WCMICS grants program
The WCMICS grants program accepts submissions from staff in our member health services.
The WCMICS Grants Program provides funding for ideas that support improvements in cancer care in our member services.
Image courtesy of Werribee Mercy Hospital, Mercy Health Services.
The focus areas of the program align with the statewide priorities laid out in the Victorian Cancer Plan, where opportunities for improvement and significant impact have been identified.
The funding process involves 3 stages:
- Initial brief written Expression of Interest (EOI) submitted via key contacts at each service
- Applicants whose EOI meets the core selection criteria are invited to pitch their idea to an evaluation panel
- Top-ranked projects chosen by the panel are invited to develop their project plan in collaboration with WCMICS directorate staff. Funding is granted once an agreed plan is finalised.
The program is divided into 2 funding streams:
- The Innovation & Improvement funding stream is open to initiatives that are new, innovative improvement ideas. Typically, this type of project runs over 12 to 18 months.
- The Scale & Spread funding stream is open to initiatives that aim to increase the impact of successfully tested health innovations aimed to benefit more people. Typically, these projects are longer-term, multisite projects and run for 24 to 30 months.
Grant rounds are dependent on available funding and are communicated broadly via email, website, and social media channels.
Next Steps
Grants program projects
Implementing the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT)
This project provided an opportunity to introduce the tool into usual occupational therapy practice at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital. Embedding the CSNAT into practice required a substantial shift in how therapists typically address and support carers’ needs.
Prep-4-RT
Prep-4-RT addressed care and information gaps for HNC patients prior to radiotherapy, leading to early intervention.
Prep-4-Cancer Surgery Toolkit
This toolkit will help health services to develop prehabilitation services leading to improved patient outcomes for those undergoing major colorectal, gastrointestinal and gynaecological surgery.
Assessing the quality of care for people dying of cancer in hospital: development of the QualDeath framework
The QualDeath framework provides hospitals with recommendations to formalise processes to evaluate end-of-life care. Although QualDeath was underpinned by several research methods, further research is needed to rigorously explore its impact and test its feasibility.