000 for research)

This grant provides support of up to £8,000 for ecologists in Africa to carry out innovative ecological research.

This grant provides support for ecologists in Africa to carry out innovative ecological research. We recognise that ecologists in Africa face unique challenges in carrying out research; our grant is designed to support you to develop your skills, experience and knowledge base as well as making connections with ecologists in the developed world. We support excellent ecological science in Africa by funding services and equipment.

Eligibility and Conditions

You should:

• be a scientist and a citizen of a country in Africa or its associated islands, that is a ‘low-income economy’ or ‘lower-middle-income economy’ according to the World Bank categorisation
• have at least an MSc or equivalent degree
• be working for a university or research institution in Africa (including field centres, NGOs, museums etc.) that provides basic research facilities
• carry out the research in a country in Africa or its associated islands

The proposed work must be completed within 18 months.

It is a condition of all of our grant schemes that applicants submit a report within three months of the end date of your award. Reports will be submitted via our online grants system.

The grant can be used to pay for basic tools needed to conduct the research project, travel and in some cases part of the applicant’s salary. It cannot be used for tuition fees.

This grant cannot be used to support research degrees; however, researchers who have already been registered at a research institute or university for at least six months by the application deadline for the grant, can apply for funding for research that goes towards a degree. Applicants in these circumstances need to indicate that they have already gone some way to starting their research and that the money will not go towards course fees or personal salary.

Some funding may be provided to cover your expenses during research where it is shown that you will not be able to afford the time off from other paid employment. In these cases, you must state if the research work will be possible without our funding to cover this lost income.

All costs must be clearly justified within the budget section. Any costs that are not justified will not be considered. Please ensure all costs are clearly calculated in GBP (British Sterling).

Value

The maximum value of a grant is £8,000 for research. An additional sum up to £2,000 may be requested to fund travel to help you develop connections with other ecologists outside your usual peer group.

Travel funds are available to spend time working with ecologists in developed countries where facilities and experience will help you on return to your own institution.