KEY POINTS: 

• New IgnitED Fund to develop innovative ideas that haven’t been previously tested in the eating disorders field 
• Approximately 1 million Australians are living with an eating disorder; eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental illness. 
• IgnitED Ideas will be developed in a co-design process with researchers and lived experience experts 
• IgnitED is open to all Australian residents and is jointly funded by the Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Centre and the NSW Government 
• People with lived experience expertise and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders are encouraged to apply 

The Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Centre has launched a fund to unearth bright ideas in the community that have the potential to solve the problem of eating disorders. 

Eating disorders are serious, complex mental illnesses with significant physical and mental health impacts, high mortality rates and low rates of detection. 

The IgnitED Fund will offer up to $25,000 grants to Australian residents with innovative ideas who want to work in a co-design process with researchers and lived experience experts to bring their idea to life and build new relationships and skills, and to translate research to good practice.  

Centre Director, Associate Professor Sarah Maguire says the fund aims to support the generation of innovative ideas and facilitate the creation of novel teams – between researchers, people with lived experience, practitioners and others who are relevant to the proposed project. 

“We need to think differently to find better ways to treat the 1 million Australians living with an eating disorder and to prevent their development in the first place,” said Associate Professor Maguire of the University of Sydney.