Research Grants (ASAB)

Research Grants (ASAB) is sponsored by Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB). ASAB Research Grants support pilot research projects or small-scale projects in all areas of animal behavior.

Research Grants of up to £15,000 support original research projects. If you have any questions about ASAB Research Grants, please contact: Christos Ioannou (c. c.

ioannou[at]bristol. ac. uk) Secretary of Grants Committee .

There are usually three application rounds per year with deadlines of 1st February, 1st June and 1st October.

The next application deadline for Research Grants Research Grants are typically up to £10,000 and support (i) promising pilot research projects that are at too early a stage to attract funding from larger funding agencies such as the UK 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. Proposals up to a maximum of £15,000 are allowed, although there needs to be specific justification why the project requires additional funding above £10,000.

The Grants & Awards Committee will consider research projects in all areas of animal behaviour, defined as the sphere of interest of papers published in Animal Behaviour. Typically, approximately 20% of applications will be funded at each call (closing dates: 1st February, 1st June, 1st October), depending on the current availability of funds and the intensity of competition. • There must be only a single applicant per application.

The involvement and role of co-applicants and collaborators should be included in the Description of proposed research. • Applicants must be members of ASAB. Please note that membership must have been held for a minimum of 12 months from the date on which your application for membership was approved until the closing date of the round in which an application is made.

If you are uncertain whether this is the case, please contact the ASAB Membership Secretary . You can check in your ASAB profile whether you have a student or full membership. If necessary, you should update your membership type before submitting your Research Grant application.

You can do this by contacting the ASAB Membership Secretary . • Applicants must have a Ph. D.

There are no further restrictions on the age or experience of the applicant. • Grants will not be awarded to support work that contributes to the requirements of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree (including any inclusion in an undergraduate or graduate thesis), whether of the applicant or other person. • ASAB does not accept applications that overlap substantially with a previous application for an ASAB Research Grant.

• Applicants who have previously received an ASAB Research Grant may not apply again within three years of their successful application. • ASAB does not usually fund applications from applicants based in the Americas. However, we will consider applications from those based outside the Americas to conduct research in the Americas.

• ASAB does not pay overheads (which includes bench, researcher or visitor fees). • ASAB regrets that it is unable to accept applications from countries where UK government sanctions would prevent payment of an award (see here for information on the countries affected). • Successful applicants for Research Grants should be prepared to review applications for ASAB’s Grants Committee in future rounds, if requested to do so.

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 to answer the research question(s), including a plan for the data analysis, as well as a timeline (e.g. Gantt chart) and an assessment of potential risks to the project. One common shortcoming of applications is that they provide insufficient information regarding the proposed methodology for the Committee to evaluate the proposal.

Applicants must also give reasons for the funding requested; this includes a full breakdown of costs. ASAB’s Grants Committee does not support helicopter or parachute science. Applicants from developed countries proposing projects involving research in developing countries must include a statement in the Description of proposed research section on how local researchers and/or project partners will be engaged with.

To promote inclusion, ASAB will not fund projects that rely on unpaid volunteers, e.g. for data collection. Please make it clear in your application who will be carrying out the work, and include salaries within the budget if necessary.

To further maximise the positive impact of our grant awards on our research community, priority will be given to applicants who meet some of the following criteria: Early career-researchers defined as being not more than 7 years since their PhD was awarded (taking into account career breaks and part-time work).

Researchers who currently lack substantial research funding, especially those returning from a career break or whose research output has been limited due to caring responsibilities. Researchers from and based in developing countries (defined as being BOTH acitizen of, AND employed/funded by, a Low or Middle Income country as defined by the World Bank (scroll down in the link) ) .

The country which employs/funds you need not be the country of which you are a citizen, provided both are Low or Middle Income countries. Researchers from groups under-represented and/or marginalised in the animal behaviour community.

Researchers that have made voluntary contributions to the work of ASAB; this includes (but is not limited to) organising ASAB conferences, being an associate editor for our journal Animal Behaviour , or serving on ASAB Council. WHAT DO RESEARCH GRANTS FUND? Funds may be awarded for equipment, research expenses, and the salary of a research assistant or PI, provided that payment is made on an approved scale, but we do not fund overheads.

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 £15,000, although applications for smaller amounts are encouraged. The funding process is competitive and the Committee may take into account the amount of funding an applicant requests as well as how expenditure is justified in reaching a decision whether to fund a project.

Applications should be submitted by 1st February, 1st June or 1st October, via email to the Secretary of Grants Committee . Decisions will be made by the Grants Committee, a sub-committee of ASAB Council. Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application within 3 months of the closing date.

Applicants should ensure that they apply early enough that they will know the outcome before they need to make financial commitments related to the project (eg equipment, travel, etc), and in any case before the proposed start of their project. Applicants may download the application form here ; applicants must use the current version of the form for their application to be eligible.

Applications should be saved using the file name ‘SurnameRG. docx’ and submitted to the Secretary of Grants Committee as an email attachment. Please note that applications cannot be considered by the Committee unless accompanied by two supporting statements from referees.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the Secretary of Grants Committee receives these statements by the deadline. Successful applicants are required to submit a report form within three months of completion of the project or one month after the ASAB conference at which the work is presented, whichever is later. The report form is available here , and should be saved as SurnameRep.

docx and submitted to the Secretary of Grants Committee as an email attachment. The PI should 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 Grants Committee .

Successful applicants are also encouraged to submit a paper on their work to an ASAB conference.