Research Proposal

Welcome to the Earthwatch Research Proposal

Earthwatch's proposal review processes are guided by our mission to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Proposals are reviewed based on scientific merit, appropriateness of volunteer activities, safety and logistical viability, expected project outcomes and impacts, and Earthwatch’s available support for the project. Proposals also undergo peer review by reviewers of your recommendation and reviewers elected by Earthwatch independently. Earthwatch Research Proposals are valid for 3 years. For more information see www.earthwatch.org/research.

The Proposal is broken down in seven sections:

Section 1: Project design
Section 2: Impacts
Section 3: Field Logistics
Section 4: Project Budget
Section 5: PI and Staff Information
Section 6: Acknowledgements, appendices, and anything else

You must be online to complete and move through this form. A word template is available on request if you wish to work on your report offline and copy your information onto the form when it is ready to submit. Send requests to your Program Manager or Research Manger.

Your final Proposal MUST be submitted to Earthwatch through this online form, however.

The character limit for each question is listed underneath it and the form will count your current number of characters.

* Indicates Response Required

Create a Login Account (recommended, but optional)

New Users / Returning Users CLICK HERE to setup or return to your account for this form.

Creating an account enables you to partial complete this form and return later to finish the form. An account will also enable you to return to this form and viewyour submitted results. The account you establish is only for the Research Proposal. You can submit multiple Research Proposals with one account. Creating an account is optional.

Background Information

* Lead PI

* Proposal Completed By

* Scientific project title

* Research site location(s): Be as specific as possible: include the city, town, national park, state, etc.

* Research site country

* Research site region

Research site(s) latitude

Research site(s) longitude

Project web address (if applicable)

SECTION ONE: Project Design

Provide as much detail as reviewers will need to properly assess your research proposal and cite references. We encourage you to re-use text from previous research proposals if the answers fit the question.

* Goal

Describe the desired result that this project seeks to achieve and the problem that will be addressed as a result. How is your project innovative or distinct from other work in your field?

0/2500 characters

* Objectives

State and describe the scientific objectives that will contribute to achieving the project goal. Incorperate the hypotheses or testable questions you seek to answer.

0/15000 characters

* Methods and Activities

For each of your project objectives describe in detail the methodology you plan to use, the sampling scheme, and plans for data analysis.

0/15000 characters

* Are you, as researchers, required to acquire permits in order to work at the research site?

Yes

No

Please provide details of the permits that you will need to secure in order to work at the research site(s). You are required to provide copies of these permits to Earthwatch at least 90 days before volunteers enter the field with you. We prefer that you send a copy of each permit as soon as you receive it.

* Need for Volunteer Participation

All Earthwatch projects must have a strong rationale for requiring involvement of Earthwatch participants in your field research. Participants are not required to have any special skills before signing up to work on a project and will be trained by you/your staff to complete all field tasks. Projects should include a range of research tasks that will be conducted by participants under your supervision. Setting clear expectations about participant involvement helps to make a successful expedition.

- Why are you interested in working with volunteers on your field research?
- Describe the research tasks/activities that volunteers will be meaningfully involved in.
- How do you plan to ensure data collected by volunteers is scientifically sound?
- If tasks/activities vary across teams or seasons, please describe when different activities will occur.

0/15000 characters

* How would you rate the rigour of work in which the volunteers will participate?

Literature Cited in the Proposal

Provide a list of references to literature cited in the proposal.

0/7000 characters

SECTION TWO: Project Impacts

Earthwatch has identified 12 Measures of Success (MoS) to express achievements across the diverse portfolio of projects we support; details can be found here. Please set targets against each of these Measures of Success for the coming three years to the best of your ability. Your project may not address all MoS, but we are looking for reasonable progress against a significant number of them. You will be required to report out on these achievements in Field Reports that you will complete at the end of each field season.

Increasing Scientific Knowledge

What peer reviewed publications are you planning to produce?
Provide specific targets regarding the peer reviewed publications you are targeting.

