2023 Research, Education and Program Grants

The Lifetime Support Authority (LSA) is a statutory authority established under the Motor Vehicle Accidents (Lifetime Support Scheme) Act 2013 (SA). We have a legislative function to fund research, education and programs in connection with services provided to participants in the Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS), or ‘the Scheme’.

The Scheme provides treatment, care and support for participants who have sustained serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident in South Australia, regardless of fault.

Serious injuries include spinal cord injuries, brain injury, burns, amputations and blindness. The Lifetime Support Scheme Rules outline the eligibility criteria for injury to qualify as a participant of the Scheme and can be viewed to understand the Scheme.

The LSA recently launched the LSA Strategy 2022–2026. The LSA aims for productive relationships with key stakeholders and service providers and engages in research, education and programs that ultimately aim to make a positive difference for participants and the Scheme. One of the key themes in the LSA Strategy is ‘Research, Education and Programs that ultimately aim to make a positive difference for participants and the Scheme’.

Purpose of Grant

Working collaboratively, the LSA will fund research, education and programs that support positive outcomes for people injured due to road trauma in South Australia through improving and balancing health, social and economic outcomes. It is important for applicants to demonstrate that the projects will either be preventive or improve the networks supporting treatment, care and support of those impacted by road trauma over time.

How to apply

Expressions of interest will be open from 13 January 2023 at 10am ACST and be closed at 31 March 2023 at 5pm ACST. All applications must be submitted through the SmartyGrants portal .  For technical assistance with the SmartyGrants portal, please email LSA.Research@sa.gov.au. Applications will only be accepted via SmartyGrants online submission portal.

SmartyGrants


The LSA has also developed the Research, Education and Programs Strategy 2022-2026 which provides more information on LSA grants.

Download Research, Education and Programs Strategy 2022

The LSA continues to consider funding projects related to road trauma in three broad areas:

  • improved outcomes for participants
  • effective and efficient service delivery
  • prevention of motor vehicle accidents and related injuries.

Priorities within these broad areas include:

  1. early treatments or interventions and rehabilitation
  2. recovery and/or transition into the community for people with injuries
  3. early mental health interventions to improve outcomes.
  4. long term usage of medications of dependence
  5. improvements in attendant care
  6. home automation
  7. alcohol and/or illicit drug dependence pre-and post-crash
  8. access to service providers and sustainable planning and policy for those needing treatment, care and support
  9. positive outcomes and wellbeing
  10. post-injury vocation
  11. prevention
  12. contributing and casual factors to motor vehicle accidents in SA
  13. reduction in the incidence and severity of road trauma.

    Funding covers:

  • salary costs (applicants need to indicate the classification level and FTE)
  • direct research, education and/or program costs
  • travel costs essential to the project
  • Funding does not cover:

  • institution infrastructure levies or fees
  • regular business running costs (e.g. office space, insurance or rent)
  • technology devices (such as computers, smart devices and mobile phones)
  • professional membership fees
  • patent application costs
  • professional development courses
  • journal publication fees
  • registration, accommodation or travel expenses to attend conferences
  • costs associated with delays in obtaining required permissions to commence project.

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    Some of the achievements to date include:

  • the publication of over 20 publications in peer reviewed journals
  • hundreds of conference presentations
  • about 900 referrals to post-concussion traumatic brain injury clinics
  • the establishment of a vocational counselling service at the Paraplegic and Quadriplegic  Association of South Australia (PQSA)
  • delivery of  20 reconnect transition programs which help individuals with traumatic brain injury with 11 peer support mentors trained from the programs
  • delivery of peer support services to over 600 people with spinal cord injury and their support members per year, including 300 in regional South Australia
  • participation of 24,000 primary school students from over 250 metropolitan and region schools per year in the RAA’s Street Smart Primary schools road safety education program
  • Survival of a 95% total surface area burns victim who was involved in a clinical trial to develop a composite culture skin graft
  • Development of a spinal cord injury ‘Managing pain after SCI: A resource guide for Participants’ and an ‘Outcome Measures Toolkit’ available to LSA Allied Health Service Providers
  • National and international collaboration on the development of a conceptual ICF-10 taxonomic framework to elucidate the distribution and determinants of injury/disease across all phases of spinal cord injury.

View active grants

View completed grants

For further information about research grants please contact:

Joy Jit

Research, Education and Programs

The Lifetime Support Authority

Email: LSA.Research@sa.gov.au