Deadline: 30-Jun-21
The Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) is pleased to launch the Start-up Grants Program to organizations.
Start-up grants: Initial funding is available to establish new in situ amphibian conservation projects, and to help them attract larger and/or long-term funding. They will not fund projects that are already well-established and/or have significant funding, although they will consider in situ threat mitigation and communication aspects of projects with funding in place for complementary components.
Funding Information
- Grants of up to US$5,000 are currently available from ASA, and are organised in collaboration with Amphibian Ark Conservation Grants in cases where ex situ actions are also important project components.
Criteria
- Key priority topics for funding include habitat conservation and mitigating the impact of amphibian diseases. They are also keen to support any actions that promote awareness and understanding of amphibians and their conservation, and any knowledge products that will improve conservation impacts.
- Any communication and awareness-raising activities must be justified in the context of how these actions may influence key audiences in a way that will help mitigate threats and improve the outlook for target species.
- Additional aspects of a project proposal that are appreciated include: projects that are actively seeking and/or have acquired match funding for linked activities; strong communication outputs; up-to-date information about major threats to target species; how threats will be mitigated and adherence to any relevant evidence-based conservation studies and/or species conservation action plan(s); evidence of all appropriate partnerships with key stakeholders, including local community-based and government support; links to current or planned habitat protection and other conservation measures; and a clear onward and/or exit strategy.
- Projects in developing countries that are led by (or integrally include) local partners will be prioritised, as will projects that focus on globally Threatened/Data Deficient amphibian species. While they appreciate efforts to keep regionally threatened but globally Near Threatened or Least Concern species common, their limited funds are restricted to projects involving species that need help at a global level. That said, projects involving local populations of species in serious decline may be considered on their own merits.
- Applicants that have been awarded an Amphibian Ark Conservation Grant for any ex situ project components will be prioritised for associated in situ threat mitigation actions.
- If available, a copy of a species conservation action plan for the target species should be included, or other planning document(s) which include reference to the project, specific objectives and timelines for meeting those objectives. The plan should have been developed in conjunction with all relevant stakeholders, including those working with the species and/or its habitat in the wild. Inadequate planning is one of the biggest causes for the failure of amphibian conservation programs, and they expect to see appropriate planning in place prior to a program being implemented.
- Biosecurity is of utmost important when working with amphibians. All full proposals must demonstrate the strategies in place for preventing the spread of disease, and planning and/or conducting any necessary disease screening protocols.
For more information, visit https://www.amphibians.org/what-we-do/funding/conservation-grants/asa-start-up-grants/