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How do you plan to disseminate your project results through non-peer reviewed media?
Provide specific targets for sharing and disseminating your results to raise awareness of your research results through to local, regional, and international audiences (including printed materials, broadcast media coverage, community-accessible materials, academic, public, and private presentations, etc.).

0/3000 characters

Developing Environmental Leaders

How will you engage people (local community, Earthwatch volunteers, and others) in transformational learning experiences? Include details about activities that aim to engage and educate people regarding the relevant scientific topics and local or global issues.

0/3000 characters

Partnerships

Include any partnerships that will help you achieve your goals, objectives, and/or project outputs. Detail the nature of the partnership and the role each partnership plays in supporting the proposed project.

0/3000 characters

Contributions to conventions, agendas, policies, management plans

How will the project contribute to these at an international, regional, national, and/or local scale? Provide specific details about the nature of the contribution that will be made by your project (i.e. submission of data to conventions, contribution to committees and working groups, drafting management plans etc.).

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Actions or activities that enhance the local natural environment and/or human community

Do you plan to take action to help achieve impacts and improve natural and social benefits at the project site? Please provide details. Types of action can include waste clean up, invasive species removal, building restoration, tree planting, etc.

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Expected long-term impact of project

This section may not be applicable for your project during its early years. We appreciate that impacts are more likely to be achieved by longer-running projects and would like to get an understanding of your desired long-term impacts. Depending on the subject of your research only some of the categories below may be applicable.

Will this project contribute to enhancing, restoring, or maintaining taxa of conservation significance*? Please provide details.
* “Conservation significance” refers to taxa of biological and/or cultural significance.

0/3000 characters

Will this project contribute to enhancing, restoring, or maintaining natural habitats? Please provide details.

0/3000 characters

Will this project contribute to enhancing, restoring, or maintaining ecosystems services? Please provide details.

0/3000 characters

Will this project contribute to enhancing, restoring, or maintaining cultural heritage? Please provide details.

0/3000 characters

Will this project contribute to enhancing, restoring, or maintaining livelihoods*? Please provide details.
*“Livelihood assets” include persons benefitting from economically applicable training and community assets such as clean water, access to resources, development of a community trust, setting up a local museum, etc.

0/3000 characters

SECTION THREE: Field Logistics

This section provides Earthwatch with an overview of the volunteer experience. We are looking for clear signs that this will be both an engaging and well-managed experience for volunteers. It is important to show that you are prepared to have a group of non-specialist participants in the field for an extended period of time. This includes having laid out a plan for all logistics including food, transport, and accommodation, having an awareness and preparedness for mitigating potential dangers/hazards on site, and ways to communicate with Earthwatch, or sources of aid from the field.

Volunteer Participation

Earthwatch participants assist the researchers in the field for set blocks of time in groups called teams. Earthwatch participants can be adults, teens, students, teachers, or corporate employees. Participants are NOT required to have any special skills before signing up to work on a project and will be trained by you/your team to complete all field tasks upon arrival on site. A typical project would require engagement of a minimum of 4 and up to 12 Earthwatch participants per team on a minimum of 3 teams and up to 10 teams per fielding season. Each team typically spends 1 to 2 weeks in the field. Students are a key participant group for Earthwatch; it is adventageous to be open to student participants (age 15-18). It is also adventageous to be open to occasional groups or 15-30 participants.

* a. State minimum number of volunteers per team (to allow completion of tasks)

* b. State maximum number of volunteers per team (so that all team members are sufficiently occupied with useful tasks and so that all volunteers can be safely managed, including in vehicles, accommodations and during research tasks)

* c. Provide a range of months during which you would be able to conduct teams (ex. May-October):

* d. Provide the total number of teams you would like

* Potential team length(s) (select all that apply)

1 day

2-3 days

approximately 1 week

approximately 2 weeks

* Accommodation

a. Type of Accommodation: Please indicate the accommodation type(s) available.

* b. Describe the participants' accommodation.
- Is there access to electricity, refrigeration, or internet access?
- Indicate what type of beds and bedding will be provided, including mosquito nets.
- Include whether there will be showers, if there is hot water available, whether there is conventional sanitation or pit toilets.
If images are available please submit them below.

