MANDATE AND ELIGIBILITY

Process

Choosing recipients is straightforward, but competition for awards is keen. Applications are forwarded to three reviewers for assessment. Applications are adjudicated on the basis of scholarly merit, efficiency and impact of research problem, reasonable budget, feasible research and adherence to terms of reference. Final adjudication is made in early February by the Grant's Adjudication Committee, which is comprised of several professors from each of the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge and representatives selected by the ACA.

Terms of Reference

Objectives

The ACA Grants in Biodiversity have been established to:

• increase knowledge of Alberta's heritage of living resources, specifically the flora and fauna,
• support research by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Alberta, and
• promote the development of highly qualified, Alberta-based conservation biologists.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

The Grants Program is open to graduate students and new postdoctoral fellows doing work in Alberta. Applicants must be associated with a university, either as graduate students enrolled in a graduate program or as postdoctoral fellows (see details below). Individuals may apply for support for only one project in any year. Graduate students are not eligible for more than one award for each degree-granting program; postdoctoral fellows are only eligible for one award, and only if they were not supported as graduate students. Graduate students must provide proof of acceptance in a graduate program including date of entry (copy of acceptance notification from an official university source, such as Department or Faculty of Graduate Studies, will suffice). Priority will be given to MSc and PhD students in the first 2 and 3 years of their program respectively, and postdoctoral fellows in the first year of their program. The program will not support MSc research beyond the third year of a graduate program, or PhD beyond the fourth year of a graduate program.

Applications from students not yet in a graduate program will be considered, but must be accompanied by a letter from the prospective graduate supervisor verifying that the research proposed is part of the proposed thesis research and that the applicant is in the process of being accepted. Proof of acceptance in a graduate program must be provided by the date awards are announced on, or about, March 1, 2010. If that program is to begin September 1, 2010, research prior to that date will not be supported.

Awards are made to new postdoctoral fellows. Applications for the 2009/2010 awards will be accepted from persons who obtained a doctorate after December 31, 2008 and before the application deadline of December 1, 2009. Please provide evidence of date of completion of PhD and evidence of postdoctoral status including source and amount of funding.

Students who have received any prior funding from ACA, or whose supervisors have received funding for any part of the proposed project, are not eligible to apply. Previous grant recipients may only apply again if they are: (a) in a new degree program, and (b) the research project is totally separate from what was ACA funded in the past.

Once an application for funding support has been submitted to the ACA Grants in Biodiversity program, the project will NOT be eligible for consideration in the ACA Grant Eligible-Conservation Fund.

Applications for the ACA Grants in Biodiversity must be written by students or post-doctoral fellows, and NOT by their supervisors.

Research Mandate

The program supports research in fields of biodiversity, conservation biology and ecology, and research on management of flora and fauna all broadly construed; all kinds of organisms are covered. Applications can deal with the study of Alberta's flora and fauna at any biological level, but such studies should be directly anchored in the real world. Thus, for example, experimental laboratory studies dealing with beetle chromosomes, must be tied directly to that organism in nature. Impact-type studies, such as those involving human-induced environmental change will be considered, but such manipulations must be process oriented and related to flora and fauna change.

Geographic Area of Focus : Alberta ONLY

Value : Typically: ~ $10,000 (maximum: $20,000). Efficiency in budgeting is viewed favourably by reviewers and adjudicators, and project approvals are evolving towards a higher number of lower budget awards.

Funding Period : April 1, 2010 - March 31, 2012

Grants are a one-time payment and are awarded for 2-year periods, commencing April 1 of the granting year. Applicants will be notified of grant decisions by April 1 of the granting year. On expiry, any unspent funds are recalled by the Grant Program.

Specific Funding Conditions :

Funds may be used to pay direct costs of research such as employment of student assistants, travel support, rental of equipment, field subsistence, purchase of supplies and incidentals, and other research-related expenses for the student engaged in the research. Funds cannot be used for salary for the grantee, or to purchase a single piece of equipment exceeding $500 in value. ( see Application Instructions for more details ).

Capital Equipment Purchases are expected to become property of ACCRU or ACA at the end of the student's graduate program.

Successful applicants are required to submit annual reports together with a digital photo related to the research.

General Assessment Criteria :

Applications will be adjudicated on the basis of: 1) research merit; 2) reasonable budget; and 3) ability of the applicant to conduct the proposed project.

Deadline : The deadline for receipt of applications is 4:00 pm, December 1, 2009.

NSERC Industrial Post Graduate Scholarship

ACA would like to know if ACA Grants in Biodiversity applicants want to be considered for an NSERC Industrial Post Graduate Scholarship (IPS), see. If you check “yes” on your form, if your application to us is successful, and if ACA research needs align with your project, the ACA may approach you for this second, supplemental application (this will not detract from your ACA Grants in Biodiversity award).