Co-Created Guide for Researchers Navigating the Mental Health Research Funding Galaxy
Much like the wholly remarkable book designed for hitchhikers to navigate the galaxy, we bring you your newest indispensable companion, the 2024 updated Co-Created Guide to Navigate the Mental Health Research Funding Landscape. The guide brings together information shared by panellists at the ALIVE National Centre’s Annual Next Generation Researcher Network Funding Galaxy events. It is designed to help you to make sense of funding in an infinitely complex and confusing Research Universe. You’ are no longer alone — we have answers! Well . . . some . . . at least.
To date, three annual Funding Galaxy events have been held. The events offer a Question-and-Answer panel approach where tips and tricks on navigating the funding landscape and on how to acquire funding as a mental health researcher are shared. When we talk about mental health research, we mean the wide field that includes research on suicide and across disciplines from arts to medicine and beyond. The years have covered:
2022 – was a general overview on what mental health research funding is out there and tips and advice from people who have had a lot of experience and successes and the losses too. This kick-started this Guide to the Mental Health Funding Landscape.
2023 – “Delving into the Early Career Cosmos” explored navigating the expanse of early career research opportunities and challenges.
2024 – saw a shift toward “Aligning Story, Values, and Funding Support (Finding the Self in Research Funding Systems) with a focus on what motivates people in their research and how to balance opportunity with passion.
Some of the questions included – what type of funding is out there for mental health researchers? How can you build a track record with minimal resources? How can you write your lived-experience into your grant application? You’ll be surprised to know, or maybe you will not be so surprised to know, that the answer was not always 42.
The golden lessons and learnings from the Funding Galaxy events are now provided here in this co-created guide. Buckle up and enjoy the ride travellers!
