July 2016
In July, Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy launched two new government strategies:
Victoria’s Health and Medical Research Strategy 2016-20: Healthier lives, stronger economy
Victoria’s International Health Strategy 2016 – 2020: Partnering for a healthy and prosperous future
These strategies will drive a strong and competitive health and medical research sector and boost international engagement and profile to promote Victoria’s health innovation system.
At the launch, Minister Hennessy spoke of the importance of industry partnerships as a critical part of the innovation equation, and highlighted that Victoria’s strengths arise from collaboration between research organisations, industry and government. The work of Tom Oxley and the team at SmartStent in the development of the ‘bionic spine’ technology was highlighted, an excellent case study of Victorian innovation leading the world.
Key announcements included:
- $12 Million for the creation of a Medical Research Acceleration Fund to boost research translation
- $5.2 Million provided to the Streamlining Clinical Trial Research Program to attract more trials.
- $2.4 Million for new Postdoctoral Resarch Fellowships to support early-and-mid career researchers in areas such as bioinformatics, genomics, biostatistics, health services research and data science.
- Establishment of a new Science, Medical Research and Technology Panel to advise government on the growth and global competitiveness of the sector.
- International engagement to promote Victoria’s capabilities in key global markets, to strengthen ties with established partners and build new links.
