2020 Future Conservationist Award: Receive Up to US$15,000

Deadline: 24 November 2019

The Conservation Leadership Programme is now inviting applications for its 2020 Future Conservationist Award to support projects in low and middle income countries and some high income islands in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Funding will support early-career conservationists to conduct scientific research, encourage and promote pro-conservation attitudes and deliver tangible results to better conserve and manage the natural world.

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a training and capacity building programme that targets individuals from developing countries who are early in their conservation career and demonstrate leadership potential.

Since 1985, CLP has supported and encouraged thousands of individuals who are early in their conservation career and are aiming to address global conservation priorities at a local level. CLP has been an important stepping stone for many individuals and has helped to facilitate the discovery of species new to science, the designation of new protected areas, knowledge sharing and collaboration, and the creation of mechanisms for long-term conservation, such as the establishment of local non-governmental organisations and creation of conserva tion policy and action plans.

Award Information

CLP offers Future Conservationist Awards of up to US$15,000 each to develop leadership capacity of earlycareer conservationists who want to make a positive difference on the ground.

CLP Award Criteria

Applications will be accepted from teams initiating projects that meet the eligibility criteria outlined below. These criteria are designed to ensure that the project builds the capacity of all team members involved, contributes to long-term sustainable conservation achievements, has clearly focused research objectives and builds vital links between local communities, conservationists,NGOs, academic institutions and local governments. Applications are evaluated by CLP staff and partners, and by experts from other relevant organisations.

Eligible Projects

CLP offers support to early-career conservationists living and working in low and middle income economies in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern and South-eastern Europe and the Middle East. High income Caribbean and Pacific Island economies are eligible.
The project must be no less than three months and no more than one year in length.
The total funding request from CLP must not exceed US $15,000 and CLP funding must cover at least 50% of the total project budget.
The project must focus on globally important species for biodiversity conservation that are at risk. They consider a species to be ‘at risk’ if it is designated as globally threatened (CR, EN, VU) or data deficient (DD) by the IUCN Red List OR if there is information suggesting that urgent conservation action is needed.
For those projects focusing on multiple species and/or taxonomic groups, at least one species in each taxonomic group being studied must be at risk.
The project must be for new work rather than the continuation of an ongoing, established project.
Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed project goes beyond academic research being carried out for any team member’s degree.
Projects that involve laboratory analyses must justify why this work is critical and urgent for conservation.
The proposal must be written by the applicants themselves.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a CLP Future Conservationist Award, the team and project must meet the following eligibility criteria:

CLP Awards are for team-based conservation projects – each team must have at least three people.
50% or more of the team members must be nationals of the country where the project is taking place.
Nationals of a country subject to sanctions or trade restrictions imposed by the USA, UK or EU are NOT eligible to participate on a project team.
The team leader must be a national of the country where the project is taking place. Co-leadership with a non-national will be considered, subject to clear justification.
All team members must be early-career conservationists with no more than five years of paid work experience in the conservation sector. ‘Paid work experience’ does not include research for a university degree. Individuals who have more than five years of paid work experience in the conservation sector are not eligible for CLP support and should not apply.
No team member can be a part- or full-time paid employee or contractor with a CLP partner organisation, including BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International and the Wildlife Conservation Society, at any time from project development through to implementation.
Any team member volunteering at a CLP partner organisation at the time of application and/or project implementation MUST be declared in the application. They also need to explain how the CLP proposal differs from the partner organisation’s work.
Applicants can participate in only one CLP project at a time and in no more than three Future Conservationist Award projects in total, serving as team leader for no more than one Future Conservationist project.

How CLP can help?

Proposal Preparation: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact programme staff up to two weeks before the deadline for advice or input on their proposal. Requests for support should be sent at the email address given on the website. Staff members can help teams determine if their project fits within the specified criteria, offer advice on methods and project activities and,where possible, put teams in touch with local partner offices or other experts who can offer advice.
CLP Ambassador Programme: CLP’s Alumni Ambassador Programme can support interested applicants for a Future Conservationist Award. Members of the CLP alumni network have volunteered their time to be Ambassadors and provide feedback to applicants prior to submitting to CLP. Ambassadors will provide feedback in the following areas: project concept, English grammar, cohesion of proposal and research design, if this falls within their area of expertise. This support will be offered until two weeks before the deadline. To find an Ambassador, visit the CLP website, read Ambassador biographies, and contact an Ambassador directly.
Website Resources: On the CLP website under the Grants section, applicants can find useful information about project planning and additional funding sources. The Conservation Project Manual, which can be downloaded in full, takes they through the process of planning small to medium-scale conservation projects. It is available in English, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. They can also use the Institutional Fundraising for Conservation Projects manual which is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Arabic.
Award winner Support: Winning teams can benefit from additional support once awards have been granted. CLP can provide guidance during the planning and implementation stages and help each team access expertise from within each of the partner organisations and from past winners. They will invite a representative from each team to attend an international training event organised by CLP to share ideas, develop skills and knowledge and network with other conservationists.
Post-project Support: CLP is committed to the development of the individuals they have supported and they maintain close contact with award winners. The programme has an established alumni network that positions award winners to multiply their impact across the conservation sector. As resources are available, other professional development opportunities come in the form of CLP Continuation Awards (i.e. Conservation Follow-up and Conservation Leadership Awards), training courses,travel grants, mentoring, and participation in an expanding community where conservation leaders connect to learn, share experience and help each other achieve their professional goals.

Judging Criteria

Applicants’s project will be evaluated in three areas:

Team Capacity Development:
- The application clearly demonstrates how the project will build the knowledge, skills and experience of each team member.
- The team members show a commitment to conservation and potential for leadership as good ambassadors for the work they are doing.
- The team has the support of experienced advisers.
Contribution to Conservation:
- The project relates to established conservation priorities and plans (e.g., National Biodiversity Action Plans).
- The project demonstrates long-term benefits with outcomes that contribute to ongoing local conservation priorities.
- The project offers measurable benefits to local stakeholders.
- The project will positively influence stakeholders’ environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
Project Feasibility:
- The project is realistic in its aims, with the ability and experience of participants suited to the methods, objectives, budget and time frame.
- The project is cost-effective and shows good value for the money.
- The project will clearly deliver appropriate outputs – a research report, journal articles, education materials, contribution to a critical conservation need, etc.
- The project demonstrates wide collaborative support from local communities, local or national institutions, such as NGOs or academic institutions, and relevant governmental organisations.