Applications Invited for Future Conservationist Award

Follow us@ngobox

About the Organization

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a world-renowned training and capacity building programme that targets individuals from developing countries who are early in their conservation career and demonstrate leadership potential. As a partnership initiative between three of the world’s leading biodiversity conservation organisations BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora and the Wildlife Conservation Society, CLP focuses on building and enhancing the leadership capabilities of earlycareer conservation professionals working in regions with limited capacity to address high-priority conservation issues. Beyond providing financial support, the programme emphasizes ongoing mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to resources that enable awardees to acquire unique skills and advance their career within the conservation sector. This holistic approach contributes significantly to the programme's success in nurturing future conservation leaders worldwide.

Since 1985, CLP has supported and encouraged thousands of individuals who are early in their conservation career and are aiming to address global conservation priorities at a local level. CLP has and continue to be an important stepping stone for many individuals and its impact has helped to facilitate the discovery of species new to science, the designation of new protected areas, knowledge sharing and collaboration, and the creation of mechanisms for long-term conservation, such as the establishment of local non-governmental organisations and creation of conservation policy and action plans.

About the Award 

CLP offers Future Conservationist Awards of up to US $15,000 each to develop leadership capacity of early-career conservationists who want to make a positive difference on the ground. CLP supports teams of individuals with less than five years of professional conservation experience, who display a strong commitment to conservation and demonstrate leadership potential. All team members should have a desire to be impact multipliers across the conservation sector with the ultimate goal of mitigating threats to biological diversity and transfer capacities to local people in the field. CLP unique approach consists of providing comprehensive training in the best and most effective tools, techniques, and strategies to lead and implement conservation action in their respective sites. Winners of these awards will develop key leadership skills through the management and implementation of small-scale practical conservation projects which can become eligible for continued support through CLP’s Continuation Awards and Alumni Network. CLP award winners also

have long-term backing and advisory support from CLP staff and partner organisations as they develop in their careers.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a CLP Future Conservationist Award, the team and project must meet the following eligibility criteria. Please read the complete Guidelines for more details on eligibility and judging criteria.

Team:

• CLP Awards are for team-based conservation projects – each team must have at least three people.
• All team members must be nationals of the country where the project is taking place. In specific cases one team member can be a non-national subject to clear justification of the expertise brought to the team.
• All team members must be early-career conservationists with no more than five years of work experience in the conservation sector. ‘Work experience’ does not include research for a university degree. Individuals who have more than five years of work experience in the conservation sector are not eligible for CLP support and should not apply.
• CLP is committed to supporting people regardless of their educational background. There is no minimum education required to participate as a team leader or team member, we welcome individuals with any informal, formal or non-formal education. The level of education of any team member does not affect your eligibility.
• No team member can be a part- or full-time paid employee or contractor with a CLP partner organisation, including BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora and the Wildlife Conservation Society, at any time from project development through to implementation.
• Any team member volunteering at a CLP partner organisation at the time of application and/or project implementation MUST be declared in the application. They also need to explain how the CLP proposal differs from the partner organisation’s work.
• Applicants can participate in only one CLP project at a time and in no more than three Future Conservationist Award projects in total, serving as team leader for no more than one Future Conservationist project.
• At CLP we prioritise diversity and inclusion. Supporting underrepresented groups in society is critical in our goals for conservation. We therefore strongly encourage applicants from historically marginalised groups and countries to apply, and for equality and diversity to be considered when selecting team members

Project:

• The project must take place in one of the eligible low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern and South-eastern Europe and the Middle East. High-income Caribbean and Pacific Island economies are eligible. A full list of ineligible countries and eligible high-income countries is available below.
• The project duration must be at least three months and no more than one year.
• The total funding request from CLP must not exceed US $15,000 and CLP funding must cover at least 50% of the total project budget.
• The project must focus on globally important species for biodiversity conservation that are at risk. We consider a species to be ‘at risk’ if it is designated as globally threatened (CR, EN, VU) or data deficient (DD) by the IUCN Red List OR if there is information suggesting that urgent conservation action is needed.
• For those projects focusing on multiple species and/or taxonomic groups, at least one species in each taxonomic group being studied must be at risk.
• The project must be fornew work rather than the continuation of an ongoing, established project.
• Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed project goesbeyond academic research being carried out for any team member’s degree.
• Projects that involve laboratory analyses must justify why this work is critical and urgent for conservation.
• The proposal must bewritten by the applicants themselves.

How to Apply

All project teams are required to submit a completed application using the online application portal by the deadline Friday, 18th October 2024. No late applications will be accepted, and applications must be completed in English. Download, read and review the “Step-By-Step" guidelines from the online portal for assistance in writing your online application. Applications emailed to CLP will not be accepted.

Applications will be accepted from teams initiating projects that meet the eligibility criteria outlined below. These criteria are designed to ensure that the project builds the capacity of all team members involved, contributes to long-term sustainable conservation achievements, has clearly focused research objectives and builds vital links between local communities, conservationists,NGOs, academic institutions and local governments. Applications are evaluated across three different stages by CLP staff and partners, by experts from other relevant organisations and by an Award Selection Panel. CLP welcomes and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to supporting groups that have been underrepresented in the conservation sector.

For more information please check the Link

Stay in the loop with the newest RFPs and Grants through NGOBOX's WhatsApp Channel. Join now by clicking here!

Tags Leadership Others