Grants of up to £10,000 for African Ecologists from the British Ecological Society

The British Ecological Society BES provides grants for Ecologists in Africa to carry out innovative ecological research. The British Ecological Society recognizes that ecologists in Africa face unique challenges in carrying out research, therefore, a grant of up to £10,000 is designed to support them to develop their skills, experience and knowledge base as well as making connections with ecologists in the developed world.

Eligibility Criteria:

The applicant should:

1. 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 categorization.
2. Have at least an MSc or equivalent degree.
3. Be working for a university or research institution in Africa (including field centers, NGOs, museums, etc.) that provides basic research facilities.
4. Carry out the research in a country in Africa or its associated islands.

Conditions:

1. Applicants should submit a report within three months of the end date of their award. Reports will be submitted via the program online grants system.
2. The proposed work must be completed within 18 months.
3. 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.
4. 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 start their research and that the money will not go towards course fees or personal salary.
5. Some funding may be provided to cover the applicant’s expenses during research where it is shown that he/she will not be able to afford the time off from other paid employment. In these cases, he/she must state if the research work will be possible without the funding to cover this lost income.
6. 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).
7. It is a condition of all grants that The British Ecological Society’s contribution is acknowledged in any publications or publicity that may arise from this study.
8. Failure to submit a satisfactory report at the end of a grant will mean the applicant is ineligible to apply for further grants.

Benefits:

1. 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 the applicant develop connections with other ecologists outside his/her usual peer group. This must be requested at the application stage.
2. Travel funds are available to spend time working with ecologists in developed countries where facilities and experience will help the applicants on return to their own institutions.
3. Successful applicants also receive two years of free BES membership and free online access to their journals.

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