Welcome to the Earthwatch Pre-Proposal
Earthwatch's project 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. The grant application process at Earthwatch begins with the completion of a pre-proposal.
NOTICE: Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting temporary staffing reductions in the Earthwatch US office, we will not be inviting pre-proposals for any new research projects for 2022 nor 2023 without a direct invitation from the Director of Research. We look forward to effective vaccines being globally distributed and fairly administered so that we can resume supporting field researchers through our unique model of citizen science. Queries can be directed to research@earthwatch.org. Thank you.
We will evaluate pre-proposals based on scientific merit, expected project outcomes and impacts, appropriateness of citizen-scientist activities, safety and logistical viability, and Earthwatch’s ability to support the project. All pre-proposals should have measurable outputs/impacts that clearly align with current global environmental management and conservation agendas (e.g., Aichi Biodiversity Targets and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals), and employ an ecological problem-solving approach to the research. We prioritize projects that implement direct action, which can include ecological restoration, climate adaption, or habitat/species population enhancement that engage local community stakeholders or inform environmental policies and management plans.
If your pre-proposal raises the interest of the Earthwatch review committee, you will be invited to submit a full proposal. Invitations for proposal submissions will be communicated by June 28, 2019.
The pre-proposal has three sections:
- Section 1: Project Design
- Section 2: Need for Citizen Scientist Participation
- Section 3: Scientists
Completing the Pre-Proposal
All pre-proposals must be completed by the principal investigator (PI), and all submitting PIs must have a PhD in the field of their proposed research. You must be online to complete the online submission form through Formsite. Before answering any questions, you may wish to create a login account. This will allow you to save your progress as you go and return to it at a later time.
The character limit for each question is listed underneath it and the online form will count your characters.
If you have any questions, please contact the Research Department at research@earthwatch.org.
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