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ESI GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON PRIVATE LANDS
2008 Request for Proposals



Deadline: November 26, 2007
Funding Amount: $1000 to $5000
Eligibility: UT Austin graduate students and faculty

Landscape PhotoAre you doing or planning to do field research in Central Texas?  If so, we have grants available for graduate students and faculty who are interested in doing research on private lands.  The grants are open for any environmental related research including but not limited to: biological sciences, geological sciences and geography.

For two years the Environmental Science Institute (ESI) has partnered with Braun & Associates to help researchers gain access to private land and obtain funding for their research.  Since 2004, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have received approximately $177,000 in funding from landowners who are interested in allowing their property to be used for ecological studies in order to gain valuable ecological information about their land.

In the private lands research program, we work to match researchers and research projects with desirable research sites.  The grant funds can be used for most anything needed by the researcher to support ecological research, including equipment, administrative support or travel money.  Faculty and staff are awarded their funds as a grant from the Environmental Science Institute.  Starting this year, students will be awarded their funds as a fellowship from the institute.

If you are interested in conducting research on private property:

  1. Select Your Research Sites - Visit www.plateauwildlife.com, click on the “Opportunities for Scientific Research” link. You will see a professional biologist’s descriptions of all the available properties and the property’s most interesting features, including both ecological features and facilities for supporting the researchers on site. There will also be information regarding how much funding is available for each property. Researchers can apply for funds from more than one property. You should submit a separate proposal for each property. In the past, researchers have applied for several properties and compared the data collected at various sites. If you need more information about a site or you need to visit a site before finishing the application, please contact Cassie Gresham at cgresham@braunassociateslaw.com.

  2. The Proposal - Submit a brief proposal (3-5) pages by November 26th to ESI. You can find an electronic example on the web page. The proposal should outline the research and other activities that would be carried out on the land. The proposals should include, but are not limited to, the following information:
    1. Proposed duration for each project (months and years). Researchers will be granted access for up to three years.
    2. Proposed activities of the researchers on the property.
    3. Anticipated dates and times of activities.
    4. Objectives of the study (less than 1 page).
    5. A list of all equipment to be used by the researchers and a description of any potential damage to the land, wildlife, etc. said equipment or researchers might inflict.
    6. List of people requesting entry onto the property.
    7. Proposed budget.
      • Your budget needs to include a small amount for administration of the grant - 5% of your total budget. Please include this item in your budget as “Administrative Expenses”. This will be taken out before your funds are dispersed to you.

  3. Landowner Limitations - Once the researcher identifies a desirable site, he/she will be asked to review any limitations that the landowner has regarding the use of their land, such as length of time or extent of activities. This would allow researchers to determine early on if there is a good fit with their research.

  4. Liability Waiver - Before accessing any property, all researchers should expect to sign a waiver of liability and/or provide a driver’s license that may be used to conduct a background check.

  5. Annual Report - Please note that any researcher who is approved for research on a property will be required to submit a short annual report providing information regarding the activity on the property each year. We have an annual report form and an example of a written annual report. You can find the electronic examples on the web page. The annual report will be due in March after every year of activity on the property. If a researcher fails to supply an annual report, all future funding may be withheld.

  6. Research Start Date - Each researcher will be required to notify ESI if the start date to begin their research is delayed by more than three months. If the start date is delayed by more than three months, ESI reserves the right to request an updated proposal with the new start date.

  7. Commitment - Each researcher will also be required to sign a commitment letter for all of the properties on which they will be conducting research. This letter outlines the duration of research and funding.

Submit your proposals for research by November 26th to Kathleen Sebenoler at the Environmental Science Institute: ksebenoler@mail.utexas.edu. Once you have been selected to work with Braun & Associates, we will need an electronic version of your proposal(s).

DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 26, 2007