Aim: To help (i) promising pilot research projects that are at too early a stage to attract funding from larger funding agencies such as the Research Councils, and (ii) small-scale projects, that, although worthwhile, are unlikely to attract funding from alternative sources. Grants may be made to allow the applicant to travel to conduct collaborative research, or to bring a collaborator to the applicant's institution for the same purpose. Research projects in all areas of animal behaviour, defined as the sphere of interest of papers published in Animal Behaviour, will be considered.
Eligibility:Applicants must be current members of ASAB; please note that membership must be held for a minimum of 1 year prior to applying for funds (dated from postmark on the membership application). The fund is open to all applicants who have a PhD, regardless of age and experience, although in the event of competition for funds preference may be given to applicants early in their career and first-time applicants. Retrospective applications will not be considered. Grants will not be awarded to postgraduate students in order to fund work to be submitted for their degree.
Funding criteria: Proposals are ranked on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the best). Criteria considered include: the interest and novelty of the biology investigated, the likelihood of the proposed work to make a significant contribution to questions of broad relevance (rather than taxon-specific relevance), the robustness of the scientific approach adopted (e.g. sound experimental design and hypothesis-testing where relevant), and the ability of the proposed work to open exciting new avenues of research for more substantial research funding. Typically, between one and three of the top-ranking proposals will be funded on any given call (March, July, November), depending on the current availability of funding and the intensity of competition.
Awards: Funds may be awarded for equipment, research expenses, the salary of a research assistant or self, provided that payment is made on an approved scale. Travel and subsistence expenses may also be funded if it is necessary to travel to another site to undertake the research. Grants will not exceed £5000, although applications for much smaller amounts are encouraged. Funds are competitive and the amounts requested and their justification may be taken into account in decisions for funding.
Application date: Applications should be received by 1st March, 1st July or 1st November, by the Secretary of the Grants Committee.
Application format: Applicants should download the application form here. Applications should be saved using the file name surnameRG.doc and submitted to the Secretary of the Grants Committee as an email attachment.
Decisions will be made by the Grants Committee, a sub-committee of ASAB Council following meetings of ASAB in March/April, July/August/September or December. Candidates can expect to be notified of the outcome of their application in May following March submission, September following the July deadline and January following November submission.
All applications are judged on the quality of the research proposed and applicants should note that attention is paid by the Grants Committee to the relevance and likely impact of the proposed work, the plan of research, whether it can be completed in the time proposed, the reason why this research is important, how it fits with previous research, and if a pilot study, the future directions of this research. Applicants should clearly outline their procedure and how the results will be analysed. One of the major shortcomings of applications is that they provide insufficient information regarding the proposed methodology for the Committee to evaluate the proposal. Applicants also need to justify fully the reasons for the funding requested, with a full breakdown of all costs.
Successful applicants will be required to complete a report form within three months of completion of the project. The report form is available here, and should be saved as surnameRep.doc and submitted to the Secretary of the Grants Committee as an email attachment. Part of this report may be published in the ASAB Newsletter, subject to approval by the Editor. They should also acknowledge the financial aid received from ASAB in publications or publicity that result from the research. A copy of all such publicity and publications should be submitted to the Secretary of the Grants Committee as soon as acceptance is confirmed. Successful applicants are also encouraged to submit a poster, or paper, on their work to an ASAB conference.
Please note that applications cannot be considered by the Committee unless they are accompanied by 2 supporting statements from referees. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure these reach the Grants Secretary on time.
Information on research awards made in previous rounds (2010-2011) can be found here.
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