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Accommodations 1

Accommodations 2

* c. If volunteers will be sharing with others please specify how many per room. (Please note: Single gender rooms are highly preferred).

* d. Can couples be accommodated?

Comments regarding couples accommodations:

* e. Can single room requests be accommodated?

Comments regarding single room requests:

Food
It is Earthwatch's experience that good food is essential for good morale! It is expected that research staff share meals with their teams.

* a. What are the cooking arrangements? If volunteers are expected to assist in meal preparation, shopping, or clean-up please specify.

0/3000 characters

* b. Describe the typical food, and list specific food that is available and unavailable.

0/3000 characters

* c. Can you accommodate special diets such as vegetarians, vegans, lactose intolerance, celiac disease (gluten-free), etc.?

Comments regarding special diets:

* Field Site

a. Describe the area's attractions. List any attributes of the area that would attract potential volunteers including animals the volunteers will see but aren't necessarily studying or activities the volunteers may participate in during their free time (including museums, art galleries, guided nature walks, kayaking, hiking, bird watching, cultural traditions/dances, etc.).

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* b. Describe the research area's climate, flora and fauna, geographic environment, and culture. Note temperature extremes, altitude, precipitation, humidity, insects, and other possible irritants. Earthwatch recruits volunteers from many different countries. Please describe the cultural atmosphere in which teams will be living and working (such as the predominant spoken language, if English is commonly understood, religion, special customs or unacceptable behaviors).

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* c. Dangers/Hazards: Describe any potential safety risks associated with the research site, including health hazards which might be encountered. Describe any research activities or recreational activities in which the PIs/staff or volunteers may participate in during an Earthwatch team that are considered dangerous or carry an unusual risk of accident. Also describe any hazards that are prevalent in the area that anyone in the field may be exposed to.

0/3000 characters

* d. Do volunteers require special visas or permissions to work at the research site? Earthwatch volunteers generally travel on tourist visas; please indicate if other visas or permissions are required to work at the site.

e. Please provide details of special visas or permissions volunteers would be required to get to work at the research site. Please indicate whether or not you would be able to assist with acquiring these.

* Physical Conditioning/Medical Advice

a. Describe the physical and psychological demands of the expedition. Be specific about the amount of weight to be carried, distance walked, etc. and recommend appropriate activities to help volunteers prepare in advance of the project.

* b. Specify any limitation that would make participation by volunteers impossible or difficult (such as mobility restrictions, allergies, phobias, etc.)

* Field Communications

a. Does the research/accommodation area have access to 24 hour communication to allow contact to and from Earthwatch, if required?

* b. Specify how volunteers and PIs/staff can be reached in the field (e.g. mail, telephone, fax, cable/telegraph, e-mail), for emergencies, and casual communication.

* c. List all project communication equipment (including satellite phones, mobile phones, walkie talkies, EPIRBs, VHF radios, etc.). Identify if there are legal restrictions on the use of certain types of communication devices and if correct permissions have been granted.

* Rendezvous

a. Where will volunteers be met on Day One by project staff? The rendezvous point is usually the commercial airport, railway station or town closest to the research site. It is helpful if you set the rendezvous time in accordance with local transportation schedules. For the proposal, answer this to the best of your ability. Earthwatch staff will work with you to lock in a final rendezvous after the project is approved.

* b. How far is the suggested rendezvous from the research site? Please give the distance in kilometers, the time it takes to reach the research site and by what means this travel will take place.

* Itinerary

a. Briefly outline a typical research day from rising to retiring. Specify the approximate times for field work, meals, data inputting, and daily briefings/facilitated discussions.

0/5000 characters

SECTION FOUR: Project Budget

This section details the project costs, what Earthwatch can and cannot cover with our field grants. As part of your proposal you are required to submit a project budget. Earthwatch uses a standard budget template which has been designed in line with the grant disbursement model. Earthwatch can support you in understanding and completing this template. Your final budget will be agreed and finalised once your project has been approved from a research perspective. You can find the budget template on our website along with other resources relating to project set up. Once your project has been approved from a research perspective the final stage of your project approval will include finalisation of project budget and team dates.

