The EWDA Small Grants Programme aims to promote selected activities hampered by a lack of funding, to increase the benefits of EWDA membership, to increase the visibility of the EWDA, and to provide the EWDA with a new means to accomplish the general WDA mission (“to acquire, disseminate and apply knowledge of the health and diseases of wild animals in relation to their biology, conservation, and interactions with humans and domestic animals”). Grant recipients will receive funding to accomplish a project that has defined and measurable goals that are in line with the WDA mission. Four grants are offered: (1) Transformative Research on Wildlife Health Grant, (2) Wildlife Conservation Research Grant, (3) Grant for Wildlife Health Activities in Eastern Europe, and (4) The Amanda Hawkswood Wildlife Health and Welfare Research Grant.
The EWDA Small Grants are awarded every two years.
Downloadable Documents
Download Transformative Research on Wildlife Health Grant Application Form
Download Transformative Research on Wildlife Health Grant Proposal Guidelines
Download Other Small Grants Proposal Guidelines
Download Other Small Grants Application Form
Transformative Research on Wildlife Health Grant
The goal of this grant is to stimulate research projects on wildlife health that support or implement transformative changes of human society. This may be done by implementing as closely as possible the WDA’s Mission Statement and Charter of Values. Two grants are available in this category, up to a maximum of 3000 Euros each.
The cycle for this grant will follow the cycle of the other EWDA grants. All applications should be made on the new dedicated EWDA Transformative Research on Wildlife Heath Grant application form. Please e-mail completed grant application forms to the EWDA secretary: ewda.secretary@gmail.com
Wildlife Conservation Research Grant
The proposal must involve research. Methods can include laboratory or field studies, questionnaire surveys, citizen science, etc. Analysis of pre-existing samples or data is also eligible. The proposal must be directly related to wildlife health and in line with the WDA mission. Expected results must be relevant to wildlife conservation. The requested budget can cover consumables, contribute to sample collection and/or to salaries (e.g. to encourage the analysis and publication of pre-collected raw data).
Grant for Wildlife Health Activities in Eastern Europe
The following countries are considered as Eastern European countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, European Russia, Georgia, Turkey, as well as Greece and Cyprus. These applicants should provide evidence of citizenship, and/or residency in one of these countries. Furthermore, the work needs to be conducted in one of these countries. Any kind of activity related to wildlife health and in line with the WDA mission may be eligible.
The Amanda Hawkswood Wildlife Health and Welfare Research Grant
The proposal must involve research. The proposal must be directly related to wildlife health and in line with the WDA mission. Grant applicants need to demonstrate that their research will further our understanding of and/or improve wildlife welfare. Methods can include laboratory or field studies, questionnaire surveys, citizen science, etc. Analysis of pre-existing samples or data is also eligible. The requested budget may cover consumables, contribute to sample collection and/or to salaries (e.g. to encourage the analysis and publication of pre-collected raw data).
Criteria for proposals
The main applicant and project leader must be an EWDA member. Early career members are encouraged to apply. The proposed project must have measurable objectives which are achievable within 24 months (including reporting to the EWDA board). The budget requested from EWDA cannot exceed 3,000 Euros per project. Project proposals with a higher total budget than that requested from EWDA can be considered as long the applicants provide evidence that the rest of the budget has been secured from other funding sources.
All applications should be made on the respective application forms:
- Transformative Research on Wildlife Health Grant Application Form
- EWDA Other Small Grants application form.
Past Recipients
2023
Wildlife Conservation Research Grants:
1) “Causes of morbidity and mortality in European brown hares, Lepus europaeus, in the UK”. Dr Katherine Hughes.
2) “Assessing the role of avian malaria in the decline of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Barcelona”. Maria Puig Ribas.
The Amanda Hawkswood Wildlife Welfare Research Grant: “Epidemiological and pathological aspects of respiratory disease associated mortality in European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) presented for rehabilitation”. Yannick Van de Weyer.
Grant for Wildlife Health Research and Education in Eastern Europe: “Study of West-Nile virus epidemiology in Red-footed falcons (Falco vespertinus) and Common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), roles of long-range vs. short-range migratory species”. Dr. Károly Erdélyi.
Transformative Research on Wildlife Health Grant: “Overlapping Hotspots: An atlas of the effects of biosecurity on bio- and agro-diversity against ASF in Lusatia”. Jordan Oelke.
2021
Wildlife Conservation Research Grant: “Non-invasive respiratory pathogen screening of free-swimming North Atlantic humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Helena Costa, Norway
Grant for Wildlife Health Research and Education in Eastern Europe: “The effect of host blood meal on pathogen presence and diversity in bat-associated ticks”. Tamara Szentivanyi, Hungary and Romania
The Amanda Hawkswood Wildlife Health and Welfare Research Grant: “Optimizing a non-destructive field-based sampling method for the detection of Aphamoyces astaci, the causative agent of the crayfish plague”. Simone Pisano, Switzerland
2019
Wildlife Conservation Research Grant : An ecotoxicological study on the current levels of mercury (Hg) in the Danish population of otter (Lutra lutra). Miriam Dibbern -University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Grant for Wildlife Health Activities in Eastern Europe: Are the vector-borne pathogens shared between the endangered European bisons and other ruminants? A case study from a re-introduction site in the Carpathian Mountains. Andrei Daniel Mihalca -USAMV Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
2017
1st: Feasibility study for using aptamers for ranavirus detection (RANAPTA)
Authors and collaborators: Jolianne M. Rijks, Bernardo Saucedo, Andrea Laconi, Hélène Verheije, Andrea Gröne, The Global Ranavirus Consortium, Aptamer group
2nd: Unraveling the causes of secondary hyperparathyroidism in a colony of wild storks (Ciconia ciconia)
Authors and collaborators: Ursula Höfle, Rafael Mateo, Paula Fernandez Garcia, Begona Jimenez
3rd: Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: development of novel surveillance tools for conservation
Authors and collaborators: Prof. Anna Meredith, Gabriela Peniche, Dr. Neil Anderson, Prof. Des Thompson, Dr. Mark Taggart, Prof. Richard Shore, Shaheed Karl Macgregor