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Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Grants In Herpetology Program Guidelines for Proposal Submission
Proposals will be accepted for the 2012 SSAR Grants-in Herpetology Program starting in September 2011. This program is intended to provide financial support for deserving individuals or organizations involved in herpetological research, education, or conservation.
Who can apply?:
All applicants must be students AND members of the SSAR with the following exceptions:
1) Those applying for support of regional herpetological society projects DO NOT have to be SSAR members.
2) Those applying for the International category must be students but DO NOT have to be SSAR members.
3) Those applying for the Herpetological Education category DO NOT have to be a student or a SSAR member.
In keeping with the Society's goal of encouraging participation by the broadest possible community, preference may be given to individuals who might not have access to other funding sources. Applications must be submitted by individuals only (see special considerations for education categories below).
Amount Available: Successful applicants in each of the categories listed below will receive an award in the amount of $500.
Deadline for Submission: December 15, 2011 (see special note on membership dues below).
Announcement of awards: The awards will be announced by April or May 2012.
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Grant proposals will be considered in the following categories:
1. Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles. Proposals should outline a conservation-oriented research project. This project may focus on species endangered or threatened at the state, national, or international level, or address research on potentially threatened habitats or species, or on introduced injurious species.
2. Field Research. Proposals may address needs for field station fees or equipment and materials in field oriented projects, or the field work portions of broader studies. This might include in-situ behavioral studies, ecological, life history, or sexual selection studies. Survey work by individuals or regional societies may be submitted here or in TRAVEL below depending on how the funds are to be used.
3. Laboratory Research. Proposals may address needs for equipment or materials in laboratory projects or laboratory portions of broader projects. This might include studies in behavior, biochemistry, molecular biology, biomechanics, or physiology.
4. Herpetological Education. Proposals may address an educational project or start up support for an educational program in a zoo, museum, park, nature center, regional herpetological society, etc. The project must focus on a herpetological topic. Note: Although proposals for institutional projects are accepted, education proposals must be submitted by an individual (either sole applicant or principle contact person for the project). Applicants need not be students or SSAR member.
5. Travel. Proposals may address support for travel to field study sites near or far, or to utilize distant collections or facilities. If funding is sought to get from one place to another, proposals should be submitted in the TRAVEL category. Proposals normally submitted in the CONSERVATION or FIELD RESEARCH categories should be submitted here if travel funding is being sought.
6. International. Proposals may address needs in any of the above five categories. The applicant must be a student, but not necessarily a SSAR member. Preference will be given to students with limited access to research funds and in countries where herpetological research has historically been under-funded.
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Each proposal must include the following:
(A) Title Page giving the title of the project, the name, mailing address, office and home telephone numbers and, if possible, fax number and e-mail address of the applicant. The title page should also include the following numerated items completed in this format on the bottom left corner of the Title Page:
1) Category:
2) Word count:
3) Student status (give school):
4) SSAR membership since:
5) SSAR budget portion (amount and brief description):
6) a statement indicating that applicants "will comply with all applicable permit regulations, and adhere to all appropriate animal care guidelines in the course of conducting funded projects."
(B) Background and Objectives of the proposed project. This should include a clear statement of the problem being addressed and any outcomes predicted as a result of the research. Preference may be given to projects that appear particularly unique in their focus, methodology, or predicted results.
(C) Methods proposed for conducting the proposed project.
(D) Complete project budget (regardless of whether the SSAR grant will entirely cover expenses). Include an explicit explanation of how an SSAR award of $500 would be applied toward the objectives of the project (here as well as on Title Page), and provide a listing of all current and pending support for the project.
(E) Brief Curriculum Vitae or Resume of the applicant or project coordinator.
(F) Letter of Support Proposals must be accompanied by a letter of support from another member of the SSAR, the student's major advisor or committee chairperson, or a regional society president. Note: education proposals must be accompanied by a letter of support from the herpetological curator, the director of the facility, or the regional society president.
Proposal Length: Must not exceed 1,200 words (excluding title page, literature cited, curriculum vitae (resume), and budget.
Proposal Format: The entire proposal should be typed and double-spaced.
Submitting your proposal: All proposals must be submitted electronically to kapferj@uww.edu as a single PDF file named "lastname-category.pdf" no later than 15 December 2011 to be considered (letter of support may be included with the proposal or sent separately). Exceptions to electronic submission and file format may be allowed for special cases with prior approval by SSAR-GIH Chair.
Failure to meet these guidelines may result in elimination of a proposal from consideration.
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Important Points To Consider:
- Membership dues must be paid (to SSAR Treasurer) no later than 15 December 2011 for proposals to be considered.
- Applicants are limited to a submission of one proposal per year.
- In June 1999, the SSAR Board decided that past award recipients are not eligible for additional GIH awards.
- Past recipients of an SSAR GIH award in any category are not eligible for future awards.
- The committee reserves the right to reassign proposals to categories other than those they were submitted to by the applicant.
- If proposals in any of the categories are not forthcoming, or judged not to be of sufficient quality, the funds in those categories may be transferred to other categories.
General Criteria Given to Reviewers For Scoring Grant Applications: Please note that these criteria are not rigid and we do not require reviewers to adhere to them implicitly. Their purpose is to help reviewers organize their thoughts regarding each application.
(1) Strong Introduction:
(2) Is the topic unique, or does it fill a necessary void in the current knowledge of the species/topic in-question?:
(3) Clear Statement of problem being addressed/objectives/predicted outcomes of research?:
(4) Soundness of Methods:
(5) Strong Letter of Support:
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These guidelines are also available online at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/GIH.php
Successful applicants are encouraged to submit the results of their research for publication in the Journal of Herpetology or Herpetological Review, or to present their findings at the annual meeting of the SSAR.
Submit proposals or questions regarding application procedures to:
Joshua M. Kapfer
Chair, SSAR Grants in Herpetology
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Whitewater, Wisconsin 53190, USA
email kapferj@uww.edu
Grants In Herpetology Donor Information
Financial contributions by SSAR members, institutions, and other benefactors support this program significantly, and can increase the number and/or size of awards. Your tax-deductible contribution to this program will directly benefit meritorious research and education in herpetology. Contact the Treasurer of SSAR for additional information about contributing to the Grants-in-Herpetology Program. If you are employed by an organization that will match donations made to nonprofit organizations, please notify your employer that you have made a donation to the Grants-in-Herpetology Program.
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