National Geographic Grants about Conservation Technologies

National Geographic supports the development of cutting-edge technologies that open our eyes to different viewpoints, help us see the world in a new light and explore it in new ways, and transform the fields of exploration, science, and conservation. The planet’s ecological systems are in peril due to climate change and other anthropogenic effects. Our ability to understand how these systems respond to these disturbances is limited by our ability to observe these systems.

The goal of this grant about conservation technologies is to create novel tools and technologies to monitor ecosystem health. In the same way that human health is monitored in real time (e.g., thermometer, MRI, blood pressure), environmental diagnostic monitoring techniques are needed to provide practical measurements correlated with ecosystem health. Because of the complexity and interconnectedness of global environmental systems, scalability is crucial for global monitoring. Examples of the types of tools that could be employed are new processing techniques for satellite data, advanced wildlife camera traps, or globally networked chemical and physical sensors.

Grant themes:

Priority will be given to projects that use technology to do one or more of the following:

[1] Develop tools or capabilities needed to generate data and insights on ecosystem health, biodiversity distribution, patterns, and trends.

[2] Create or reimagine sensing modalities that can be applied to determine ecological health.

[3] Implement new processing techniques that can apply breakthroughs in data mining and machine learning to glean new ecosystem health insights from existing data streams.

[4] Develop low-cost, scalable, long-term, robust in-situ or remote sensing modalities.

Grant value:

• Typical proposal requests should be less than $50,000; however, applicants may request up to $150,000.
• Up to 20 percent of the total can be used as a stipend for the applicant and/or team members. 
• Up to 15 percent can be used for institutional overhead (applicable only for awarded grants of at least $50,000).

All applications should include a clear review of the state of knowledge about the topic and a plan for evaluating the outcomes of the proposed work.

Eligibility:

[1] All applications must be submitted through our online application system.

[2] All applicants must be at least 18 years old at the time they submit an application.

[3] We encourage applications from around the world.

[4] Applicants may submit a proposal as the project leader for only one project at a time. However, they may be project members or co-applicants on multiple grants simultaneously.

[5] Applicants are responsible for securing all necessary permits and agreeing to the National Geographic Society’s ethics policies.