    • RM Gibson Program Lead: A/Prof Tim Windsor, Flinders University
    • Strategic Innovation Program Lead: Prof Keith Hill, Monash University (Vic)
    • Hal Kendig Research Development Program Lead: A/Prof Kate O'Loughlin, University of Sydney (NSW)
    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Review Panel Chair: Prof Ray Mahoney, Flinders University (SA)