British Ecological Society Grant For Ecologists in Africa 2023 (Up to £8,000)

This grant provides support for Ecologists in Africa to carry out innovative ecological research. They recognize that ecologists in Africa face unique challenges in carrying out research; the grant is designed to support you in developing your skills, experience, and knowledge base as well as making connections with ecologists internationally. British Ecological Society supports excellent ecological science in Africa by funding services and equipment.

As part of the application process, two referees will be required to submit statements of support. If you are applying for travel funds, one of these must be from your host institution.

Benefits

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 you develop connections with other ecologists outside your usual peer group. This must be requested at the application stage.
Travel funds are available to spend time working with ecologists in the Global North where facilities and experience will help you on return to your own institution.
Successful applicants also receive two years of free BES membership and free online access to our journals.

Requirements

You should:

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

** This currently excludes – Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Namibia and South Africa.

Assessment Criteria

The application will be judged by a panel of reviewers on the basis of your personal qualifications, the scientific excellence, novelty and feasibility of the proposal, and the academic and non-academic impact of the planned research.
You should demonstrate that you have made connections with ecologists in the Global North who can provide advice during the proposed project. If international travel is part of the application, you should demonstrate close links with those you propose to visit.
Funding is available for any area of ecological science excluding research focused solely on agriculture, forestry, and bioprospecting. Please note that neither purely descriptive work nor studies that might be considered incremental will be funded.
The proposed project could be part of an existing program but the application should be for a clearly defined piece of research. Researchers must also show how their research will have a wider impact beyond academia.