Open now: The Cerebral Palsy Lived Experience Engagement Fund

Open now: The Cerebral Palsy Lived Experience Engagement Fund

In 2021, funding was awarded from the Research Foundation of Cerebral Palsy Alliance to establish the Cerebral Palsy Lived Experience Engagement Fund (the Fund). The Fund will help to make sure that the ideas and experiences of people with cerebral palsy and their families informs work happening in the field.

The Fund was launched in June 2024, and the first application was funded in August 2024. Six months later, we have now funded seven applications, with projects based in both Australia and New Zealand. As per the guidelines, all funded projects aim to support consumer engagement during the earliest stages of a project. This represents best-practice and is a gap that has been identified in current funding schemes that support consumer engagement. The interest in this Fund clearly highlights a need by the field for funding to support this early-stage engagement.

Some examples of funded projects include those with a focus on:

  • Developing resources to support inclusion in physical activity within the community for adults living with cerebral palsy
  • Boosting respiratory health for children with cerebral palsy in Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Research priority setting for prevention and early management of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease
  • Development of a research trial of donor cord blood for cerebral palsy

With a strong passion for promoting inclusion practices, I am excited and motivated to develop this funding opportunity so that people with cerebral palsy have the chance to contribute to projects within the earliest stages. I feel extremely lucky to be able to contribute my lived experience and knowledge whilst developing the Lived Experience Engagement Fund.”
Kiara Dolso, Lived Experience Community Coordinator.

This funding opportunity is open, and we are excited to receive more applications in 2025!

Click here to find out more about the Fund and how to apply.