The Australian Podiatry Education and Research Foundation (APERF) continues its long-standing commitment to supporting high‑quality research that strengthens podiatric practice across Australia. Since its establishment in 1990, APERF has sought to advance understanding of the causes, prevention and treatment of foot and ankle conditions. Each year, the APERF Board of Trustees invites applications as part of a competitive grant round, with the grant recipients now released.
What makes APERF’s grant round distinctive is its consistent focus on supporting work that can meaningfully shape the profession in terms of knowledge development and clinical practice.
Every application undergoes an independent review by each of the seven Trustees. Each application is scored according to a defined rubric that considers research quality, methodological rigour, anticipated impact, and alignment with APERF’s values: impact, excellence, equity, and collaboration. The Trustees then meet to discuss the combined scores and award funding across three categories. Where a conflict of interest is identified, the conflicted Trustee takes no part in reviewing, scoring, or awarding of funds to those applications.
APERF is working to develop additional avenues of support through its investment in the National Research Priorities project. This has so far resulted in one publication in JFAR and two further papers accepted but not yet published. This work will direct targeted research funding opportunities with the aim of addressing identified gaps in foot and ankle research in Australia. Further to this, APERF will soon make available applications for Travel Grants to support Master’s and PhD students to disseminate their work at local and international conferences (more information coming soon!).
Funding has now been awarded for the latest round of grants, as follows.
The continued success of APERF relies heavily on donations. Every contribution, large or small, directly expands APERF’s capacity to fund projects that advance clinical knowledge and improve patient outcomes.
If you are in a position to do so, please consider making a donation. The impact of your support extends far beyond the profession, reaching countless people whose mobility, comfort and quality of life depend on evidence‑informed care.
© Copyright 2021 The Australian Podiatry Association
