Grants
Applications for grants are open now through October 31.
We have an open call for proposals on all grant types. Learn how to apply.
Wild Animal Initiative’s ultimate goal is to improve the welfare of as many animals as possible by as much as possible. Our grants are designed to establish wild animal welfare research programs, creating a pathway from foundational research to responsible intervention to improve wild animal welfare.
The projects we fund must explicitly seek to understand wild animal welfare. Before applying, we strongly recommend that you review our general selection criteria and familiarize yourself with the types of grants we offer.
Wild Animal Initiative funds academic research that advances the field of wild animal welfare science.
Latest news about our grants
Explore our grant types
Seed Grants
Funding for projects that generate justified hypotheses through observational or pilot studies to later test through our more advanced grant types.
Validation Grants
Funding for projects that validate welfare indicators by studying how those indicators respond when animals are exposed to conditions expected to induce positive or negative valence.
Welfare Ecology Grants
Funding for projects that explore the relationship between welfare and other ecological parameters and processes based on a detailed plan for welfare assessment.
WAI Fellowships
Funding for ECRs looking to establish careers as wild animal welfare scientists. Fellows receive mentoring and training, and co-develop project proposals with WAI researchers.
Intervention grants
Launching in 2027.
Funding for developing and testing responsible interventions to improve wild animal welfare.
General eligibility criteria for all research grant types
Projects must focus on taxa categorized as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List or make a clear case for transferability of findings to other taxa.
Projects must be led by a principal investigator who is affiliated with a university or other research institution (e.g., a government agency).
Projects must be led by or include collaborators who are residents of all countries where fieldwork will take place. If a project is managed by an NGO, that NGO must be registered in the country where fieldwork will take place.
Projects that involve any work with animals in the field or lab must adhere to Wild Animal Initiative’s guidance for animals involved in research. Please be aware we are less likely to select a proposed project that would cause any harm to animals. If distressing methods are to be used, welfare concerns should be elaborated in the animal methods form, and the methods should be justified with evidence showing why the use of alternatives would not be possible. We generally do not fund projects that use destructive sampling methods. If you believe that the objectives of your study cannot be accomplished without killing or physically harming animals and you cannot identify alternative methods, please contact us and we can discuss what options may be available to you.
If you have received funding from WAI in the past and are applying for another grant, you must provide evidence of a welfare-focused publication resulting from the previously funded project within one year of its completion (this can be a pre-print).
Eligible costs and guidance
With suitable justification, funding from Wild Animal Initiative may be applied toward:
Project personnel (any non-faculty project staff): WAI funding can be used for direct salary, tuition fees, and benefits. Costs must reflect the proportion of the individual’s time that will be spent on the project. There is specific salary guidance for fellowships.
PI and faculty salary support: For individuals with a faculty position, WAI will allow salary support for up to one month of salary (including benefits) per year at the institutional rate, not exceeding the portion of their time they anticipate allocating to the project.
Equipment required exclusively for the project: Durable goods that would outlast the project (e.g., computers, other lab infrastructure) should not exceed 25% of the total budget and must be clearly justified.
WAI funding restrictions:
Wild Animal Initiative funding cannot be used to cover indirect costs or institutional overhead.
We are unable to sponsor visas, so we generally cannot fund work that would be carried out in the United States by a non-US resident.
We are unable to fund research carried out in nations subject to sanctions by the United States (e.g., Iran, North Korea, Russia) or researchers who are residents of those nations.
Opportunities and expectations for grantees
Grantees are provided with opportunities to engage with others researching wild animal welfare via a Discord channel, regular online coffee hours, and an annual grantee meetup.
Limited additional funding is available by application for open-access publication costs, presenting wild animal welfare research at conferences, and organizing small meetings to collaborate with other WAI grantees.
Grantees sign an agreement on publication and communications expectations, including the commitment to publish a peer-reviewed paper or at least a pre-print (e.g., at bioRxiv or EcoEvoRxiv) on your project within one year of its completion.
Using our template, grantees must provide Wild Animal Initiative with annual reports on project progress and a final report within three months of the project completion date.
Grantees must request permission from Wild Animal Initiative for any major changes to the project (e.g., updating methods, replacing key activities, increasing the number of animals sampled, requesting extensions).
General selection criteria
We evaluate all proposed projects based on the below general criteria. There are additional selection criteria specific to each grant type, which are described on the relevant page.
Click the "+" in each section below for details:
-
We aim to understand and improve the welfare of as many individual animals as possible. Therefore, we prefer projects that focus on more abundant species.
We may fund projects on less abundant species where the results are likely to be transferable to an abundant species or which focus on a widespread welfare issue, like hunger.
Scope
-
We consider short-term and (with supporting evidence) long-term impacts. We prioritize projects that have widespread applicability (e.g., wildlife management, policy).
When considering the magnitude of welfare improvements, we consider both severity and duration. For example, a disease that is rare but causes prolonged and intense suffering may have a similar overall welfare impact to a disease that causes minimal or short-lived suffering but is common.
Impact
-
We prioritize projects that validate a new method or introduce a new concept or study design that would make it easier for others to enter the field of wild animal welfare or open up new avenues of research.
Facilitating progress
-
We are less likely to select otherwise sound and exciting projects that may be funded by other research funders (e.g., conservation research funders) or that interpret welfare in terms of more widely studied concepts, such as health.
Focus on wild animal welfare
-
We evaluate whether the proposed methods are sufficient to answer the research questions being posed. This includes not only the study design, but also the quality of indicators being used to infer animals’ welfare.
We also consider applicants’ prior experience of applying similar methods.
Finally, we consider whether underlying assumptions of the proposed study, such as independence of certain variables, or expected effect sizes, seem plausible or have already been tested (e.g. through a pilot or previous studies).
Feasibility
-
Projects should avoid or minimize harms to subjects in line with our ethical standards and to minimize distorting the welfare data being collected.
Projects that propose using invasive methods must explain why those methods are required and non-invasive alternatives are insufficient.
Applicants conducting research abroad must collaborate with a local partner or organization.
See WAI's animal methods guidelines for more information about what is permissible, along with advice on designing a project that supports the welfare of its subjects.
Research ethics
-
WAI will not fund activities in your project that do not contribute to understanding welfare.
If some aspects of your project are of significantly greater interest to WAI than others, we may be able to offer partial funding for those aspects. You may identify in your proposal which activities are more or less essential.
Cost-effectiveness
More information
Grant review panels
Our scientific review panels consist of experts across relevant disciplines who evaluate projects proposed by our grant applicants and make recommendations for project improvement.
Projects we’ve funded
Meet our grantees and learn about their work.
FAQs
Answers to some common questions that we receive from prospective applicants.
Past calls for proposals
All grant types (2025)
All grant types (2024)
Challenge grants (2023)
Seed grants (2023)
Large grants (2022)
Small grants (2022)
Juvenile welfare (2021)