$50k grants open to ecosystems scientists

Can you identify an Australian ecosystem problem that needs solving? Apply for up to $50,000 in funding to coordinate a diverse working group to solve the problem and get tangible outcomes.

The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) will provide the resources and the funds for your diverse working group of scientists and managers to collaborate and work through the problem and form a solution and new understanding.

ACEAS is a facility of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and actively facilitates the networking of scientists and policy makers in a way that was never before possible. Now these groups of people can share data and ideas to address fundamental issues in ecology and allied fields, and apply the results to management and policy.

ACEAS Program Manager, A. Prof. Alison Specht said this was the second of a planned (under current funding) six funding rounds between 2010 and 2013 to give ecosystem scientists and managers the opportunity to share in a total of approximately $1.5 million to solve some of Australia’s ecosystem issues.

“The first funding round at the beginning of 2010 saw grants given to a working group focused on small mammal decline, and a sabbatical fellow working on landscape transformation,” A/Prof. Specht said.

“These people are already active and the working group will meet for the first time in early December this year”

Applications must be collaborative and interdisciplinary and promote the benefits of ACEAS and the overall ‘science-to-management’ model of TERN.

Working Groups will be chosen based on relevance to ACEAS-TERN objectives, innovation, need, quality of team (especially with respect to appropriateness for the task and capacity building), engagement with the ecosystem science community, projected outcomes, and feasibility.

ACEAS will accept funding applications twice yearly. The next round will be announced in May 2011.

The groups will consist of up to 15 people and around five Working Groups, three Workshops and a Sabbatical fellow can be funded in the next round, depending on merit.

Each group can receive a maximum of $50,000 funding per Working Group towards travel and accommodation costs for participants and $30,000 per Workshop.

The ACEAS Program Manager can offer advice to interested applicants via email aceas.tern@uq.edu.au.

Interested parties are invited to submit their application now. Submissions are due on 17 November 2010. Applicants will be notified of their progress by late December.

Applications are to be submitted online at www.aceas.org.au.

About ACEAS

The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Syntheses (ACEAS) is a virtual and physical facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) for both disciplinary and inter-disciplinary integration, synthesis and modeling of ecosystem data to aid in the development of evidenced-based environmental management strategies and policy and regional, state and continental scales.

ACEAS is a facility to TERN which is supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research infrastructure Strategy.

About TERN

TERN was established in July 2009 to provide a national collaborative infrastructure and framework to assist in collection and management of scientific data to meet the needs of the terrestrial ecosystem research community. The network also promotes terrestrial ecosystems science interactions and planning in Australia.