The Birdlife Australia Raptor Group aims to promote the study, conservation and management of diurnal and nocturnal raptors of the Australasian Faunal region. One means of achieving this goal is through the provision of financial assistance to raptor research projects. The Birdlife Australia Raptor research grant is available to professional and amateur researchers alike.
In awarding grants a small panel of the Birdlife Australia Raptor Group (BARG) will assess the merits of the project against a series of criteria.
Criteria
Minimum criteria for eligibility:
- The applicant must be a BARG member
- The applicant’s study must focus on an Australasian raptor
- The applicant must agree to submit a summary for BARGs use in media
- The applicant must acknowledge BARG in any media or scientific publications
Research grants will be assessed according to the following criteria:
General Criteria
- How well does the proposed project fit BARG’s aim of “promoting the study, conservation and management of diurnal and nocturnal raptors?
Technical criteria
- Does the project have a clear objective?
- Does the project have a clear and practical methodology to achieve its objective?
- How realistic is the project proposal? E.g. does the candidate (or project partners) have the necessary skills, and can the project be achieved within the proposed timeframe?
Financial
- How much will this grant contribute to the overall project: i.e. is the project big enough to make a meaningful contribution to conservation, while not being so large that BARG funding makes little difference to the outcomes?
- How is the grant proposed to be spent? How will this grant contribute to the project?
Hierarchy for Assessment
The following is the proposed hierarchy for assessing which projects to provide funds by topic:
MOST FAVOURED: funded whenever possible
- The project proposal clearly articulates how the project outcomes will lead to the improved management of Australasian raptors into the future (e.g. research that’s outcome will be to recommend improved management techniques).
- Active management that will directly benefit the conservation of Australasian raptors, but which might only be in the short term
- The project aims to educate the public in a way that will improve the conservation of raptors
- Theoretical research that will improve our knowledge but does not have any tangible conservation outcome
LEAST FAVOURED: rarely funded (but still eligible and worthy research)
How to apply
Applications must be typed in the format of a BARG application grant which is available below.
BARG research grant application
BARG research grant application
Applicants should email their signed applications (as attachments) to barg@birdlife.org.au
The deadline for applications in this year is 30 April 2020. All applications will be considered and assessed as soon as is reasonably possible thereafter.
The total values of an annual grant will be in the order of $300 to $2,000, depending on the number of applications, the quality of projects and available funds. This year (2020) will be the first year that BARG has provided research grants and we are hoping that this can be an ongoing program that continues to support the goals of our organisation.
