AOD Early Intervention Innovation Fund checklist for applicants

This checklist is designed to assist applicants to quickly assess whether their application to either the AOD NGO Evaluation Grant Scheme or the AOD Innovation Grant Scheme is likely to be competitive.

Right question for AOD Early Intervention Innovation Fund

Are you answering an important policy relevant question that addresses an evidence gap?

What to check for:

• is your question focused on a Premier's priority, state priority, host organisation priority OR prevention, early intervention, harm reduction or aftercare/relapse prevention and/or local need? (i.e. not niche)
• will the answer to this question support the NSW health system in prevention, patient care or service delivery?
• is your question answering an evidence gap? (i.e. does your application have a review of the available research in the field, to show you are building on the cumulative science?)
• is your question focused on evaluating an already existing program in NSW? (NGO Evaluation Grants Scheme only)
• have you clearly described the program being evaluated and its intended outcomes? (NGO Evaluation Grants Scheme only)
• is your question focused on testing a clearly defined intervention that has the potential to improve upon current practice in NSW? (AOD Innovation Grants Scheme only)
• is there an evidence-based rationale for why the intervention you want to test might work and why it is better than other available interventions? (AOD Innovation Grants Scheme only)
• can this question be answered within two years?

Right stakeholders and partners

Have you engaged the relevant partners across the NSW health system?

What to check for:

• have you engaged partners that have the ability to implement or influence change in the system that may result from this project?
• do you have other NGOs, consumer groups, LHDs, Specialty Health Networks, pillars, parts of NSW Health and branches within the Ministry of Health involved as partners? (e.g. more than one NGO, LHD, a policy branch within MoH, consumers). Evidence of engagement with relevant partners will be looked upon favourably.

Right mechanism for translation/scalability

Does your intervention have the potential to be scaled up across the system? ​

What to check for:

• is the intervention you are testing feasible for translation and larger scale up across the NSW health system (i.e. does it have the potential to be cost effective and relevant to the whole system)?
• have you identified existing state-wide initiatives that your intervention can be scaled up through?

Right design and method

Can the study design answer the question with methodological rigour?

What to check for:

• is the study design matched to the research question?
• are the methods rigorous in terms of sampling, statistical analysis and the selection and measurement of outcomes? (e.g. objective outcomes are better than self-reported outcomes). For more detail see the Translational Research Framework.
• do you have cost​ings or some kind of health economic analysis included that is matched to your question? (e.g. if assessing feasibility then costings, if assessing effectiveness then cost-effectiveness).

Right research team

Do you have the right research skills across your team to answer the question? ​

What to check for:

• do you have senior academics on the team who will technically steer this project?
• do you have a multi-disciplinary team with the right research, clinical, management and policy skills to undertake the study?
• have your research partners worked with you to draft the methods so they are scientifically rigorous (i.e. has a senior academic reviewed the application)?