Welfare Ecology Grants

Applications for grants are now open through October 31.

Information on grant eligibility, guidelines, and the application process can be found below. Click here to read the announcement.

Welfare Ecology Grants are intended to help wild animal welfare scientists better understand the ecological levers influencing welfare so that interventions or policies can eventually be devised to improve wild animal welfare.

Welfare Ecology Grants support research that seeks to understand causal relationships between the welfare of wild animals and other variables, emphasizing areas where manipulation can improve their welfare. This includes interactions between species and other indirect impacts that might otherwise be overlooked.

Grant size

Up to $200,000 USD total

Duration

Up to 3 years

Selection criteria for Welfare Ecology Grants

  • Projects must explore causal relationships among factors impacting wild animal welfare. We especially encourage projects that assess or model welfare in the context of ecological network effects, considering impacts or interactions involving multiple species. 

  • If successful at the EOI stage and invited to submit a full proposal, a welfare triangulation plan will also need to be submitted. It may be useful to have this in mind when completing the EOI form. Use of previously validated welfare indicators (as validated by a WAI Validation grant or similar previous research) is strongly encouraged and will make the triangulation plan considerably more straightforward.

  • We evaluate proposed projects in terms of our general selection criteria (scope, impact, engagement, feasibility, research ethics, focus on wild animal welfare, and cost-effectiveness). In addition, we evaluate Welfare Ecology grant proposals based on their ability to evaluate the relationship between welfare and other variables, and the pathway they enable to future projects and ultimate interventions.  

Application process

CFP guidance is provided in the relevant announcement document, but in summary: 

  • Applicants submit an EOI form with details on the project. 

  • Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a full proposal and supporting documents (triangulation plan, animal methods form and collaborator CVs).

  • Further shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview to discuss how wild animal welfare fits into their personal research program and discuss specific reviewer feedback on their proposal (to be shared in advance). Applicants may be required to submit changes based on reviewer feedback before final decisions are communicated.