Research Grants

These grants support scientific ecological research where there are limited alternative sources of funding. Small projects can be awarded up to £5,000 and early career ecologists can apply for funding up to £20,000.

Application deadlines

4 March 2013
17 September 2013

We aim to notify applicants if they have been successful or not within two months of the deadline.

Objectives

We support projects where there is a clear ecological science focus to the work; any other aspects, i.e. sociology, economics, etc., must be clearly integrated into the ecology and scientific goals of the project. The grants are to support work of the highest international standard and applicants need to show how the work will advance ecological science.

The objectives of the grant are to provide funding:

• for new and innovative ecological research
• for pump priming projects
• to help early career ecologists to establish an independent research career in ecology.

Eligibility and Conditions

Grants up to £5,000

• These grants are given to individuals, not organisations
• Only current BES members may apply
• Applicants cannot use a Research Grant to fund a component of a larger, already funded study
• Funding is not available for work that will form part of a degree or thesis
• Applications to take part in an expedition will not be considered. However, we will consider applications for a stand alone research project which is taking place during an expedition
• Applicants are responsible for obtaining all relevant permits and permissions required to undertake the proposed work
• Applications for projects based outside the UK should demonstrate appropriate liaison with collaborating organisations, local environmental agencies, NGOs and/or communities
• BES will not award more than one grant to any one applicant in any one year, and no more than three grants in any five year period. Failure to submit a satisfactory report at the end of a grant will mean the grantee is ineligible to apply for further grants.

Grants over £5,000 up to a limit of £20,000

• These grants are given to individuals, not organisations
• Only current BES members may apply
• They are limited to ecologists at an early stage in their career. In the absence of extenuating circumstances, ‘early career’ is defined as less than 5 years post- Ph.D. or -D.Phil. experience
• The investigator must have a Ph.D. or D.Phil., or have submitted a thesis that will have been examined by the time the application is submitted
• The investigator must demonstrate that the project is distinct from other current research activities, or if there is any overlap, that it would substantially extend their existing research into new and distinct areas
• The investigator should undertake at least part of the research him/herself
• Normally, funding is not given to individuals who already have full time permanent academic positions in universities or equivalent positions in research institutes
• Those who have received an early career grant are ineligible from applying again
• Applicants cannot use a Research Grant to fund a component of a larger study.
• Applicants are responsible for obtaining all relevant permits and permissions required to undertake the proposed work
• Applications for projects based outside the UK should demonstrate liaison with collaborating organisations, local environmental agencies, NGOs and/or communities.

Value

Small projects can be awarded up to £5,000 and early career ecologists can apply for funding up to £20,000.

There are no restrictions on where applicants come from nor where they carry out their research work.

Travel costs are limited to a maximum of £1,000 of the total grant. Please note that the maximum rate for car travel is 25p/mile.

Funding is available for the employment of casual and short-term assistance, the purchase of small items of equipment which are essential for successful completion of the project and consumable or recurrent costs.

Funding is not available:

• for items of equipment costing more than £2,000
• for overheads
• to supplement the salary of the applicant
• to cover replacement costs of the applicant

For grants of £5,000 or under, the BES will not cover the salary of the principal researcher, bench fees or the direct costs for the hire of departmental vehicles.

For grants of over £5,000, exceptionally, the awards may be used to employ the investigator him/herself where the applicant is not currently employed.

To Apply

Applications for this grant must be made using the BES online application form.

All applicants must complete part A of the application form. For grants of more than £5,000 there is a two stage application process.

Following submission of part A, a short list of the best projects, requesting over £5,000, will be drawn up. Shortlisted applicants will be required to complete part B of the application form. Following submission of part B, the applications will be sent out for peer review before a final decision is made.

All applications require two personal reference statements. If the applicant is a student, at least one of these reference statements should be from their institution and verify that the proposed project is not part of a degree or thesis. We will automatically contact the referees using the email addresses provided in the application; both reference statements must be completed online before the application deadline. We cannot accept referee statements sent independently via email or by letter

Assessment Criteria

Please note that competition for the larger grants is intense, only exceptional candidates of the highest all round standard and who are doing international level research are likely to be successful.

The assessment criteria used in reviewing grant applications are:

• Excellence of the ecological research being proposed
• How the project develops the hypothesis and provides evidence for the next stage of the research
• Feasibility of the proposal
• Promise and productivity of the applicant, and ability to work independently
• Value for money and justification of the resources requested.

Where a grant proposal is associated with an existing funded project, the relationship of the proposal to that existing project needs to be made explicit in the application. The research should be distinct from timetabled teaching activities and should primarily have been planned and organised by the applicant.

Submissions will be rejected without being sent out for review if they are re-submissions of a proposal rejected in a previous round, or if they represent only a minor revision of such a proposal (for example, with a modified experimental design).

Find out more about how your application will be assessed by viewing the scoring criteria.