Quality Use of Pathology Program - Program Guidelines - Eligibility

Eligibility

Eligibility for QUPP funding will only be considered within the framework of the Principles and Objectives of QUPP.

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

For legal and accountability reasons, only incorporated bodies are eligible to apply for funding under the QUPP.
The types of organisations and agencies that may apply for funding include:

• Professional colleges;
• Non-profit/charitable organisations;
• For profit organisations;
• Universities or other Higher Education organisations; and
• Private companies.

Applicants should ensure that they are eligible to enter into a funding agreement with the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing before submitting their application. A copy of the Australian Government (Commonwealth) Standard Funding Agreement is attached to the Invitation to Apply for Funding documentation on the Department’s website.

What is eligible for funding?

Applications which will be considered for funding should demonstrate that the proposal will contribute towards the improvement of the quality of pathology services.
Priority will be given to proposals that:

• reduce risks in pathology requesting /testing /reporting processes;
• improve pathology service provision and /or access to pathology in regional and rural areas of Australia;
• lead to enhanced decision support mechanisms;
• streamline or coordinate the education of medical students and resident medical officers with respect to the cost-effective use of diagnostic pathology services; or
• improve linkages between patient health information databases that incorporate pathology test results, particularly with a view to examining the impact of pathology testing on clinical outcomes.

Previous proposals for funding which addressed the three key objectives were categorised in the following themes:

• risk minimisation strategies, including incident monitoring
• quality issues related to emerging technologies
• promoting evidence-based practice in pathology requesting and reporting (with a possible focus on new/junior requester groups)
• Pathology requesting and reporting and consumer focus
• e-Health capability (particularly those aspects affecting quality and safety)
• workforce capacity and competence
• consumer information strategies
• access initiatives/awareness-raising of the special needs of high priority target groups
• communication and stakeholder engagement to promulgate QUPP investment outcomes.

Variations to the eligibility requirements or to expand the target groups or activities will not be considered for the QUPP 2012-13 funding round.

Consideration will be given for proposals under the above mentioned themes in addition to current priorities, once proposals addressing current priorities have been assessed.

Proposals related to pathology workforce and point of care testing issues may be considered after the other priority areas mentioned above.
In addition, applications considered for funding should comply with the following requirement:
• if more than one organisation will be involved in the project, one organisation must be identified as the lead organisation and an authorised representative of the lead organisation must sign the funding application form.

Both short-term and long-term projects may be considered. However, the funding agreement period(s) will depend on the applications for funding received by the Department.

Activities that will not be considered for funding include:

Projects or activities that duplicate existing resources or initiatives;

• Projects or activities that do not demonstrate a broader benefit to the pathology sector and are only advantageous to a sole individual or organisation with no impact on the wider community;
• Projects or activities with a timeframe greater than 30 months;
• Projects that cannot be subject to peer review;
• Proposals for IT upgrades or infrastructure;
• Capital or asset expenditure;
• International travel; and
• Retrospective items / activities.

Applications for funding conferences and meetings are not in scope for the QUPP 2012-13 funding round. Separate applications can be made directly to the Pathology Quality Section for assessment on a case by case basis in view of the conference criteria that will be available on the QUPP website shortly.