Earthwatch grants cover the expenses for the project whilst teams are in the field. There are restrictions to this funding and grants do not cover PI salaries, capital equipment or post-expedition data analysis. Full details of the Earthwatch funding model including what is, and is not covered can be found on the budget template.

* Please submit your proposed project budget

SECTION FIVE: Principal Investigator (PI) and Staff Information

Please list the Lead PI, Co-PIs, and other staff on your project. For the lead PI and Co-PI(s) you are required to attach an updated CV.

Lead Principal Investigator (Lead PI) - The PI has ultimate project oversight and responsibility for the research objectives, operations, risk management, health, safety, and participant experience.

Co-PI - The Co-PI(s) collaborate with the lead PI for project oversight and responsibility. Projects may have Co-PIs that share responsibility equally, or they may provide support for the lead PI.

Field Team Leader - A Field Team Leader is a project staff member who is entrusted with leadership and responsibility for Earthwatch participants in the PI or Co-PI's absence.

Lead PI:

* Title

* First Name

* Last Name

* Institutional affiliation/Employer

* Position

* Street Address

Address Line 2

* City

* State

* Postal Code

* Country

* Work Telephone

Other Telephone

* Email Address

Secondary Email Address

* Project role and responsibilities

* Date of birth

* Nationality

* Current First Aid qualification

* Previous experience at research site

* Previous experience working with volunteers

* CV of Lead PI

Staff 2:

Title

First Name

Last Name

Institutional affiliation/Employer

Position

Street Address

Address Line 2

City

State

Postal Code

Country

Work Telephone

Other Telephone

Email Address

Secondary Email Address

Project role and responsibilities

Date of birth

Nationality

Current First Aid qualification

Previous experience at research site

Previous experience working with volunteers

CV (if Co-PI)

Staff 3:

Title

First Name

Last Name

Institutional affiliation/Employer

Position

Street Address

Address Line 2

City

State

Postal Code

Country

Work Telephone

Other telephone

Email Address

Secondary Email Address

Project role and responsibilities

Date of birth

Nationality

Current First Aid qualification

Previous experience at research site

Previous experience working with volunteers

CV (if Co-PI)

Staff 4:

Title

First Name

Last Name

Institutional affiliation/Employer

Position

Street Address

Address Line 2

City

State

Postal Code

Country

Work Telephone

Other Telephone

Email Address

Secondary Email Address

Project role and responsibilities

Date of birth

Nationality

Current First Aid qualification

Previous experience at research site

Previous experience working with volunteers

CV (if Co-PI)

SECTION SIX: Exhibits, peer review, anything else

Referrals for Peer Review

All proposals will be peer reviewed by reviewers of your recommendation and reviewers elected by Earthwatch independently. You must submit two reviewers whom you have contacted about reviewing your proposal. Your reviewers should be experts in the same field as your proposal. Your reviewers should not be directly involved in this research project or be biased towards you and/or this research.

Reviewer 1:

* First Name

* Last Name

* Title

* Institution

* Email Address

Reviewer 2:

* First Name

* Last Name

* Title

* Institution

* Email Address

Complementary Project Funding

Earthwatch is working towards improving the long-term sustainability of its projects, and we have seen that sourcing funding from multiple sources is a key component towards achieving this. Provide a brief statement relating to other funding sources (or funding sources you anticipate receiving, or plan to apply to) and the relative (or anticipated) contribution of Earthwatch support towards the project's success. You will be able to provide updates on this component of your project as things change over time.

0/5000 characters

Additional Comments

Is there anything else you would like us to consider?

0/5000 characters

Exhibits

The following exhibits are required before your proposal is complete:

a) CV for each PI (should be attached in Section 5)
b) Copy of research permits or letters of endorsement obtained from the appropriate authorities in order to conduct research at your proposed study site.

You may also want to include graphs, sample data sheets, maps, photos (of staff, the research, and the location), or other information supporting your proposal. This information may also be used in marketing materials to attract participants to your project.

* Indicates Response Required

Field Station	Hotel	Hostel
Camping	Bed & Breakfast	Other